BY: Karen Wang
So your parents have placed the whole family on a gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, sugar-free, flavor-free diet: the only question is, why the heck should you have to participate in this grotesque experiment? Here are 5 reasons why you should give it some thought.
1. You have an out. You can always eat over at a friend’s house or ask Grandma to take you out for a cheeseburger. Life sure isn’t fair, but this time the advantage is yours.
2.Like it or not, you’re the best teacher. Your sibling probably isn’t happy about the new diet, either. But it’s for his or her own good, and you’re the one person who makes it look easy for him/her.
3. There’s no money left over to buy junk anymore. These diets are expensive, so there’s not going to be anything else in the fridge for you.
4. Surprise: You may actually like it! Special diets usually include fresh foods like blueberries or cherries at every meal. You may also learn about ethnic dishes like Thai rice noodles or Greek-style garlic chicken.
5. It’s better for you anyway. OK, stay with me here: you eat fresher food and less junk, you start to sleep better, poop better and even think better. You get better grades and have more energy to do the cool stuff that you like best. Suddenly, your future looks brighter, you land the job of your dreams and…you’re in charge of your own life. No more crazy diets. End of story.
Karen Wang blogs about disabilities for the Friendship Circle. You may have seen her at Cedar Point carrying a kid who’s way too big to be carried or at Trader Joe trying to find food that will be accepted by the extremely picky eaters in her home. Her hobbies are preventing epic meltdowns, studying obscure ancient languages and sleeping. She has been living on Planet Autism since 2001 with her husband Oliver and sons Louie and Denny.
