I went to McDonald's a couple times a week and would order salad and fries and a drink. With a celiac, the gluten damages your intestine but you don't always have symptoms right away. It isn't like a peanut allergy, you usually feel lousy later. Lots of people have celiac disease and don't even know they have it, but luckily I have known for a long time because my Mom is a nurse.
If you eat a very strict gluten-free diet, you can manage, but if not, you can have a variety of problems that can be long term. For a celiac, gluten can affect your auto-immune system; it can prevent your body from absorbing nutrients so you could suffer from malnutrition.
There is no reason why those ingredients in their fries weren't labeled. How irresponsible is that? Don't they care? I've been eating their fries for a long time so my stomach is damaged. Eating McDonald's fries could cause cancer some day for all I know.
McDonald's has to be held accountable for misleading consumers. We have to tell other celiacs who don't know about McDonald's fries. There are various statistics but I think one out of 150 people in the US have celiac disease.
I think at the very least McDonald's should take full responsibility; this could have long-term consequences on my health. How can you put a price on your health? I have had celiac disease for so long and because I had such a strict gluten-free diet it makes me even more furious. I spent a lot of money to stay healthy, buying food from health food stores. "
Rebecca O'Neill, Highlands Ranch, Colorado:"My oldest daughter, aged 14, has celiac disease and she was diagnosed five years ago. McDonald's fries was her treat because everything else has buns so she only eats (now past tense - got) the fries. I am completely furious. She had intestinal pain but I didn't know what it was from. Being a teenager I quizzed her on what else she could have eaten. At home we are completely careful about her diet.
I happened to read an article online about two weeks ago. Then I started doing more research and read different articles, mainly about vegans complaining about McDonald's. And I thought, a vegan doesn't have pain, my daughter could get very sick. When she was diagnosed with celiac disease the doctor told us that if she ate wheat, over a period of time she would have to go for a biopsy to check for intestinal cancer. She has to do this every 10 years for the rest of her life.
My daughter Alicia is very angry and if she thinks about it too much she gets worried. I try to sugar coat this a bit, and won't talk about cancer, but I do want to make sure she is aware. She won't be eating fries again. We have not gone back to McDonald's nor will we ever go again.
I don't know what can be done. My concern is, what if this does have an affect on her future and we just don't know? There is no way to tell right now."
_____
This spells gross negligence, and worse than the last fiasco when McDonald's used beef tallow in its cooking oil. A settlement was reached in October 2002 when Mcdonald's paid out more than $10 million to vegetarian organizations for failing to disclose meat products in its fries.
But this time, the issue is more dangerous: the public's health is at risk.
If you eat a very strict gluten-free diet, you can manage, but if not, you can have a variety of problems that can be long term. For a celiac, gluten can affect your auto-immune system; it can prevent your body from absorbing nutrients so you could suffer from malnutrition.
There is no reason why those ingredients in their fries weren't labeled. How irresponsible is that? Don't they care? I've been eating their fries for a long time so my stomach is damaged. Eating McDonald's fries could cause cancer some day for all I know.
McDonald's has to be held accountable for misleading consumers. We have to tell other celiacs who don't know about McDonald's fries. There are various statistics but I think one out of 150 people in the US have celiac disease.
I think at the very least McDonald's should take full responsibility; this could have long-term consequences on my health. How can you put a price on your health? I have had celiac disease for so long and because I had such a strict gluten-free diet it makes me even more furious. I spent a lot of money to stay healthy, buying food from health food stores. "
Rebecca O'Neill, Highlands Ranch, Colorado:"My oldest daughter, aged 14, has celiac disease and she was diagnosed five years ago. McDonald's fries was her treat because everything else has buns so she only eats (now past tense - got) the fries. I am completely furious. She had intestinal pain but I didn't know what it was from. Being a teenager I quizzed her on what else she could have eaten. At home we are completely careful about her diet.
I happened to read an article online about two weeks ago. Then I started doing more research and read different articles, mainly about vegans complaining about McDonald's. And I thought, a vegan doesn't have pain, my daughter could get very sick. When she was diagnosed with celiac disease the doctor told us that if she ate wheat, over a period of time she would have to go for a biopsy to check for intestinal cancer. She has to do this every 10 years for the rest of her life.
My daughter Alicia is very angry and if she thinks about it too much she gets worried. I try to sugar coat this a bit, and won't talk about cancer, but I do want to make sure she is aware. She won't be eating fries again. We have not gone back to McDonald's nor will we ever go again.
I don't know what can be done. My concern is, what if this does have an affect on her future and we just don't know? There is no way to tell right now."
_____
This spells gross negligence, and worse than the last fiasco when McDonald's used beef tallow in its cooking oil. A settlement was reached in October 2002 when Mcdonald's paid out more than $10 million to vegetarian organizations for failing to disclose meat products in its fries.
But this time, the issue is more dangerous: the public's health is at risk.
READ MORE ABOUT Food/Drink