But 11-year-old Naiya Istvanffy has learned to adapt to these challenges throughout her childhood years, being faced with a gluten intolerance that has always required her to be careful about what she eats and how her food is made.
“I just don’t have the freedom to go somewhere and eat whatever I want like most people can,” says Naiya.
Going to a potluck usually requires her to bring her own separate dish and avoid most of the other foods there. At birthday parties, she either has to go without cake or bring something else to snack on – “so you don’t end up getting sick.”
Also known as a gluten sensitivity, gluten intolerance is the body’s inability to digest or break down the gluten protein found in wheat and certain other grains such as rye, barley, oats, and triticale.
Naiya’s mom Amanda says her daughter was two years old when she began to come down with some of the symptoms – she was well aware of what to look for since many of her family members, herself included, are celiacs or sensitive to gluten. Nausea and vomiting, rash, headaches, diarrhea, “it’s like having a really violent stomach flu.”
Naiya’s blood test for celiac disease came back negative, says Amanda, and since there is currently no method to test for non-celiac gluten sensitivity, then it was a matter of eliminating gluten from her diet to see if it improved the condition.
Going gluten-free is never easy but Amanda says since she had already made lifestyle changes for herself, and her teenage son was also noticing he perhaps too had some of the symptoms associated with a gluten sensitivity, they decided as a family to make the switch at home. Their kitchen was rid of gluten products and they all became a lot more educated on a diet that requires you to eliminate items like pastas, breads, crackers and more.
These changes then began to transfer over to the family business. Seeing there was a need and a strong desire for gluten-free options in the marketplace, Amanda and her husband Mark, owners and operators of The Cackling Goose Market in downtown Sackville, started the process of converting their facility into an exclusively gluten-free organic bakery café. It now produces a wide range of fresh baked goods and daily lunch specials in a dedicated gluten-free and vegetarian facility – options include ready-to-go meals, muffins, super grain bread, frozen soups, date squares, smoothies, and more.
Naiya says she loves the chocolate cupcakes at the bakery, but also has a number of favourite dishes made at home including taco potatoes – basically baked potatoes piled up with a variety of toppings including salsa, sour cream, green peppers, and more.
Amanda says it’s difficult for Naiya to eat meals prepared at friends’ homes or at many restaurants because, even though people may bake up what they believe to be gluten-free options, there is always the risk of cross-contamination because gluten particles can spread easily through the air or via cutting boards, utensils, etc.
To learn more about the gluten-free products and options out there, Naiya enjoys attending events like the annual Gluten Free Fair, which features a variety of vendors and sponsors, information booths and more.
The Gluten Free Fair, presented by the Moncton Celiac Chapter, will be held this year on June 3 at the Coverdale Recreation Center in Riverview from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will offer an opportunity for people to sample and learn more about what is offered for individuals living with celiac or gluten intolerance.
“There are lots of samples you can try,” says Naiya, whose favourites include the delicacies from the Schoolhouse Bakery and the gluten-free chips stand.
Sackville’s Sheila Parker, a longtime member of the Moncton chapter of the Canadian Celiac Association, is one of the organizers of the event, which is in its third year.
For more information, please contact Sheila Parker at 536-1867 or visit www.monctonceliacchapter.org.