Description: "Gluten Free for Life is the first book to apply social, cultural, and historical perspectives to celiac disease, a serious autoimmune condition affecting one percent of the population-three million Americans. Because celiac destroys the villi of the small intestine, it is considered gastrointestinal, but it can affect many of the body's systems. As a result, the symptoms are extremely various. The only therapy is life-long adherence to a gluten-free diet"--
Brief description: Emily K. Abel is Professor Emeritus at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. She is the author of many books. The most recent are Elder Care in Crisis: How the Social Safety Net Fails Families and Gluten Free for Life: Celiac Disease, Medical Recognition, and the Food Industry, both published by NYU Press. In 2024 she received the Genevieve Miller Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association for the History of Medicine.
Review Quotes: "In this timely work, Abel details the many-layered history of celiac disease in the United States. Complicating interpretations that cast celiac as an ambiguous medical condition or a dietary fad, we learn from celiac communities how deeply this chronically misunderstood and understudied condition impacts their lives. Abel's careful attention to celiac community networks reveals everyday struggles alongside engaged advocacy and collective empowerment."-- "Susan Burch, author of Disability Histories"