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Why Is The Commercial gluten-free Food And Drug Listing So Expensive?

Guest thatchickali

By Guest thatchickali
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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Guest thatchickali
Guest thatchickali
Posted

So I'm already in debt for all the useless medical testing before my diagnosis, now I'm a college student having to shop gluten-free and spending a lot of money doing that. So I got the email update and read that I could buy the commercial gluten-free food listing. I was expecting it to be around $20 because I realize making that is someone's job and they deserve to get paid for it, so I'm not expecting it for free, but ALMOST 80 dollars??? Why would someone want to profit so much off of a disease?

Everything else is expensive enough...

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kbtoyssni Contributor
kbtoyssni
Posted

$80 is expensive, and that's certainly money you don't need to spend. This site has all the info you need on gluten-free brands. NoGluGirl posts a huge list of gluten-free brands a lot - try searching for her posts. Nini also has a link in her signature to download a Newbie Survivor Kit that has a list of gluten-free brands.

Why would someone want to profit off this? Because they can? Celiac is one of those rare diseases that doesn't require drugs or expensive medical treatments to deal with making it completely unprofitable for the medical industry. This is maybe the only way they can make money off this disease?

Lisa Mentor
Lisa
Posted

Some of those products are advertised here to help support this forum. Lists such as these were a great help for me in the beginning when label reading was a daunting task.

I would recommend it once. After getting the hang of label reading, lists are no longer necessary.

happygirl Collaborator
happygirl
Posted

I agree---learning to read labels is the most effective way to make educated decisions. Using the lists as a backup is helpful, but you can't rely on lists all the time because things can change.

Do you need help with labels?

blueeyedmanda Community Regular
blueeyedmanda
Posted

I did find the lists helpful in mastering the whole label reading chore. Being new with celiac is was very overwhelming.

Fiddle-Faddle Community Regular
Fiddle-Faddle
Posted

I never used lists, not even when I was first diagnosed. I just read labels like a maniac (and learned to pack a magnifying glass in my purse, even though I don't *yet* need reading glasses!).

There are so many things that can change overnight, and so many things that you wouldn't expect to have gluten that often do, like tuna salad ( :ph34r: ), that I think lists are almost useless.

I, too, resent the fact that people want to make money off of our problems. Like you said, 20 bucks would have been reasonable, but this is just pure greed.

Some of the nice people here have already compiled lists and posted them here FOR FREE. (See noglugirl, for example.)

Maybe the people who are trying to make $ out of this situation don't have problems with gluten themselves....

blueeyedmanda Community Regular
blueeyedmanda
Posted

Noglugirls list is great and I think she did a wonderful job compiling it. I would use her list anyday before paying for one.

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tom Contributor
tom
Posted

I found it appalling when I started gluten-free that ppl were charging so much for basic info.

Maybe I spent more time researching but, to me, it was the principle.

Used some great lists found here:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Both are from this site:

Open Original Shared Link

tom Contributor
tom
Posted

Grrrrrrr double post

Guest j_mommy
Guest j_mommy
Posted

I never bought any of that! I have been gluten-free since may and do all my legwork on my own....I would also be concerned about how soon that 80 list went out of date!

Ridgewalker Contributor
Ridgewalker
Posted
I never bought any of that! I have been gluten-free since may and do all my legwork on my own....I would also be concerned about how soon that 80 list went out of date!

Yeah, it could be the day after you buy it.

If it were just required that food is labeled clearly, it wouldn't be such an issue!

-Sarah

Guest thatchickali
Guest thatchickali
Posted

Thanks everyone.

Tom, that list is great!

Ginsou Explorer
Ginsou
Posted

You don't have to pay for a list of gluten free foods.....or drugs.....there are many free lists out there on the internet. Google gluten free, and take the time to visit the various websites. I'm also upset about the price of the available foods, but had no choice at first. I now have many gluten free recipes, and am well on my way to living a fairly normal life. Did you know your special food is tax deductible? I haven't filed a long form tax return for years, but this year it will be to my advantage. I'm older, retired, and have a good retirement income, but I can't imagine how someone younger or with a family can possibly afford the expense of gluten free foods. Are you aware of the Angel Food Ministries food bank? Located in many areas. You pay $25.00 and receive approximately $50 worth of food once a month. It is a program for everyone...not just low income. Since I am lactose intolerant and gluten intolerant, this program will not work out for me...but there may be many food items that you can eat. The menu changes on a month to month basis. I think their website is: www.Angelfoodministries.com. Will check it after posting this.

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