By Fiona Wilton
Studying abroad in the United Kingdom has been an eye-opening experience for me, especially when it comes to navigating dietary restrictions.
I am a gluten-free vegetarian and have been for twenty years, so I consider myself well-versed in finding gluten-free food options and how they are normally priced. I have coeliac disease, which is an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks itself when gluten is ingested.
The lining of the intestines becomes more and more damaged the more one eats gluten, resulting in malnutrition and digestive issues.
According to BBC, about 8.5 million people in the UK have gone gluten-free either to lose weight or because they think avoiding gluten will make them feel better, while only one in 100 people in the UK have coeliac disease. The increasing market for gluten-free food means that there are more gluten-free items on the shelves, but the demand is making prices skyrocket. My time abroad has revealed unexpected challenges in finding suitable foods at an affordable price.
When I finally found the small gluten-free section at supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s, I saw that the prices for gluten-free products were disproportionally higher than that of the gluten-containing products. According to The Guardian, “Gluten-free staples are now typically 2.5 times more expensive than non-gluten-free products.” This not only strains the budgets of people with coeliac disease or gluten intolerance but also creates a financial issue that forces some people to compromise their health by reverting to gluten-containing options. Doing so can “have serious long-term health consequences.”
The financial complications of having a gluten-free diet are particularly significant for college students, who are already dealing with tight budgets. According to Admissionsly, college students spend an average of about $4,000 every year eating out. However, people with food allergies, specifically those with Coeliac disease, are very likely to spend more than this. I have experienced this firsthand, as in the initial part of my semester abroad, I did not have access to the cooking materials or ingredients that I needed to make nutritious meals, so I relied a lot on eating out spent a lot more money on it than I had budgeted for. It was either eat out or don’t eat at all. The limited options available at many restaurants and pubs often left me facing difficult choices between risking cross-contamination or going hungry. This dilemma ultimately led to unintended weight loss, low energy, and financial stress.
The main products available for purchase in the gluten-free sections are bread, pasta, cookies, and porridge. As much as these items taste great, unfortunately, they are not nutritious enough to maintain a balanced diet. There is also usually only one type of option, so people following gluten-free diets don’t have the luxury of choosing healthier ingredients or cheaper options, as there is only one. This highlights the importance of the availability of nutritious gluten-free food options, even in convenience stores, which is what I heavily relied on in the beginning of my semester. Right now, unfortunately, the options are inadequate.
As someone who navigated these challenges firsthand, I urge future college students with dietary restrictions to be proactive and thoroughly research the prices of food before they arrive. If I had been more informed about the financial implications of being gluten-free abroad, I would have been better prepared to manage my money and avoid the financial struggle that I am facing as I get later into the semester. Make meal plans, figure out the nearest grocery stores that have the food you need, and research restaurants before walking in. Awareness and accessibility to gluten-free foods can also help college students like me have more enriching experiences abroad.
Fiona Wilton is a junior at the University of Missouri.
