Celiac Awareness Month
Gluten is Like Glitter. Even a Crumb Matters.
Gluten is like glitter. It spreads easily, sticks everywhere, and is difficult to fully remove. For people with celiac disease, this isn’t just frustrating—it’s dangerous.
Join us this May to raise awareness of this serious, autoimmune disease and build a world Beyond Celiac. Attend a local or virtual event, educate loved ones about the gluten-free (GF) diet, donate to the cause, or enjoy delicious food from a GF bakery, restaurant, or company.
Below you’ll find more ways to support the community throughout May. Get all the latest updates by following us online (Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok) or subscribing to our monthly newsletter.
Together for a cure,
—The Beyond Celiac Team
How Can I Take Action for Celiac Awareness Month?
Explore simple ways to make an impact.
Learn
Understand how cross-contact happens, watch and share educational resources, and help others better understand celiac disease.
Participate
Register for virtual and in-person events, like Step Beyond Celiac and Town Halls, to connect with the celiac disease community.
Share
Share our social media posts, talk to friends and family about cross-contact, and amplify accurate information online.
Fast Facts
Celiac disease is a serious genetic autoimmune disease that impairs the body’s absorption of nutrients from food.
It is estimated that up to 83% of Americans who have celiac disease are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with other conditions.
A 2020 study found the global incidence of celiac disease is “significantly” increasing.
Even Small Amounts of Gluten Matter
For someone with celiac disease, exposure to gluten triggers an immune response that damages the small intestine. This can lead to serious, long-term health complications, even when exposure is accidental.
Cross-contact happens when gluten comes into contact with gluten-free food or surfaces. And like glitter, once it’s there, it’s difficult to fully remove.
What is Cross-Contact?
Cross-contact occurs when gluten transfers from one surface, food, or utensil to another. Common examples include:
- Using the same toaster for gluten-free and regular bread
- Sharing cutting boards, utensils, or condiments
- Preparing gluten-free food on contaminated surfaces
- Frying gluten-free foods in shared oil
These everyday situations can be easy to overlook, but for people with celiac disease, they can have real health consequences.
It was incredibly isolating, especially once I learnt about cross-contamination! So much of my social events revolved around dining out, or fun dinners at my friends houses—much of which I can no longer do.
Mia B.
Ways You Can Step Up for the Celiac Disease Community!
Here are easy ways that you can help raise awareness and support the celiac disease community this month.
- Start a Facebook fundraiser.
- Submit a Voices of Celiac story. We collect these stories to highlight how unique an individual’s journey to a diagnosis can be.
- Host a gluten-free party. Food can be delicious AND gluten-free! Invite your friends or family to enjoy a totally gluten-free spread for everyone to enjoy. This is also a good opportunity for them to learn more about the diet or CD.
- Donate gluten-free foods like breads, pastas or baking mixes to a food bank.
- Join a clinical trial.
- Get your family tested for celiac disease, even if they don’t have symptoms.
- Support your local gluten-free bakeries and restaurants by eating there once a month.
- Write a restaurant review to help out others with celiac disease.
- Get our discount on Find Me Gluten Free Premium—Find Me Gluten Free is the #1 app for locating gluten-free restaurants with over 1 million reviews around the world. They’re offering $5 off your first year of Premium AND they’re donating an additional $10 to Beyond Celiac with every new membership. Get the Deal Now!
- Buy a celiac disease plushie from Giant Microbes—a portion of proceeds go toward our research efforts!
The Global #ShineALightOnCeliac Movement
This May, we are pleased to once again take part in the international Shine a Light on Celiac campaign. #ShineALightOnCeliac brings together celiac-related organizations from across the globe—spanning four continents—to raise awareness of celiac disease by lighting up landmarks green, which is the unofficial color of the celiac disease community. The image to the left is Niagara Falls lit up green last May.
Visit the Shine a Light on Celiac page to see a list of landmarks and learn more about the initiative!
Share Facts on Social Media
Download any of the graphics below and share them to your social media account. We’ve also written sample posts that you can copy and use in your posts—please feel free to edit the captions to suit your personality and accounts! If you’re not much for words, we’ll be posting the graphics to our social media accounts as well, so you can reshare at your convenience.
Graphics
Click or tap on any of the graphics to open them in a new tab, then download to your device.
Sample Instagram Caption
Imagine if you couldn’t eat glitter, but people put glitter on everything, like salt. That’s sort of what it’s like to have celiac disease: when someone with celiac eats gluten, their immune system attacks their small intestine. But gluten is small, gets everywhere, and is hard to fully clean up, just like glitter.
There’s no cure or treatment for celiac disease, just the gluten-free diet. Nonprofit @BeyondCeliac wants to change that. Learn how to get involved at beyondceliac.org https://www.beyondceliac.org/get-involved/celiac-awareness-month/
#celiac #celiacawarenessmonth #glutenfree #celiacdisease #chronicillness
Sample Facebook Post
Imagine if you couldn’t eat glitter, but people put glitter on everything, like salt. That’s sort of what it’s like to have celiac disease: when someone with celiac eats gluten, their immune system attacks their small intestine. But gluten is small, gets everywhere, and is hard to fully clean up, just like glitter.
There’s no cure or treatment for celiac disease, just the gluten-free diet. Nonprofit @BeyondCeliac wants to change that. Learn how to get involved at beyondceliac.org/get-involved/celiac-awareness-month/
Sample LinkedIn Post
Imagine if you couldn’t eat glitter, but people put glitter on everything, like salt. That’s sort of what it’s like to have celiac disease: when someone with celiac eats gluten, their immune system attacks their small intestine. But gluten is small, gets everywhere, and is hard to fully clean up, just like glitter.
There’s no cure or treatment for celiac disease, just the gluten-free diet. Nonprofit @BeyondCeliac wants to change that. Learn how to get involved at beyondceliac.org/get-involved/celiac-awareness-month/
#healthcare #InvisibleIllness #WorkLife
Together, We’re Driving Change
Celiac Awareness Month is powered by a global community—patients, researchers, healthcare providers, and advocates—working toward a shared goal: better treatments and a cure.
From local events to global initiatives like #ShineALightOnCeliac, every effort brings us closer to a future where people with celiac disease can live without fear of gluten exposure.
