One of the biggest decisions people face when they're newly diagnosed -- and may face again as they learn how to be completely gluten-free -- is the question of whether or not they should share a kitchen with people who eat gluten.
In some cases, you may not have a choice -- your family may decline to go gluten-free with you, or you may have roommates who (quite reasonably) want their own food.
However, not everyone can make a shared kitchen work. Whether you can or not will depend on your level of sensitivity to trace gluten, plus the willingness of everyone involved to pitch in.
To guide you through that decision -- and ultimately set up a shared kitchen if that's what you decide to do -- I've written two articles:
Can You Successfully Share A Kitchen? and
How To Set Up A Shared Kitchen
In them, I detail the potential benefits and pitfalls to sharing a kitchen, plus how to set up a shared kitchen so it has the least chance of glutening you. Hopefully, this information will help you as you and your family members decide how to approach the question of whether to share a kitchen.
Do you share a kitchen? Would you be willing to do so? Vote in our poll!
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I shared a kitchen with a housemate I was living with when I got diagnosed with celiac. Fortunately, he was away for months at a time. I came to realize that my health declined when he was home, and improved when he was away, despite us being very clean and using separate equipment in the kitchen. Eventually, after I started experiencing gluten ataxia, it became very apparent that I got sick whenever he toasted bread or boiled pasta. I live alone now, and have to be aware of the wind direction, because I live near fast food restaurants that pump gluten peptide laden oil droplets into the air.