2 years ago, Radu entered the online environment, with the energy of youth and always with a smile on his face. I followed him from the beginning, fascinated by his work power and his determination to do what he set his mind to. In just 2 years his project, “Rețete fără gluten (Gluten-free recipes)” has expanded and is continuously expanding. He has a website, a Facebook page and an Instagram page, a YouTube channel, an application from which you can find out the locations where you can eat gluten-free (in Romania), all in Romanian, and he is an ARIG ambassador (the Romanian Association for Gluten Intolerance). All this while he has a “normal” job. Radu has celiac disease and this is his story.
Hi 😊. Who is Radu?
Hey, my name is Radu Vasile, I’m 25 years old and I’ve been celiac since I was 3 years old. As a background, I graduated from a Hotel Management college and a Digital Marketing college.
During the pandemic, exactly 2 years ago, I started a project called “Rețete fără gluten”, where I try to help as many people as possible with advice, information and most importantly, with recipes.
When did your disease/s started? Which were your first symptoms? How did you get to a diagnosis?
When I was little I was temporarily stunted by celiac disease, which I found out the hard way after my parents took me to several doctors. After 6 months of searching, I was lucky enough to be diagnosed at the “Grigore Alexandrescu” hospital in Bucharest.
What treatment were you prescribed? Did it help you?
I didn’t, because the only treatment for gluten intolerance is to eliminate gluten from the diet.
There can be many causes to auto immune disease. Which one do you think have triggered yours?
I certainly don’t think stress was a factor considering I had no worries at that age. I think I was lucky enough to have the celiac disease gene turn on at a young age, so my parents had the chance to raise me a lot easier diet-wise, emphasizing it early on.
Do you have an equilibrium by now? How does a day in your life look like, what do you eat and what is your lifestyle?
As I said above, I think equilibrium was struck at an early age. My days are, for the most part, very full. I have another job on top of my gluten-free blog, and the two combined take up a good chunk of each day, but each culminates in an intense session at the gym, which helps me unwind after a busy day. As for nutrition, I try to eat as healthy and clean as possible, which I try, as much as possible, to show in my recipes. I really like to eat porridge in the morning, when I don’t skip breakfast, and later in the day I try to eat as much fruit as possible.
What do you find the most difficult, talking about a healthy lifestyle and a functional life?
The most difficult thing seems to me to have time to do both (a.n. professional and personal life, including special nutrition), to be so disciplined as to know how to manage them in the most optimal way.
What advice would you give to people who have just been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease? How would you encourage them?
I would tell them that no matter what autoimmune disease diagnosis they receive, everything will be in the right direction and they will get used to the new lifestyle, even if it requires a lot of sacrifice and patience. It’s hard for everyone at first, but we always have to put ourselves in other people’s shoes and realize that there are people who have much bigger problems in this world. Stay optimistic and disciplined, everything will get better and better!
