In my struggle to come out of the closet – mostly to myself, my husband and children are fully aware of the addiction – I pretend that this purchase is in the name of sociological research. I tell myself that as an entrepreneur, I really need to stay on top of happenings in mainstream America.

This week, as I was conducting my “research,” I found an article on celiac disease. The most under diagnosed disease in America can now claim its fame as a fully recognized malady, given that it was featured in People (circulation 3.8 million).

Last weekend, I timidly confessed my People habit to another Waldorf mom, thinking I would be branded with a scarlet “P.” To my surprise she actually asked me to save my old copies and pass them on to her. I guess she has some “research” to do as well.

If doctors and drug companies made money from gluten free cookies, perhaps we'd have more thorough screening. However, since there is no profit-making pharmaceutical remedy for this disease, it seems that much of the medical establishment has been remiss in treating people suffering from this fairly common malady --some studies show that 1% of the US population has celiac disease.

In today's Los Angeles Times, Heather Abel discusses the angst-filled journey to discovering she had celiac. She also touches upon the romance between docs and big pharma and how this unholy alliance makes celiac such a "challenging" disease to diagnose.