Famous And Gluten-Free? 16 Celebrities With Food Allergies Or Intolerances

What do Zooey Deschanel, Keith Olbermann and Billy Bob Thornton have in common?

Aside from fame, the trio reportedly suffer from food sensitivities and allergies that limit what they can eat. And they aren't alone. It's no secret that serious food allergies are on the rise. Between 6 and 8 percent of children suffer from potentially fatal reactions to food -- as do about 4 percent of adults, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. And while between 100 and 200 people die each year in the United States from allergic reactions to food, extreme reactions don't tell the whole story of food sensitivity in America. Conditions like Celiac disease, which is a profound gastrointestinal intolerance for gluten, has quadrupled in the past 60 years, according to recent research.

That means alternatives to gluten, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts and other common irritants and allergens are more important than ever. And the public face of food allergies is as well: a 2010 study published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the journal from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, found that 35 percent of school-aged children with food allergies are bullied specifically about their limitations.

On the other hand, constant discussion of food allergies in the media can influence the way we perceive reactions to food: while only about 4 percent of adults actually have food allergies, about 15 percent believe they have them.

Make sure to see a specialist to determine if a reaction is truly due to a food allergy or sensitivity before eliminating a food group from your diet. But, in the meantime, 16 celebrities to keep company with the food intolerant among you:

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• Elisabeth Hasselbeck

  <strong>Profession: </strong>Co-host of "The View" <strong>Allergy/Sensitivity: </strong>Hasselbeck has Celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder in which the body has an extreme reaction to gluten.

• Zooey Deschanel

  <strong>Profession: </strong>Actress and singer <strong>Allergy/Sensitivity: </strong>Deschanel has <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/09/zooey_deschanel_new_girl_inter.html" target="_hplink">sensitivities to dairy, eggs and wheat.</a>

• Serena Williams

  <strong>Profession: </strong>Tennis champion <strong>Allergy/Sensitivity: </strong>Williams is rumored to be allergic to peanuts.

• Susie Essman

  <strong>Profession: </strong>Comedian and co-star of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" <strong>Allergy/Sensitivity: </strong>Essman <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/05/dining/at-lunch-with-susie-essman-eating-hollywood-style-with-thin-air-on-the-side.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm" target="_hplink">has Celiac disease</a>.

• Sarah Vowell

  <strong>Profession: </strong>Historian and author <strong>Allergy/Sensitivity: </strong>Vowell <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1102970/bio" target="_hplink">has Celiac disease</a>.

• Billy Bob Thornton

  <strong>Profession: </strong>Actor <strong>Allergy/Sensitivity: </strong>Thornton <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/180m-thats-what-britain-is-spending-on-free-from-foods--and-market-will-double-in-five-years-765592.html" target="_hplink">has an allergy</a> to shellfish and intolerance for wheat and dairy.

• Kelis

  <strong>Profession: </strong>Singer <strong>Allergy/Sensitivity: </strong><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AllergiesNews/story?id=4776317&page=4" target="_hplink">Kelis is allergic</a> to peanuts.

• Keith Olbermann

  <strong>Profession: </strong>Newscaster for CurrentTV <strong>Allergy/Sensitivity: </strong>Olbermann<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646021/bio" target="_hplink"> has Celiac disease.</a>

• Jennifer Esposito

  <strong>Profession: </strong>Actress <strong>Allergy/Sensitivity: </strong><a href="http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/oz-exclusive-jennifer-esposito" target="_hplink">Esposito has Celiac</a> disease.

• Drew Brees

  <strong>Profession: </strong>Quarterback for the New Orleans Saints <strong>Allergy/Sensitivity: </strong><a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1191808/index.htm" target="_hplink">Brees has Celiac</a> disease.

• Chelsea Clinton

  <strong>Profession: </strong>NBC News correspondant, First Daughter emeritus <strong>Allergy/Sensitivity: </strong><a href="http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38474741/ns/today-food/t/chelsea-clinton-let-them-eat-gluten-free-cake/" target="_hplink">Clinton has Celiac</a> disease.

• Ray Romano

  <strong>Profession: </strong>Comedian <strong>Allergy/Sensitivity: </strong><a href="http://www.peanutallergykid.com/2009/01/you-can-be-anything-you-want-to-be.html" target="_hplink">Romano is allergic</a> to peanuts.

• Emmy Rossum

  <strong>Profession: </strong>Actress <strong>Allergy/Sensitivity: </strong><a href="http://www.shape.com/latest-news-trends/try-eating-passover-foods-week-%E2%80%93-even-if-youre-not-jewish" target="_hplink">Rossum has Celiac</a> disease.

• Joshua Jackson

  <strong>Profession: </strong>Actor <strong>Allergy/Sensitivity: </strong><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2018006/Joshua-Jackson-hospitalised-suffering-allergic-reaction.html" target="_hplink">Jackson is allergic</a> to peanuts.

• Halle Berry

  <strong>Profession: </strong>Actress <strong>Allergy/Sensitivity: </strong>Berry is reportedly allergic to shellfish.

• Alex Kapranos

  <strong>Profession: </strong>Lead singer of Franz Ferdinand <strong>Allergy/Sensitivity: </strong><a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Alex+Kapranos" target="_hplink">Kapranos is allergic</a> to peanuts.

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Comments

[Mike Misenti]

03:05 PM on 12/02/2012

celiac disease isgetting worse im trying to get on shrak tank to see if i could get backing to open the first glutenfree resteraunt where all is glutenfree and parve kosher i work at wesleyanuniversity in the kosher kitchen doing the vegan entree so if u like the idea go to shark tank and register then vote for glutenfree-resteraunt. May everyone have a great holiday season and a new year better then last

[Eitan N]

11:52 AM on 06/03/2012

this makes me so much happier lol if any of them are kosher and gluten free cheak out my blog... /www.kosherglutenfreefood.com .... best one is Serena Williams! If she can be worlds #1 and GF and anyone can do anything!

[abbysheaffer]

11:13 AM on 04/10/2012

I feel such solidarity now!

[Tasterie]

12:17 PM on 02/24/2012

Food Allergies are no fun. They can be life threatening and a real pain if unlike celebrities you don't have personal assistants or chefs. Fortunately the world is continually innovating on food varieties to make them taste good and still be suitable for those with food allergies, and on getting those products easily in front of those who need them. Lots of good ideas out, and Tasterie.com is one among them. They deliver food varieties that are healthy, delicious and suitable for you given your food allergies on your doorstep.

[Brett Ashley Gerson]

12:40 PM on 02/03/2012

Zooey Deschanel is also allergic to soy.

[Lily Cook]

05:53 AM on 01/30/2012

Many thanks for the article, it was interesting and compelling. I discovered my way here through Google, I’ll return one more time :)

-skor || http://www.smartguy.se/skor

[Cheryl Correia]

01:09 AM on 01/29/2012

Newly dx peanut allergy out of no where for our little one. Alot to take in. Reading this makes you feel others are walking in your shoes. Usually these boards are full of awful comments about food allergies. Not even going to scroll down to read....so you deal with the challenges of managing a food allergy while trying to maintain a sense of normalcy and hit more challenges from people who dont care or want to. We pray everyday our family is surrounded by caring and understanding people. Thank the Lord our little he is happy and healthy.

[jaynes]

11:20 PM on 01/28/2012

heard on NPR that a wheat allergy is a symptom of alcoholism # rummy

[Darius Xym]

09:45 AM on 01/27/2012

People who have coeliac disease eat gluten free because they HAVE to, not because it's a trendy weight loss diet popular with celebs. Now many of these people clearly are coeliac which is fine but there are many more in the limelight who are not and promote GF as some fad diet (which it is).

In doing so they they are causing irreparable harm for those who have no choice in the matter. After all, what's it matter when GF is a fad if a little crumb slips into the food? What's it matter if the food preparer fries your food in the same oil as they use for breaded chicken? Genuine coeliacs do. People on their trendy diets wouldn't even notice.

I'm thinking of the likes of Jenny McCarthy who is ignorance personified and stands a good chance of destroying public understanding of coeliac disease in much the same way as she has for conditions like autism and vaccination.

[bigsands]

04:18 AM on 01/27/2012

It must be a hard life being a celebrity with a food allergy, having to look perfect all the time.

[Carl Caroli]

11:02 AM on 01/26/2012

Celiac disease is much more common and misdiagnosed than anyone is aware of. It's time we take a closer look at our food industry and make changes. They're killing us quietly.

[bonnie scott]

09:34 AM on 01/26/2012

How could you forget tennis player Novak Djokovic??!! After changing to a gluten free diet in late 2010 he won 3 grand slams in 2011 and 41 straight wins in 2011!!

[Darius Xym]

09:46 AM on 01/27/2012

Doesn't mean he's a coeliac.

[bonnie scott]

10:24 AM on 01/27/2012

Djokovic does have celiac disease. And, he just won an amazing 4 hr 5 setter with Andy Murray! You can add Novak to your list!
I have celiac disease also. Thanks for the article.

[xcashrulezx]

09:33 PM on 01/25/2012

Because of my sensitive immune system, I have atopic eczema(allergic eczema), hay fever, and asthma and trust me it is bad. I scratched so much I have scar tissue, my asthma is so severe I have racked up 6 figures in hospital bills in my 34 years of existence. I am allergic to 90 % of the foods at the supermarket. My diet is consist of lamb, whole grain rice, and lots of fruits and veggies (not all veggies). These celebs look fine to me, my skin is so bad it truly is an embarrassment when I am in public.

[Ralph Preta]

12:48 PM on 01/25/2012

i say this with every fiber of sincerity my constitution can muster.....who gives a crap..???
it had to be said

[John Hazelton Smith]

11:27 AM on 01/25/2012

It's amazing how all of those celebrities with celiac disease were diagnosed as adults...... It didn't kill them for the 21 years prior to becoming adults but then, boom!! It hits them.

[AMBH]

04:32 PM on 01/25/2012

It may not have killed them, but they may have been ill for years without knowing why they had belly cramps, vomiting, fatigue, weight issues and a host of other issues. My 5 year old was sick this way for four years before being diagnosed by a pediatric gastroenterologist and eliminating gluten. Twenty years ago, she would have been labeled with "failure to thrive". In the year since being diagnosed and changing her diet, she has grown and is finally on the growth/height charts.
I know that eating gluten-free is a fad for many people, but don't assume that everyone doing it has no real medical reason.

[cassiopal]

06:53 PM on 01/25/2012

That is true and also celiac disease last a lifetime it is not something you outgrow like some people do with some allergies! its really a autoimmune disease. Celiac disease has been known since the 1840s but no one realized that people with celiac disease need to stay of gluten to live a normal healthy life until the 1960s! It takes someone with celiac about 8 doctor visits before they are properly diagnosed! Its so sad that there are still miscomceptions and lack of awareness even in the medical field! A lot of celiacs falsely get diagnosed with things like irritable bowel syndrome