Dr. Tabatha BarberI teach women how to fast their way to a faith-filled, hormonally balanced, fabulous life!

Celiac Disease & Eating Disorder: My Story #shorts

27 Aug 2026 · 1 min

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0:44

In this personal YouTube short, Dr. Tabatha Barber recounts her experience at age 14 when she suffered from severe, undiagnosed celiac disease. She describes intense inflammation, dysbiosis, mast cell‑related allergic reactions, and a swollen, puffy belly that made her feel "fat" despite never being overweight. The physical discomfort and visible puffiness led to deep body shame, which spiraled into an eating disorder that persisted for several years. She emphasizes that the disorder was not driven by weight concerns but by the pain and betrayal she felt from a body suffering from an untreated gut condition and a wrong diet.

Chapters

When I was 14 years old, I had severe, undiagnosed celiac disease, severe inflammation and allergies. I was telling you about swelling back at that time. I had a swollen belly. I had dysbiosis I didn't even know about. I had undiagnosed celiac disease. I was never overweight, but I felt so puffy. And so I felt fat, right? And I was just so ashamed. And in hindsight, I'm like, that sweet girl, I wish I could go talk to her because it was just puffiness from this mast cell allergic reaction, undiagnosed celiac, the wrong diet. And I developed an eating disorder for several years because of that hatred towards how my body was betraying me. And it was nothing to do with fat. It was a sweet little girl that was eating the wrong diet in the wrong environment and so inflamed and undiagnosed and so sick.