Diet for Celiac disease

If you have never had to think about what you eat before, this can seem impossible. Our normal western diet tends to be full of products made from wheat flour...bread, cakes, cookies, pizza...and they all contain gluten. How can anyone live without those staples?

'Can't you just give me a pill, or an operation, to make me better?' you may plead. But the gluten free diet is the only treatment for celiac disease.

We are used to being cured by medical treatments and finding out that we are in charge of curing ourselves can be frightening. What if we get it wrong? How do we know what is safe to eat?

The simple answer is that you won't, at first.

Your doctor may just give you two sheets of paper listing the foods that are and are not allowed on the diet for celiac disease. Your next step is probably to scour the internet for more information on this mysterious condition that has suddenly been bestowed upon you.

There are many websites that will offer help and assistance. Some will have been written by medics who have studied the condition and how it affects the small intestine. Others, like mine, are written by someone who has actually lived with the disease...in my case for nearly 50 years!

During that time I have learned:

• what I can eat safely; and what foods cause damage.
• how to prepare and cook foods so as not to contaminate them with gluten.
• I have experimented with gluten free grains, and found my favorite ways to cook them.

I have tried to educate waitresses and chefs who proudly present me with a wonderful salad, sprinkled with croutons, that make it impossible for me to eat it. Or who carefully cook my meal, in separate pans, only to ruin their efforts by pouring gravy over it!

I also still make the odd mistake, and spend more time that I want to in the bathroom, with my head over a bucket. Mainly this is because I have forgotten to read the label, only to find out my favorite products have been produced to a different recipe...one that puts them off my shopping list from now on.

I have discovered that people tend to react in one of two ways when faced with sticking to a diet for celiac disease for the rest of their lives. They either get terribly depressed and fret about what they have lost...the ability to eat whatever they like...or they look forward to a new and healthier eating plan that will make them feel better than they ever have done before.

Which choice will you make?

If it is the second one I am here to help. Let me introduce you to exciting new gluten free foods, help you avoid hidden gluten and share with you my favorite gluten free recipes, even if the only cooking you have done before is to open a tin and heat up the contents.

Gluten free food list

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