A gluten free diet is a way of life for the person with Coealiac disease, a digestive disorder due to severe gluten sensitivity.
What is gluten? Gluten is a protein found in grains including wheat, rye, oats, triticale and barley. Patients with Coeliac disease are sensitive to gluten which damages the lining of the small bowel. This damage affects the absorption of food and can lead to disorders including malnutrition, osteoporosis and infertility. There is no cure for Coeliac disease, but it can be managed by lifelong adherence to strict gluten free diet. This allows the microscopic villi of the small intestine to recover and assist in normal absorption of nutrients.
Obvious foods that contain gluten include bread, cakes and pasta. However, there is also a whole range of ingredients within prepared and commercial foods that can come from a gluten source. It is essential that a person with coeliac disease become ‘ingredient aware’.
Food Labeling Caution: All packaged foods have ingredient labels printed on the box, package or bottle. There are two types of food suitable for those requiring a gluten free diet:
1. Foods labeled “gluten free”
2. Foods made for the general market that are gluten free by ingredients
Gluten Free Alternatives: The challenge for those diagnosed with Coeliac disease is to find substituent for the food the food they can no longer include in their diet. A person with Coeliac disease is still to have a nutritious, balanced diet consisting of a wide range of foods.
Some gluten free cereal products include: Amaranth, Buckwheat, Chestnut flour, Lentil flour, Millet meal, Coconut flour, Cornflour (from maize), Potato flour, Psyllium, Rice flour, Soy flour, Taco shells, Tapioca, Rice (any kind), Rice bran, etc.
Who Else Benefits From a Gluten Free Diet? According to the recent medical literature, people with the following conditions may also benefit considerably from a gluten free diet:
· Rheumatoid arthritis
· Multiple sclerosis
· Parkinson’s disease
· Neuromyelitis
· Peripheral neuropathies
· Seizures
· Autism
· Ataxia
· Down’s syndrome
· Congestive problems
· Osteoprosis
· Type 2 and type 1 diabetes
· Anemia