Coeliac Disease Defined

by: JohnFrancis
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Coeliac disease is very simple to explain, is when your body reacts to gluten, this leads to both irritation and inflammation of your bowel. The majority of nutrients are absorbed through the lining in your small intestine, gluten damages this lining, which leads to mineral and nutrient deficiencies. Coeliac disease is often hereditary.

The only way to manage coeliac disease at this time is by avoiding gluten in all forms. This can be difficult, as the only real option is to avoid gluten for life. All meals will need to be adapted, an evening with friends and in restaurants will be.

When you are first diagnosed with coeliac disease, you should go to see a dietician or nutritionist, who will work out a diet plan for you. Although it will be difficult to stick to this diet plan, and you will need encouragement, it is imperative that you follow it stringently.

There are four grains, wheat, barley, rye, oats, that contain gluten. These four grains are the most popular flours used in baking, which means that you will not be able to eat the majority of baked goods. However there are gluten-free options becoming more readily available.

Processed foods often use wheat flour as a binder or filler which means there is gluten present in these products. I have heard some people say that wheat starch is gluten-free as the protein is processed out of it, however it is not possible to remove it all and there are often traces left. Processed foods do not have to declare wheatflour as an ingredient when it is used in this way, so you should check with the manufacturer if you are unsure about its gluten-free status.

There are many foods and food products that are naturally gluten-free. Meat, fish, eggs, cheese, milk, fruit and vegetables are all in this category. Rice, beans and some cereals are also gluten-free, although cross contamination may occur during processing.

There are also many types of gluten-free flour on the market. These include rice flour, potato flour, buckwheat, and maize flour. A blend of these can be used as a substitute for ordinary flour in whatever recipe you were using.

However, most of your recipes will not work if you substitute only one type of gluten-free flour for wheat flour. It is always best to use a blend of several different gluten-free flours. Many of the gluten-free options have a very distinctive flavour which may not work well in all recipes.

About the Author

If you suffer from Coeliac Disease, or think you might, come and join our community at celiac survivor.com. We are a new social networking site, which has lots of information about how to live with Celiac Disease.  

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