Coeliac Disease

To put it simply, if you have coeliac disease, your body treats gluten as harmful, which will lead to inflammation and irritation of the bowel. The lining of the small intestine becomes damaged and, as many nutrients are absorbed in this way, this can lead to deficiencies in minerals and other nutrients. Coeliac disease can affect people of all ages, and often runs in families.

Managing coeliac disease involves the complete avoidance of gluten in all its forms. This means avoiding gluten for life which may be difficult. You will need to adapt all meals, and be very careful when going out for meals in restaurants.

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.

Gluten is also found in processed foods where wheat flour is used as a binder, filler or processing aid. Wheat starch is processed to remove the protein, but still contains some traces of gluten as it is not possible to remove all protein. When flour is used as a processing aid, or as part of another compound, it does not have to be declared on the label. If you are unsure, check with the manufacturer or with your local coeliac society.

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.