Coeliac Disease Defined

Coeliac disease is an intolerance to gluten, this protein is treated by your body as harmful, and causes your bowel to become irritated and inflamed. Gluten damages the lining of the small intestine, and can result in deficiencies of both minerals and nutrients, as they are absorbed through this part of the bowel. There is a hereditary basis to coeliac disease, and it is known to run in families.

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.

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.

Beans, rice, and some cereals are naturally gluten-free, however, some cross contamination may occur during processing. Meat, fish, and eggs are also gluten free, as are all fruit and vegetables.

There are gluten-free flours available to use as a substitute for wheat flour. Included in this category are rice flour potato flour, and maize flour. You can use a mixture of these flours instead of wheat flour for all your baking and cooking.

It is not advisable to substitute a single gluten-free flour in the place of wheat flour, you should use a blend of two or three different gluten-free flours instead. Some gluten-free flour, such as pea flour or buckwheat, have strong flavours which may not taste very nice in some recipes.