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Original poster

Would a coeliac 'cheat'?

28 replies

Ninjawannabee · 26/09/2018 23:28

Would a coeliac eat a big plateful of gnocchi, knowing they contain gluten, casually because 'I sometimes cheat'?

I had lunch with someone who did just this. I cooked the gnocchi, after telling them what I was cooking and offering them some. After one forkful they asked if it contained gluten as they're gluten free. I confirmed it did, jumped up horrified to put a potato in the microwave for them instead (rather thrown together at the last minute lunch) and they said not to bother as they often cheat. They shouldn't really because they're coeliac, but they sometimes do.

This isn't someone who is in any way gluten intolerant is it? I don't know any coeliacs except a child at nursery who I don't know very well, but I know one adult who is gluten intolerant and he is on the loo for days if he has a speck of gluten.

Fair enjoy to avoid gluten if you want, but why use the word coeliac? Or am I totally wrong and my friend is a massive drama llama?

OP posts:
AGHHHH · 26/09/2018 23:35

Different severities. They may not have severe reactions, or they may not react every time. Or they think your gnocchi is worth a bout of screaming diarrhea and stomach cramps. Smile

Elphame · 26/09/2018 23:35

My aunt has been diagnosed coeliac over 30 years ago and does very very occasionally cheat. She does pay for it though afterwards.

allthelittleangelsriseupriseup · 26/09/2018 23:37

Yes, some celiacs cheat, just like some people with type two diabetes stuff themselves with chocolate, etc, etc.
Some celiacs have "silent" disease, where they get no symptoms, but the damage is still done. It's stupid, but some people will cheat if they think they can get away with it.
By the way, potato gnocchi are one of the easiest things to make gluten free, I use Giorgio Locatelli's recipe, but substitute Doves Farm gluten free flour.

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NotUmbongoUnchained · 26/09/2018 23:38

My friend will eat cheeseburgers with the bun when she’s drunk and will pay dearly for it but she says it’s worth it.

I’m lactose intolerant but will occasionally binge on cheese if I don’t have to be anywhere for a few days Grin

SparklingUnicorn · 26/09/2018 23:40

Coeliacs isn’t the same as gluten intolerance, it’s actually an autoimmune disease.

However the only treatment for coeliacs in a gluten free diet as eating gluten damages a coeliacs small intestine and this causes malabsorption - they aren’t able to properly absorb nutrients from any food.

Some people with coeliacs are asymptomatic - they don’t experience symptoms but they still have coeliacs and therefore need to be eating a gluten free diet.

In regards to your friend - she may have asymptomatic coeliacs and fell she can ‘cheat’ however in the long term this will have serious consequences to her health.

But if she’s using the word coeliacs and she doesn’t actually have it she’s being ridiculous and it’s unfair to actual sufferers for her to being saying she has it.

(Disclaimer - I’m not a medical expert, but I’m undergoing testing for coeliacs myself)

CrispbuttyNo1 · 26/09/2018 23:41

I’m a chef and yes people cheat. Some say it’s worth the price of the agony for eating something they really love occasionally. There are different levels of severity though.

Chocolatecoffeeaddict · 26/09/2018 23:44

Family member ate gluten by accident and ended up in hospital for 2 nights and had stomach pumped so he is very careful.

kiabella · 26/09/2018 23:45

I have known some that do (and pay for it the next day)

My mum is coeliac and can’t fathom why anybody would as it makes her feel so rotten.

My dietician colleague recently told me that coeliacs that cheat are almost certain to develop bowel cancer in later life.

user789653241 · 26/09/2018 23:47

There's degree of severity I think. My father is dairy intolerant. But he occasionally cheat. He has consequences though.

My ds has multiple allergies. Severity depends. Some are fatal, some are less severe. He is allergic to grass pollen, but he sometimes couldn't resist playing in the field and suffer consequences.

IDoLoveToBeBesideTheSeaside · 26/09/2018 23:56

That really pisses me off. I have non-coeliac gluten intolerance and I poo continually for days if I eat the wrong thing. It only happens when '"friends" or restaurants lie to me. My doctors helped me form a list of foods I should avoid, and when I don't eat them I can live a normal life.
"cheaters" make my life so much harder.

FissionChips · 27/09/2018 00:03

Baby Bell original cheeses are lactose free NotUmbongoUnchained (and anyone else lactose intolerant and likes cheese).

curlylocks101 · 27/09/2018 00:08

I’m a coeliac and no, I wouldn’t cheat for anything. The reaction is too bad and there are longer term consequences too. Those who cheat make it harder for the rest of us to be taken seriously too.

OneTitWonder · 27/09/2018 00:13

My husband has coeliac disease and if he ‘cheated’ he would be violently ill (vomitting like a scene from The Exorcist). However, I believe that is because he manages his diet so strictly that any trace of gluten sends his body into a severe reaction. Somone who was constantly eating gluten wouldn’t react that badly, but long term they would be setting theselves up for bowel cancer which is incredibly silly.

PawneeParksDept · 27/09/2018 00:25

I knew a Coeliac who admitted she would eat food that she knew would make her ill because she felt deprived.

ittakes2 · 27/09/2018 05:05

I am a medically diagnosed ceoliac and have been for almost 30 years. But I am one of something called a silent coeliac...I could eat gluten and not have any symptoms. If anything, gluten makes me constipated. My Dr said they had to rewrite the coeliac diagnosis when they discovered gluten makes some people constipated instead of having to go to the toilet.
But, I still avoid gluten because as others said eating it has long-term repercussions. With the exception of eating gluten in soya sauce at Chinese restaurants! I only know I have no symptoms from eating it as sometimes people have accidentally given me food with gluten in it - like bakeries telling me something is gluten-free and then later I have discovered it is not. But I really should be stricter and avoid it all together.

Idontbelieveinthemoon · 27/09/2018 05:15

I know a woman who has coeliac's and every so often has treats she knows she'll pay for later. I think it's one of those things where it's worth the pain to enjoy something she loves.

Broken11Girl · 27/09/2018 05:50

Yes, some people cheat. As pp said they may not get symptoms, or decide to suffer them occasionally.
It's no more or less stupid than smoking, drinking excessively or living on nuggets, burgers and chips...or gambling, or staying up all night, or...anything bad for us. Life is very boring without the odd vice.
Having an intolerance or disease doesn't mean someone is an angel.
I don't agree with the 'makes it harder for others' thing at all. Some people on here would complain about having to cater for the OPs friend, and huffed that they're probably not really coeliac, just following a trend. Yet the friend ate the gnocchi, probably to be polite and that's also wrong.
We all get to decide what goes into our bodies, and others need to not judge.

shouldwestayorshouldwego · 27/09/2018 05:53

I know coeliacs who can eat gluten without any side effects. I think it is probably harder having silent coeliacs than it is for me because I am non- coeliac gluten intolerant but I get severe symptoms straight away. The closest I get to cheating is eating chips (very occasionally) without checking if the oil has been used to cook gluten. I would usually be able to tell as soon as I put it in my mouth if something contains gluten - mine is more like an allergy so it itches, and so wouldn't eat it. It does annoy me when people think that because I don't have coeliacs it isn't as serious or I wouldn't notice a bit of gluten. Though the people who annoy me the most are people who for whatever reason can't eat gluten but cheat when they feel like it.

Silvercatowner · 27/09/2018 06:07

Yeah last June I ate half an M&S chocolate biscuit. You know the ones with more chocolate than biscuit? I was unwell the next day - not violently, but not well. Almost worth it.

51Pegasusb · 27/09/2018 06:44

My coeliac daughter would be violently ill within an hour of eating gluten, my coeliac husband probably would have the runs the next day but not really be ill. So different people different reactions.
My daughter has not cheated so far we've had accidents but she was so ill she said it is so not worth it.

megletthesecond · 27/09/2018 06:47

I knew a colleague who cheated once in a while.
Whereas I'm just gluten intolerant and I can't cheat or I'll pay for it.

megletthesecond · 27/09/2018 06:48

FWIW Waitrose sell gluten free gnocchi. It's a perfectly good swap.

DreamingofSunshine · 27/09/2018 06:50

Yes, I know a coeliac who eats gluten out of choice as it tastes so good. He suffers terribly after, and he has a very troubled relationship with food so I wonder if that has a part to play?

Cousin's wife is also coeliac and would never knowingly eat gluten.

Believeitornot · 27/09/2018 06:53

It’s not cheating? It’s just knowingly eating food that you’re allergic to.

The silent coeliac- how did you get diagnosed? I’m wondering about myself and dd.

AtlasQueen · 27/09/2018 07:00

Do you suspect she's lying about being coeliac OP?