Celiac disease

[Loveduppenguin]

Asking here because i don’t where else to post, and traffic should be good here. I’ve been diagnosed as celiac this morning. I’m still waiting on my dietitian and gastroenterologist appointments to discuss things further. But just asking on here for any information on foods, tips etc etc ANYTHING at all to help me out on this transition. It would be so much appreciated ☺️ thank you

hi there
You are likely more at risk from low b12 and iron due to poor absorption, ideally you should have b12 jabs as you will be poorly absorbing from tablets. You are also more at risk from lactose intolerance.

It is an autoimmune disease so please feel free to correct people who say they also have an 'allergy or intolerance' to wheat. Totally different things!

@Loveduppenguin you can buy a gluten free version , tastes the same

I'm anaphylactic/allergic to wheat and have been W/GF for 4 years now, and even in that time the quality of GF products has dramatically improved.

Some easy switches are stock cubes (many are GF), soy sauce (use Tamari instead) and Worcester sauce (use Hendo's instead).

There are perfectly acceptable breads, everyone has different preferences though so you'll need to test them for yourself. My 2 favourite bready things are Warburtons pittas and Schar's frozen rolls (which turn into delicious crusty rolls when baked). White Rabbit do excellent pizzas, and for pasta stick to Italian brands - the Italians are great for GF. M&S have some delights (iced buns, teacakes, samosas and spring rolls).

Becky Excell's Yorkshire pudding recipe is a must, and her website and books are a great intro to GF cooking and baking.

Thank you all for your advice and tips. Lots to look into 🙌

A few subs that make a big difference:
Potato crust quiche
yogurt flatbreads with gf flour

a few things to be really careful of:
soy sauce has gluten in
gluten free doesn’t always mean safe for coeliac. Always say that you are coeliac rather than just asking for gf.

One thing to watch for, depening on yiur age, is that Coeliacs don't absorb vitamins if they have been eating gluten. Especially Vit D and Calcium which will affect bone density. I was diagnosed with osteoporosis via a Dexa scan after diagnosis early 60's.

Foodwise I like Tesco cereal and choc biscuits. M&S bread, quiche, fish cakes, cheesebakes etc. It is mainly sauces ans coatings to watch out for. My DH and I have same meals, I just have GF version or no sauce but GF gravy, Tesco is nice.

Sharwood and Patak curry sauces mainly GF, lovely with rice, which is usually gf, prawns or chicken. Good luck.

She has been on This morning a lot recently, perhaps try ITV player and see if you can find it. As another op said she does have a website.
Second that for the new GF.range in Aldi, although mostly midlands & south, so I can't say what it's like as my parents haven't brought my stash north of the border yet!

Hi @Loveduppenguin , look up the Coeliac Society of Ireland, www.coeliac.ie , for lots of advice, safe food lists and recipes.

The dunnes own brand rice krispies and corn flakes are gf. Better off baking than buying over expensive cakes, doves self raising flour good.

Thank you so much @Walksbymoonlight and @Carolenarua love this!!

Coconut aminos taste like soy sauce and are gluten free. French's Worcestershire sauce is GF also, it's a US brand but Amazon will ship it! My mom and sister are both celiac too, gfjules.com and King Arthur are their go to for flour and recipes.

It does become second nature, although eating out can be difficult. You can get a B12 spray for under the tongue as that is absorbed better. Cup half full - there are lots of foods that are naturally gluten free!

Just found out I can claim 20% of my food costs through tax! Anyone in Ireland know how this works? Do I just buy gf items separately and keep the receipts?

Vimto say they're gluten free, according to their website. https://www.vimto.co.uk/faqs/does-vimto-contain-gluten/

'There may be a very small amount of gluten which carries through from the barley malt during manufacturing. But, the level is so low that it wouldn’t be considered to contain gluten (20 parts per million). So, Original Vimto is classed as gluten-free, while our other Vimto drinks flavours are completely free of gluten'

Vimto syrup as sold in ethnic shops (particularly for Ramadan) in glass bottles - it's very popular in Saudi Arabia - is specifically stated to be totally gluten free. https://vimtoarabia.com/faqs/ . No artificial sweeteners, either, unless you pick the zero sugar version.

Knorr and Kallo make the best tasting stocks outside doing them yourself.

You might find that you've also been lactose intolerant due to the damage done to that part of your gut. Lactose free milk is great and the stronger & harder the cheese, the lower the lactose.

Most bread substitutes are an exercise in disappointment. Pasta is better, Garofaolo does reliable versions and the one with Teff is very similar to wholewheat pasta in texture, colour and flavour. And a potato is always gluten free - with some GF flour, you can do potato scones and nobody can tell the difference.

Buying Tamari (and checking the ingredients) in a big bottle online is far, far cheaper than buying coconut aminos or gluten free soy sauce.

Rice noodles are great for the 'pot noodle' type of snack - boiling water, stock cube, noodles, add your choice out of frozen peas, edamame, sweetcorn, diced tomato, boiled egg, peanut butter, chilli, prawns. You can have most types of miso (but always check) - but have to be very careful checking gochujang paste/korean food, as it often has wheat in it.

Because you can't just go to a shop and be guaranteed to have something safe, get some snacks in the cupboard and fridge and stock up on reliable staples.

Oh, and if anybody here hasn't noticed - you know that Heinz baked beans and sausages are no longer gluten free because they've switched to Richmond? Well, they clearly aren't being particularly careful with their non-sausage beans either, whatever they may claim - I had a full blown gluten reaction to plain and ordinary Heinz baked beans a few weeks ago (definitely those because I hadn't had anything else all day and the reaction was almost instant).

One thing to know is that just because something is gluten free, doesn't mean it's wheat free. Be careful to read all ingredients.

You have just changed my life!

I assumed I couldn’t have vimto (I like the fizzy vimto in a can), as it has barely in the ingredients.

Would you marry me?

This is good advice.

Some swaps are really easy - the GF pasta is fine. Breakfast cereal substitutes are fine. You will need to try a few different breads to find some that suit you (a lot of it is awful). Oats are often contaminated so make sure anything with oats in is GF.

Wherever possible try to go for things that are naturally GF, rather than substitutes, as a lot of them have loads of ultra processed ingredients.

Promise bread is ok , gf pasta is ok . Don’t only shop in the gf aisle , loads of foods and even ready meals are gf and the free from aisle is expensive . Don’t listen to people who say you can eat items that are ‘ may contain’ , it really is a last resort to do so . Plenty of restaurants have gf options but always check if you are having anything fried that it isn’t a shared fryer .

You need to be super careful eating out: for example, if the chips are labelled gf, but cooked in a frier with normal nuggets, they aren't gf.

My advice is always read labels and do this for items that you have been using for a while. I generally cook from scratch so lots of fish and chicken dishes. Watch out for stock cubes, soy sauce is not GF but there are GF versions, couscous is also not GF. All supermarkets have a GF aisle. I buy corn pasta and GF wraps (Old El Paso) are the best! The only food I don't eat is Chinese and pizzas, the GF versions are not to my taste. Also beware barley is not GF and it is in cereals and soft drinks.

When I cook for my family not every meal is GF I just keep my pasta/variation separate. I do use a lot of utensils to make sure there is no cross contamination.

When I eat out I'm very specific on what I want and often like to visual see that a meal is GF. If a waitress says is 'should be GF' challenge this. When my food comes out I re-check that it is GF. Lots of restaurants such as Cote mark your food with GF flags which I find reassuring. Good luck OP I've been a coeliac for 20+ years and you do adjust.

Someone upthread has already mentioned this but I generally have a banana and a GF biscuit on me so if I'm out and about I never get caught out on limited food options.

The most frustrating thing for me is that you can't just pop into somewhere for lunch/dinner. Need to check menus and speak to managers etc. a lot of places have allergy menus but it can still be confusing.

Read labels. Don’t eat gluten 👍

I’m actually devastated this morning, I LOVE food, it’s only hitting me now the impact this is going to have! I know I’ll feel better for it but I hate that it’s going to be the centre of all meals from here on 😭

What meals do you usually eat?

Honestly, it doesn’t have to be a hassle. I rarely think about it.

Even if you love carb heavy meals, lots of pasta and breads, you can swap them for GF alternatives. Bakery stuff and cakes, it’s all there to buy gf (pre made gluten free ones are hit and miss), but I know some people bake their own with Gf flour and almond flour and find them okay. I only ever eat cake when it’s my birthday - Tesco do a lovely gf “confetti” birthday cake that you’d never know was gf.

On a day to day basis, I only really ate meat, dairy, veg and nuts anyway which obviously, you don’t have to worry about. My husband loves cooking Indian and Mexican food - all fine and if I want wraps or tacos occasionally, he just gets me the gf versions.

It really doesn’t have to be a massive deal. Unless it’s processed food, it’s all GF anyway. When cooking from scratch, you just have to make sure stock cubes etc are Gf (although if you look, a hell of a lot of stock cubes are Gf).

Even cutting corners with jars of sauces, the majority are GF, you don’t have to pay over the odds in the Gf aisle for pasta sauce, pesto etc.

I only go to the gf section once in a blue moon if I want to eat shit like biscuits or if I fancy a sandwich.

The reality is, 99% of the time, I don’t have to think about coeliac as what I cook and eat is naturally gf anyway.