Anyone have experience of Coeliac disease/Gluten sensitivity?

[poorlybabe]

Hi, Does anyone have a child with Coeliac disease or Gluten sensitivity? I'm trying to find out a bit more about testing for Coeliac... is there a test for this? whats involved? thanks.

Hi poorlybabe

Sorry no personal experience .. but I do know about gluten-free diets if you need advice

I know there are posters here with experience

this thread may help as a start

There is a blood test. If that is positive they go on to another test where they take a tissue sample, not sure of exact procedure.

twiglett, thanks, good thread. I have had dd on gluten free diet lately and that is helping her a lot... its just so restrictive especially as trying to extend her range of foods... Am mainly feeding her homemade stuff and the odd jar, and gluten free products from tescos. I'm also gluten free at the mo as still bf'ing... any interesting recipes would be very much appreciated. Are you on a gluten free diet too?

I'm not gluten-free but did it for DH for a few years

Top tips

read every single label .. the weirdest things have gluten in them

Buy Xanthan Gum (you can get it from Asda I believe but I got mine from barbara's kitchen here .. with it you can bake any kind of cake, biscuit, pizza base with the non-gluten flours .. without it, baking isn't worth it

If you call barbara to order make sure you have some time to spare .. she's very into her subject and can help guide you .. but can also talk the hind leg off a donkey

a gluten-free diet for a child can be very healthy as you can focus more on fresh produce (you'll find it difficult to buy too many processed foods)

Sainsbury's free from range are ok (their shortbread with jammy biscuits are very yummy )

Lloyd grossman pasta sauces are great .. and gluten-free

rice / corn pasta ain't too bad as long as you cook it right

HTH

thanks twiglett. I'm getting a bit confused about what has gluten in... i know to avoid wheat. someone told me i can give oats, but i dont think that is safe either... is gluten in all cereals?

you'll be safe with fruits, salads and veg, rice, maize, sweetcorn, nuts, potatoes, red meat, chicken, fish, eggs and dairy products.

this might help

it will become 2nd nature after a while

oats can contain small traces of gluten .. it depends on your child's sensitivities over whether they can tolerate it

we've been refered to the hsopital so hopefully they will test dd and at least i know what i'm dealing with. thanks for the links and advise twiglett.

ds1 is gluten free- not for coeliac though- he's autistic. There are some good books out there with lots of recipes. The ones written for autism are actually quite good if you are trying to cater for a child as the recipes are child friendly (they are also casein free but I just use normal milk rather than soya). Marilyn LeBreton has written a collection of recipes- published by Jessica Kingsley. There's always barbara bread as well (look up barbara's kitchen). She's an institution.

My brother has ceoliac disease, I think to have the test your child will need tobe eating gluten. there is a coeliac society and they provide a book which lists all the products that are gluten free, down to individual supermarkets and there products and provides updates as they change.

poorlybabe, sorry to hear about your dd. unfortunately if the blood test indicates that she could have CD then she will have to be eating gluten for the 2nd test (the tissue sample) so they can see if the gluten proteins are damaging her gut tissue, but not sure how long before the test she has to have gluten for. there is some controversy over oats, some people can't tolerate them at all, i imagine the coeliac society have all the latest advice. x

if a test is conclusive get a breadmaker or ask for one as a present, it's great to be able to have easy gf bread and pizza bases.

a good cookbook is the everyday wheat and gluten-free cookbook, good for birthday cakes especially.

mesa sunrise is a nice gf cereal. one thing we sometimes have for breakfast is "rice and almond pudding". small bowl of milk + 1 tbsp ground rice + 1tbsp ground almonds, cooked up and yummy.

you can use annabel karmel recipes for chicken in cornflakes or in sesame to make your own chicken nuggets or fish fingers. great for the freezer.

there are a lot more gf products around than a few years ago, so life is getting easier. good luck!

oops forgot to say 0.5 tsp honey or sugar in pudding!

me again! ikea have a fab gluten-free chocolate dime tart yum yum + gf kids meal if you happen to be there