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This is my website.

With my favorite meals and recipes, which are gluten free of course, as I am a coeliac.

I like it when a plan comes together.


Coeliac Disease - An autoimmune disease, triggered by a reaction to gluten. Treated by following a lifelong gluten-free diet.
Magnum Icecream Image

Magnum
Handheld indulgence ice creams.
Just absolutely brilliant they are GF.
Now I can join in the fun.

Coeliac UK GF Ice Cream Listing 2015 here

Enjoy it, it´s free!

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      Please understand that this is free website
        - no service is offered or provided.

Marie quote

"Has this got a star rating because that is a 10 out of 10." Regarding the Chicken wrapped in Parma Ham meal


About Coeliac Disease

What is Coeliac Disease?

Coeliac disease (sometimes written celiac) is an autoimmune condition.
This is where the immune system – the body’s defence against infection – mistakenly attacks healthy tissue.

Coeliac disease isn't an allergy or an intolerance to gluten.

In cases of coeliac disease, the immune system mistakes substances found inside gluten as a threat to the body and attacks them. This damages the surface of the small bowel (intestines), disrupting the body’s ability to absorb nutrients from food. Exactly what causes the immune system to act in this way is still not entirely clear, although a combination of a person's genetic make-up and the environment appear to play a part.

Gluten is found in grain, most notably wheat, but also rye and barley, which are used in bread, cakes and pasta.
Some very sensitive people cannot eat oats or corn either as they can be contaminated by wheat.

Anyone can develop it at any age – from babies and children to the elderly

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It appears to be most common amongst people aged 40 to 50. I personally was diagnosed at age 51 but definitely have had symptoms since early childhood.

There are many more people out there who are unaware that they have coeliac disease and others who are being mis-diagnosed.

Prior to being diagnosed I had been a regular smoker for over 25 years, Once I stopped smoking a childhood complaint of mouth ulcers accelerated to the point which was causing extreme mouth ulcers.
On diagnosis of my Coeliac disease It was found that I had nutritional deficiencies, such as anaemia due to lack of iron and B vitamin deficiencies and especially very low folic acid levels.
Initially I used supplements, but now though diet change I focus on vegetables and salads such as Watercress

Further testing showed I had Osteopenia, because of the Coeliac Disease causing me problems absorbing calcium. To have good bone health and prevent future Osteoporosis, I needed to change my diet to increase my intake of calcium. I now try to eat foods rich in calcium including dairy products such as milk, cheese and fortified yoghurt's.

Once I had been medically diagnosed as a Coeliac and told that I had to be gluten free for life. Initially a shock, I soon found I didn't have to cut out nice food or alcohol, as with a little work and investigation I could get or make alternatives to most food stuff.

One of the biggest problems is Gluten has many applications.

  • It is used as a thickening agent.
  • Confectionery products use gluten to enable them to add artificial colouring and preservatives.
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  • Many cosmetic brands have this substance in their constitution.

You might not think twice about the pan you use to boil water, the fat your chips are cooked in, the plate you put your food on or even the shelf where you got your grocery, but for everyone with coeliac disease, these every day considerations can be a virtual mine field.
That's because gluten can show up just about anywhere in our food supply chain — even when it's not intended.
Growing, processing, preparation and consumption all provide lots of opportunity for gluten to hide out and wait to get you.
Even just a microscopic amount of gluten can cause a reaction and as gluten contamination is difficult to avoid in a daily diet. a maximum 20ppm "daily tolerable intake" has been set as a European standard and anything above is classed as containing gluten.

If you were wondering, that is equivalent to 20 milligrams of gluten per 1 kilogram of food.

Coeliac UK

Provide expert and independent information to help people manage their health and diet. They campaign for better access to diagnosis and care and better access to food in and out of the home. Researching the nature of the disease and potential cures which supports everyone with Coeliac Disease and DH. Operating as a Membership organisation and anyone with an interest in coeliac disease can join to receive their services or help with the campaign and research work.

 

Crossed Grain

Coeliac UK's registered trademark Cross Grain Image provides consumers with a quick reference point when faced with uncertainty on the gluten status of a product.

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Symptoms

Watch out for the many possible symptoms
My symptoms of Coeliac disease were:
I regularly had bloating pains or Vomiting! after a meal. I frequently suffered with Mouth Ulcers sometimes really bad.
Debilitating tiredness with enlarged lymph nodes during my teens.
I was very short - less than 5 foot when I left school.
I lost my hair from 18.
Leg Cramps especially at night

Blistering skin rash first around my waist and then on my feet
Constipation? - only going every once every 3 or 4 days, this was my normal but so very foul smelling !!! which was described by a family member as "makes your eyes bleed".
and lets not forget I was severely underweight and malnourished at 5ft 10in weighing 126 lb or on a good day 133 lb.
Not all Coeliacs are the same and we can have lots of differing symptoms - like tiredness, diarrhoea, pain, wind, headaches, depression, joint or bone pain.

see Gluten Dudes Excellent infographic
 
Celiac Disease Symptoms

Coeliac Disease Symptoms – Courtesy of Gluten Dude


Living with being gluten free

This means you are excluding gluten (responsible for the elasticity in dough and the structure or texture in in so many of our favourite foods) from your diet.

Glutens?

Each grain has a different set of storage proteins, or a different prolamine. For wheat, the prolamine group consists of gliadin, which is found in wheat gluten.
Other common grains have their own prolamines:

  • Barley contains Hordein.
  • Rye contains Secalin.
  • Corn contains Zein.
  • Oats contain Avenin.

The form of storage proteins in Corns and Oats are slightly different than the types found in the traditional gluten-containing grains like wheat, barley and rye.
Sometimes the oats or the corn grains must also be eliminated for the sufferer to be 100 percent symptom-free especially for a few months following initial Coeliac diagnosis


Foods I can have.

The foods below are naturally gluten-free.

When growth and production methods are correctly controlled they can be used or made into flour for use in gluten-free dishes:

  • Rice
  • Corn/maize
  • Polenta
  • Potato
  • Buckwheat
  • Soya
  • Millet
  • Quinoa
  • Pulses (beans, peas and lentils)

How many people suffer from Coeliac Disease?

It is estimated that 1 in 100 people in the UK are affected. There are many more people out there who are unaware that they have coeliac disease and others who are being mis-diagnosed, so that number could be much higher.