Gluten free

My DH has to have a GF and a DF diet. The intolerances were picked up by the medics years ago and sticking to the diet has made a lot of difference since. We were told that these two are the most common intolerances/ allergies and often go together. It is always annoying though, if we have a day out, to go into a cafe for refreshments, only to find that butter has been added to GF sandwiches, cakes, and biscuits; that there is once again nothing there he can safely eat; and unless we bring our own food he is stuck with a milkless tea or black coffee.

Don't know if you can get it everywhere but there is a brand of GF bread called Promise. They do white, brown and mixed seed bread as well as bagels. It's the only bread I haven't needed to toast.

1summer

Allira

Babs03

cc

I've also got a history of Coeliac disease all down my mother's side of the family - two of my cousins children have had it since birth and were quite seriously ill until they picked up the problem - and they've both been on strict diets since birth (now in their 30's).
After a test in the 1990's I was told by my GP that I'm "intolerant" myself, though a more recent test for Coeliac disease was negative. However I go on avoiding gluten because it always upsets my stomach.

Tests for coeliac are tricky, our daughter had several that were negative before getting a positive. I think if you are having a gluten free diet your test will show up negative but if you eat foods with gluten in them for a short time it will show up positive. I believe they are looking for an autoimmune response. Or at least that’s what my daughter was told once.

Yes, this is correct.

lsummer's DGS will have to eat gluten products for a few weeks before being tested, unfortunately.

Yes @Allira, that’s a problem as when they test for coeliac he will have to be in hospital as the last time he had gluten and oats (porridge for the first time and toast) at 9 months he had an anaphylactic reaction. The consultant says this could have been the oats. But they want him in hospital when they introduce gluten before a coeliac test.

Good. At least he will be carefully medically supervised.

Oats contain Avenin which can cause a reaction in people who are coeliac.

Milena

Don't know if you can get it everywhere but there is a brand of GF bread called Promise. They do white, brown and mixed seed bread as well as bagels. It's the only bread I haven't needed to toast.

M&S GF Tiger loaf was ok but I see it's temporarily unavailable.
Not cheap!

Rosies21

I'm coeliac too, and it drives me bonkers that manufacturers try to combine all dietary requirements/preferences in one product. I think it is probably cost driven but no fun when you have a medical condition being lumped together. I guess people who need (eg) lactose free, dairy free feel the same about being joined up with coeliac? Cutting out more from their diets than is medically necessary.

So you have no sympathy for the growing recognition of groups who have more than only one type of ingredient they have to avoid in order to stay well?

There are some for whom it is not one single identifiable area that makes them ill it is a group which they need to avoid. As this includes the group that contain gluten (although not because of the gluten) it's a simple place to start. Selling to a greater group will almost certainly keep the price down for everyone.

I have some coeliac friends who most certainly don't share the attitude shown here but rather sympathise over the multiple things I have to exclude. I'm really suprised to read this thread. No one wants to have these problems, but I would have thought it more sensible to see that it might be an area where we can all help one another.

Maggieanne

If it's of interest to some of you, Dove Farm now have a section on their web-site devoted to gluten-free with recipes and they look good.

Thanks MaggieAnne I'll take a look.
DD is also intolerant of milk but can eat butter and very hard cheese such as Parmigiano.

No thanks. 😊

No thanks politicsnerd.

Allira

I was looking for a GF ready meal for a visiting DD who needed to eat in a rush and go out - found just two in Tesco. In the event she didn't have time to eat either so they're still in the freezer.

It seems to be a case of adding time on to your shopping excursion and reading every label!

Some people are coeliac and lactose intolerant (she is) but are not vegan.
Eating out did become better but now pubs and restaurants seem to be catering more for vegans, the choice has become more limited again.

I haven't found vegan dishes on a menu limit my choices. It's the first place I look for puddings/desserts as they automatically won't have milk and can be gluten free simply because the original recipe was. They often have fruits I can't eat but there is usually something tempting.

I've seen anything from 85% to 95% of Japanese have been found to be lactose intolerant but they seem to survive. Intolerances are not exact and therefore affect different people differently. I would have a scraping of butter when I am out if nothing else is available but don't have it at home and cannot eat the cheeses that only have a "trace" amount of lactose but some people can. It's just part of life but it's certainly better to stay well!

pooohbear2811

One of my allergies is apple. The amount of things that has apple in is horrendous. Even mulligatawny soup has apple puree in.

Poohbear 2811
Is it the apple or the apple yeast in the skin?
A relative used to get very high eating apples until they worked out that it was just the skin

My daughter is lactose intolerant (diagnosed at 11 months), but we were advised to allow some access so that she would not become allergic. We found that by removing milk, cream, sausages, and cows milk cheese, we were OK, but the odd small ice cream or slice of pizza would be OK if it was only very occasionally. We used to get ewes milk and cheese.
My cousin was obsessively scrupulous with her son and he developed allergic reaction. It does seem to be modern thinking with nut allergies that a very low exposure is a good idea, but not sure I would want to risk it, would you?

Coeliac is also a failure to digest, so an intolerance not an allergy, but I might think that total abstinence might also develop an allergy?

Lots and lots now. My local Tesco Extra has whole aisle of FreeFrom, plus a range of not-milk, not-butter and non-cheese.

But not a huge range of sugar free products

FranP

My daughter is lactose intolerant (diagnosed at 11 months), but we were advised to allow some access so that she would not become allergic. We found that by removing milk, cream, sausages, and cows milk cheese, we were OK, but the odd small ice cream or slice of pizza would be OK if it was only very occasionally. We used to get ewes milk and cheese.
My cousin was obsessively scrupulous with her son and he developed allergic reaction. It does seem to be modern thinking with nut allergies that a very low exposure is a good idea, but not sure I would want to risk it, would you?

Coeliac is also a failure to digest, so an intolerance not an allergy, but I might think that total abstinence might also develop an allergy?

This sounds very difficult and possibly dangerous to me. I think lactose is a much bigger problem than we are led to believe. As the "ose" tells us this is a sugar and we have years of evidence now which explain the inability to digest these short-chain carbohydrates. Human beings seem to have many problems caused by all types of sugars!

Non-celiac gluten sensitivity has been shown in those with IBS. Why do some (not all by any means) Celiacs put their issues so much above those of others?

Just a word about apples. They are often used as both a bulking agent and seen as a "better" sweetener than sugar. They are not "better" for those who have been shown to respond to a low FODMAP diet.

I've seen anything from 85% to 95% of Japanese have been found to be lactose intolerant but they seem to survive.

Yes, I'd heard that.
A friend's English DD refused any dairy products from when she was weaned from breast milk. She's a healthy adult with her own children now.

DD cannot tolerate milk or milk products - apart from butter, strangely.

My GP years ago told me that patients who were allergic to dairy may be able to tolerate Normandy butter. Something to do with the processing, but I don’t know if that still applies.

Allira

^I've seen anything from 85% to 95% of Japanese have been found to be lactose intolerant but they seem to survive.^

Yes, I'd heard that.
A friend's English DD refused any dairy products from when she was weaned from breast milk. She's a healthy adult with her own children now.

DD cannot tolerate milk or milk products - apart from butter, strangely.

Butter's very low in lactose Allira. It's nothing if not complicated and with some things you can be given a portion which may be okay but the only way to find out is to work through all the options having started with an elimination diet. Best done with a dietician but, of course, there aren't enough!

DD has researched extensively and knows now what she can and can't eat, thankfully.
There's always a hiccup though, as eating out can sometimes be tricky.

Squiffy

My GP years ago told me that patients who were allergic to dairy may be able to tolerate Normandy butter. Something to do with the processing, but I don’t know if that still applies.

Interesting!
It's not so readily available now, unfortunately.

I did buy Olive oil, plant based spreads etc for her but they're still languishing unopened in the fridge.

Allira

DD has researched extensively and knows now what she can and can't eat, thankfully.
There's always a hiccup though, as eating out can sometimes be tricky.

I think that's the only way Allira but it's worth it to feel mainly well. My biggest problem is reading (and understanding) endless ingredients lists! I have regular places were I know I can find something to eat - I was suprised to find that generally Italian restaurants are very good.

I take milk with me for coffee. I have tried oat milk but don't really trust it because some places use an additive to make it froth. My daughter just drink hers black. She has all the same issues that I do. Both GC's have lactose problems and one has gluten issues too. However, they are teenagers so it's more of a watch not decide time.

We went to a Wetherspoons in Devon once, no written menus but they were on a TV screen so you had to crane your neck to try to find out the GF choices. The food was equally dreadful when it came but it was gluten free.
I'm sure not all are the same.

The local Italian which has a good reputation was very honest and said they couldn't guarantee the food would be GF as they made their pizza bases and flour could fly around and contaminate other food and they only had one kitchen.

That is were it really is so much more difficult for celiacs. When I looks for "gluten-free" it's because I can't digest wheat. A glancing blow from gluten might well mean I'll be 'less well' but it is very unlikely to kill me.

However, the fermentable sugars layer so still have to be watched. I've been to Italian restaurants where they have told me what the have in, I've then said which if those I can eat and they have made a sauce from scratch! That kindness definitely deserves recognition like the honesty of your guys. More cafes/restaurants are putting "gluten-free ingredients" on the menu with a note to say they cannot guarantee transmission. That will make it much more difficult for celiacs!

"no transmission" rather than "transmission".