So you’ve just been diagnosed with Coeliac Disease…

If you’re reading this then chances are that you have just been or are in the process of being diagnosed with coeliac disease. At this stage of the process you may be feeling overwhelmed, daunted, scared, or even angry at the major changes that are looming over you. All of this is normal. What is temporary is the ailments that have led to you being investigated for coeliac disease will, in time, get better once you make those changes - please note it is important not to remove gluten from your diet or make any changes before your doctors have fully confirmed diagnosis as it is an important part of the process to have gluten in your system (for now).

So what next?

After diagnosis is when you remove gluten from your diet. Sound simple eh? But if you’ve started clearing out your cupboards you will be realising just how insidious that darn gluten stuff is. It is everywhere. Pasta, chocolate, fruit juices, crisps, chips, condiments, spices I’ve even seen it added to vanilla ice cream as a single ingredient despite having no clear reason as to why ice cream needs the properties gluten offers - more on that another time. If you’re like me then those cupboards might seem mighty empty now and you’re wondering what the heck you’re going to have for dinner and where do you even begin to replace those now off limit ingredients that you are used to using? The good news is that once you get used to reading labels it becomes really easy to spot which items and brands are safe for coeliacs. Here in the EU/UK we have labelling laws that ingredients containing the top 14 allergens must be highlighted and if there is a chance of contamination during the manufacturing processes there must be a May Contain warning even if the allergens are not actually present in the product.

Food.gov states that “The 14 allergens are: celery, cereals containing gluten (such as wheat, rye, barley, and oats), crustaceans (such as prawns, crabs and lobsters), eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs (such as mussels and oysters), mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites (if the sulphur dioxide and sulphites are at a concentration of more than ten parts per million) and tree nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts).

This also applies to additives, processing aids and any other substances which are present in the final product.” Of course there are other things people can be allergic to but these are the only ones legally required to be declared.

When it comes to clearing out your cupboards you need to take a ruthless approach. See that jar of jam that says it’s gluten free? Does it have crumbs in it? Did someone double dip their knife when they last made toast? Cross contact will be your main enemy when it comes to keeping yourself safe from gluten so if you start taking a hard line early then it’s easier going forward. Open containers of butter, jam, honey, table sauces, cheese (all items which can naturally be gluten free) CHUCK THEM OUT. I don’t want to overwhelm, you with the why but at its most simple A single crumb of bread can cause coeliac damage, even if you don’t notice the damage through experienced illness, it is happening internally; this is called Asymptomatic Coeliac or Silent Coeliac.

Are you overwhelmed?

I can completely understand but don't worry, it gets easier. For now I’ll just leave you with this. Living with coeliac is more than just a diet or a lifestyle and once your body heals you will find a community ready to help you with your next steps. Please just relax, heal, and go clear out those cupboards!