Coeliac but struggling to stay completely gluten free

Hi Anne,

When you eat gluten, you are playing a dangerous game. Even if you have no outward symptoms, your gut is still being damaged and this in turn could cause serious illness, including cancer. Coeliac disease is an auto immune disease, and you are more likely to develop another auto immune disease if you already have one. My advice is, don’t deliberately cheat, you need your gut to heal and stay healed otherwise your body won’t absorb nutrients from your food and you will eventually become very ill.

As for accidentally being glutened, when you go out, always ask in restaurants etc., about gluten free options, and check if the food is cooked in the same oils for example, that gluten food has been cooked in. (As cross contamination is something you need to be aware of).  Most places these days, cater for a gluten free diet. When shopping read through the ingredients of products and also before eating, check there’s no gluten in the ingredients.  Don’t use wooden chopping boards or wooden spoons etc.  As they are porous and if gluten has previously been prepared on the surface it can transfer on to your gluten free foods.  I would suggest joining Coeliac UK, they have lots of suggestions and helpful advice to stay gluten free. 

If it’s a case of feeling you’re missing out on certain things you used to eat before your diagnosis, we have to accept that certain things are just not suitable any more.  It does get easier in time, and you’ll find you get inventive and you’ll discover other foods that you may not have even tried before.  I hope this helps.

I agree with Fiona, it is not a good idea to eat gluten if you have been diagnosed as having coeliac disease, even if there are no obvious symptoms.  Eating out is always a bit of a minefield if the restaurant does not specifically list gluten-free food.  I second the idea of joining Coeliac UK.  They have an app available for Android and possibly iPhones which provides information on recommended restaurants for your current location and also allows access to a food directory.