Not Just Fussy Eaters!

For many of us, it has become common to go out to eat with friends or family and encounter food intolerances or awkward coeliacs who put everyone on edge by asking twenty questions about how the food is prepared! (Believe me, having to be this particular isn't something that Coeliacs' enjoy!)

Coeliacs are unable to eat any foods containing a protein called gluten, which is found in wheat, rye and barley. For coeliacs, avoiding gluten isn't just a health fad. If coeliacs consume even traces of gluten they can experience a wide range of discomforting symptoms which may include nausea, cramps, bloating, anaemia, vomiting or an irritating skin rash.

I find this TedEd video provides a concise explanation:

So far I have focused on the negatives on the condition. However, Coeliacs are able to eat a wide variety of foods. Firstly, all fruits and vegetables are naturally gluten-free, as are dairy products, meat, fish, eggs etc. The difficulty lies mainly with carbohydrates. Rice is gluten-free. Most coeliacs are able to eat oats, although many tend to stick to 'gluten-free' oats as regular oats can be cross-contaminated, for example if they are processed in a factory along with wheat products.

There are also hundreds of other grains that can be made into flour and used in gluten-free baking for breads, biscuits etc, including rice flour, tapioca flour, corn flour, almond flour or coconut flour. However, as these grains are grown in smaller quantities they are often expensive. They are available in health-food shops and therefore of high quality and organic.