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NW Iowa | My wife has celiac, I am gluten intolerant so we share common maladies. Celiac is an autoimmune disease and there is no pill or medicine that I am aware of that will cure it. Some people claim they take a pill prescribed by a doctor so they can eat food with gluten. These people do not have true acute celiac. We have become very good at reading labels and asking waitresses and chefs about gluten in the food we are served. Most of the time we get a blank stare. Needless to say our diet is very limited but we certainly aren’t going to dry up and blow away anytime soon. You have to get used to reading labels, it has to become a part of life. For example the food ingredients might be non gluten but the preservative in some contains gluten. One villain is monosodium glutamate. If the label does not have a gf inside of a circle it is not gluten free. If the label is labeled gluten free but it does not have the gf in a circle on the label it means the food has a small degree of gluten that qualifies it to be mostly gluten free but not totally. A truck that hauls oats but hauled wheat in the previous load and has a few kernels of wheat in the corners is not hauling a load of gluten free oats. Oats that were processed in a facility that handles wheat and barley cannot be classified as gluten free because of the dust from the nearby wheat and barley. A nice juicy roast or steak might not be gluten free if it has been injected with a tenderizer or moisturizer containing gluten. ALL gravies in restaurants contain gluten. French fries may or may not have gluten in or on them. Some people with celiac cannot eat eggs, my wife is one of them. My wife once popped a breath mint in her mouth and three minutes later she was itching and 20 minutes later ugly purple spots were showing up on her arms and she wasn’t feeling well. The breath mint contained gluten. Like others said there are some very good gluten free websites you can visit. I wish you the best of luck with your daughter. But on the good side once you get into the swing of things you will be pretty good at sniffing out whether the food contained gluten or not.
When you eat out forget about fast food. Almost nothing that is fast food is gluten free. Eating at a restaurant you might be stuck with just eating mashed potatoes with butter but make sure the mashed potatoes are raw potatoes with nothing added. If you have a salad dressing, vinegarette is the only safe salad dressing. On the rare occasion we do eat out we try to order baked salmon and pure veggies with nothing added. Once in awhile I will get into something in a restaurant that has gluten and in that case I am in the mens room before we make it out the door. Anyway, there is a lot of good information in today’s world that can help you. Celiac and gluten intolerance can be only small inconvenience Once you get the hang of it. And also, when you travel some simple food in a cooler can keep you healthy. I usually pack some gluten free sliced cheese and cheese can contain gluten so we have to be picky. I also pack some sliced ham or chicken, again we have to watch the label. When lunch time comes my sandwich is cheese and sliced meat rolled up and eaten with no bun. It’s not fancy but it keeps the ribs from caving in.
Edited by Iowajim 1/17/2024 23:26
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Celiacs Disease
