Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition which is triggered by an intolerance to gluten – a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. For those with coeliac disease, eating gluten can have life-long damaging effects on the bowel.
What are the symptoms of coeliac disease?
The most common symptom is diarrhoea, which is caused by the body being unable to absorb nutrients properly. Other symptoms include:
- Bloating and stomach pain
- Flatulence and noisy stomach
- Weight loss
- Tiredness
- Tingling and numbers in hands and feet
- Vomiting
- Swelling of hands, feet, arms and legs
How can coeliac disease be treated?
The only treatment for someone suffering from coeliac disease is to be put on a gluten-free diet.
How do I get diagnosed with coeliac disease?
It is very important that if you believe you might be suffering from Coeliac Disease or a non-coeliac gluten sensitivity that you visit a doctor/ GP for advice. It is not recommended that you stop eating gluten before you have been to see a health professional for your symptoms, as for the test for Coeliac Disease to be accurate you must keep eating gluten like normal.
You can check out Coeliac UK’s Is It Coeliac Disease page to discover if your symptoms match with those of coeliac disease.
Tips for going gluten-free?
If you have been properly diagnosed by a health professional as needing to follow a gluten-free diet, we have a few tips on how to get started. We’ve also got a handy guide to gluten-free baking, with some top tips from gluten-free blogger Michelle.
What kinds of gluten-free products are available?
Thankfully, there are lots of great gluten-free products out there including breads, cereals, cakes, sauces, pastries, flours, biscuits and cookies, pastas, desserts and lots more.
Looking for gluten-free recipes?
We’ve got plenty of ideas to get you started, with gluten-free recipes online and in both Gluten-Free Heaven and Free-From Heaven. Here are just a few:
Gluten-free, vegetarian & paleo Courgette, Spring Onion and Lime Fritters
Gluten-Free & lactose-free Strawberry and Natural Yogurt Clafoutis
Gluten, dairy, egg & meat free vegan Simple Hemp Noodles
You can also check out our Pinterest board where we collect useful gluten-free living resources.