Well I'm a twenty-something student studying Pharmacy at Aston Uni. I follow a gluten free diet having had a positive blood test for Coeliac antibodies in December 2006.
I do not have an official diagnosis as I was incredibly ill before going gluten free and my GP decided it was too dangerous for me to eat gluten for 6 more weeks to have the biopsy (having already put me on a gluten free diet.) Part of me regrets this. But I was having fits every time I ate, along with all the typical symptoms, and I just could not put my body through any more of that.
However this means I am not entitled to gluten free foods on prescription. I have fought to be "treated as Coeliac" to no avail. This fact, combined with me being a student, means I try to find, or create, tasty gluten free recipes made from easy-to-find, everyday, cheap(ish!) ingredients.
This is my way of sharing these recipes, and other things I have learnt since being gluten free, with others who might benefit from it.
Coeliac Disease
Coeliac disease is not an allergy. It's an auto-immune condition, which means that the body produces antibodies that attack its own tissues. For people with coeliac disease this attack is triggered by gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. Some people with coeliac disease also react to oats. The symptoms can be avoided by avoiding foods containing these ingredients.
Symptoms of coeliac disease may range from mild to severe, and can include:
If you suffer from some of these symptoms it is important that you CONTINUE TO EAT A NORMAL GLUTEN-CONTAINING DIET until you have had blood tests and further tests if they are needed. If you begin a gluten free diet before diagnosis the results of these tests may be inaccurate as the damage caused by gluten heals with time on a gluten free diet.
For more information see the Coeliac UK website and speak to your GP. This blog is a way of me sharing what I have learnt and should not be used in place of proper medical advice.
I wanted to publicly say a big "thank you" to my lovely boyfriend and favourite techie Ian MacGillivray (aka Ina) who made this blog possible. He managed to do everything I asked him to make it look pretty! Thank goodness someone knows how to write code!
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