As of 2008, doctors diagnosed close to 100,000 Americans with celiac disease. Celiac disease is intolerance to gluten products found in numerous foods including breads and pastas. Celiac disease leads to an inflammation of the small intestine and, if a person does not alter his diet, can lead to cancer. It is important for anyone afflicted with celiac disease to understand what gluten is and how to avoid it.
Bad Foods
Wheat, oats, rye and barley contain gluten. This makes finding food that is safe to eat difficult but, with enough research, many choices are available. The first thing a person must do is examine the ingredients of every package of food they want to buy in a grocery store. The most popular bad foods include most breads, pastas and cereals. It is also important to understand what is in the foods you buy. Most potato chips have gluten in them but there are some that only have corn or potatoes with no added preservatives. Anything with wheat flour in it is bad but some gluten-free foods contain rice flour or tapioca flour. Check out the ingredients on all your favorite foods. If it includes wheat, oats, rye, barley or any ingredients that include the word gluten, put it back on the shelf.
Cross Contamination
Anyone who suffers from celiac disease cannot afford to eat food cross contaminated with gluten ingredients. Eating out at restaurants remains practically impossible for celiac sufferers. Very few restaurants are gluten-free. Even a restaurant that might sell gluten-free food, such as roast beef, might have a "community kitchen." A community kitchen is a kitchen where cooks prepare all food on the same counters, meaning a gluten-free food might be exposed to gluten, thereby contaminating it and making it unsafe. When checking labels at the store, some boxes will say the factory also produces gluten items. A bag of rice might say it is gluten-free but a box of the same brand will say it was produced in a factory with gluten items. The box of rice is in danger of cross contamination while the bag is safe.
Medication
While the gluten in medication remains in small doses, even the smallest amount of gluten will elicit a response in a celiac sufferer. The first thing a patient has to do is let her doctor know she has celiac before accepting a prescription. A patient who takes an allergy medicine or blood pressure medicine that contains gluten incurs as much bad as good with the medication. It is also important to note that generic medications do not have to contain the same ingredients as name brands. Know about the generic options before picking up your prescription from the pharmacist and demand the name brand if the generic is known to have gluten as an ingredient. The main ingredient to look for in medicine is "starch." If it says cornstarch, it is safe. If is only says "starch," call the manufacturer to make sure it is not wheat starch. Other key words to look for are dextrose, dextrates, dextrins and dextrans.
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