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Celiac disease (or celiac disease) is an intolerance to the protein of certain cereals – gluten. As a result of this disease, the intestinal villi are damaged by gluten, and as a consequence – the absorption of nutrients is disturbed and the patient becomes emaciated. Therefore, people diagnosed with celiac disease are introduced to a gluten-free diet.
Grains containing gluten, such as wheat, rye, barley or oats, as well as all products and dishes with their participation should be eliminated from such a diet.
People with celiac disease cannot eat bread, groats or pasta made from these grains. Wheat, rye, wheat-rye, wholemeal, crispy and pumpernickel bread are not allowed. Among the groats, forbidden gluten include: semolina, couscous, barley – Masuria, pearl and pearl barley. You can also not eat bran or flakes of these cereals, their sprouts and baking powder.
However, there are grains that do not contain gluten. These include rice, corn, buckwheat, millet and amaranth. Therefore, in the gluten-free diet, such cereal products are allowed as: bread and pasta made of rice, corn, buckwheat, potato and soy flour, corn flakes and crisps; popcorn, corn crisps, white and brown rice, rice flakes, rice porridges, rice wafers, tapioca, buckwheat, buckwheat flakes, millet.
There are also special gluten-free products and dishes on the market, such as gluten-free ready-made bread or gluten-free pasta. They are appropriately marked on the packaging. In Poland, gluten-free foodstuffs are products that do not contain more than 100 mg of gluten – gliadin in 1 g of dry weight of the finished product.
In gluten-free food stores, you can buy special bread – buckwheat, rice or milk bread, as well as crispy rice and corn bread. You can also bake gluten-free bread yourself from a special gluten-free dough concentrate. Specialist stores also offer a wide selection of gluten-free dessert products, such as biscuits, gingerbreads, and wafers.
In addition to cereal products containing gluten, other foods are generally allowed in the diet of people with celiac disease. However, you should be very careful, as some of them may contain added gluten. Such products include, but are not limited to, meat products such as canned meat, sausages, frankfurters, hamburgers, pates, cold cuts, black pudding, brawn meatballs, meatballs, meat puddings, canned fish and other products with the addition of hydrolyzed vegetable protein containing gluten. That is why you should buy processed meat from proven producers that do not add ingredients containing gluten to their products. Cold cuts can also be made at home from fresh meat.
You should also be careful when choosing dairy products – yoghurts, chocolate drinks, and some low-fat dairy products may contain modified starch. Also ready-made sauces, ketchups, mayonnaises, mustards, spice mixes, powdered sauces and ready-made dips may contain gluten-containing grain additives, e.g. modified wheat or rye starch. Therefore, before buying this type of product, be sure to familiarize yourself with their composition stated on the label.
It is also worth remembering that certain medications can be a source of gluten.
Text: Dr. Katarzyna Wolnicka – dietitian
Food and Nutrition Institute in Warsaw