Showing posts with label Celiac Awareness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Celiac Awareness. Show all posts

Saturday, February 17, 2024

May is Coeliac Awareness Month

The month of May is Coeliac Awareness Month.


Coeliac Disease and the gluten free diet

What is Coeliac Disease?

Coeliac Disease ('Celiac' in the USA and Canada) is a lifelong autoimmune condition where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. In Coeliac Disease the immune system mistakes substances found inside gluten as a threat to the body and attacks them. This can trigger a number of painful, horrible, stressful and uncomfortable symptoms.

In the UK it is estimated that 1 in 100 people have the condition.

Coeliac Awareness Month 2024

This year Coeliac UK - the charity for people with Coeliac Disease - is on a mission to find the 1 in 100 people in the UK with coeliac disease and help guide them on the road to recovery.

Visit the Coeliac UK website and Coeliac Awareness Month page for more information.

Living a gluten free life

Having suffered from a range of symptoms for around ten years I finally received a positive diagnosis of Coeliac Disease following some 'interesting' and in-depth tests and procedures in 2008! It came as a relief to finally have a name for the mysterious cause of my illnesses and ailments, but at the time I was only given a brief summary and told that I'd have to "cut down on bread and beer". It was only later when I met with a gastroenterologist and a dietitian that I found out that the only treatment for people with Coeliac Disease is a strict, life-long gluten free diet.

My life as a Coeliac in LEGO form
My life as a Coeliac in LEGO form

You can read more about my gluten free journey in this case study on the This Is MedTech website - "When eating gluten-free isn’t a choice".

My Coeliacversary

This year marks my 16th year as a Coeliac! Time flies eh.

How should I celebrate my Coeliacversary this year...?

Monday, May 02, 2022

Celiac Awareness Month

May is Celiac Awareness Month in the USA.


Celiac Awareness Month

Check out Beyond Celiac website for more information.



Living a gluten free life

Having suffered from a range of symptoms for around ten years I finally received a positive diagnosis of Coeliac Disease following some 'interesting' and in-depth tests and procedures in 2008. It came as a relief to finally have a name for the mysterious cause of my illnesses and ailments, but at the time I was only given a brief summary and told that I'd have to "cut down on bread and beer". It was only later when I met with a Gastroenterologist and a dietitian that I found out that the only treatment for people with Coeliac Disease is a strict, life-long gluten free diet.

While having a life-long condition such as Coeliac Disease can be a pain - and horrible if I 'get glutened' - having the disease has had some positives. I've met great people since my diagnosis and have made some brilliant friends who I've met through Coeliac groups. I've also blogged a lot about living with the condition and the great 'free from' food & drink I've found since 2008.

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

When eating gluten-free isn’t a choice - This Is MedTech

When eating gluten-free isn’t a choice


Champion miniature golfer Richard Gottfried spent years feeling ill before he discovered that he had coeliac disease and gradually regained his health.


Believing he had a common digestive disorder called irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Richard took IBS medication to ease his symptoms, which included bloating, vomiting, diarrhoea and severe lethargy. However, he was unaware of the real cause: gluten-containing foods. When he continued to feel ill, he thought he just had to put up with it. “When I look back, I can’t believe I lived so long eating what I did,” remembers Richard, who would often avoid food altogether because he didn’t want to be sick.

“I was so thin but bloated, so I looked like I’d been eating all day long. Often I would only have a bowl of corn flakes for breakfast, be violently ill, and then not eat anything else for the rest of the day,” he tells This Is MedTech. After several years Richard’s condition became progressively worse until he felt so ill that he went back to the doctor.

“I had a thorough check, including a blood test, an endoscopy and a sigmoidoscopy,” he says. This led to a diagnosis of coeliac disease as well as a wheat allergy. “I was referred to a gastroenterologist and a dietician, and that’s when I finally began to understand the impact and implications of my diagnosis.”

I need to be gluten free, not a glutton (or any number of other misspellings of gluten)

According to Coeliac UK, coeliac (pronounced see-liac) disease affects at least 1 in 100 people in the UK and Europe, but only 30% of people with the condition are currently clinically diagnosed. It’s a genetic autoimmune disease that’s triggered by eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. It’s not a food allergy or intolerance, or IBS. For people with coeliac disease, eating gluten damages the lining of the gut, which prevents normal digestion and absorption of food. Serious health problems can be associated with coeliac disease including osteoporosis, cancer of the small bowel and increased risk of other autoimmune diseases.

There is no cure for the condition and the only treatment is a strict gluten-free diet for life. “It can be a real drain both mentally and physically, but you have to stay as positive as possible,” comments Richard, who hasn’t wavered from his gluten-free regime in the decade since his diagnosis. “Once you’re on a gluten-free diet, it can take years for your body to recover. I’ve only just started putting on weight again in the past couple of years. Still, there’s always a risk that you’ll be ‘glutened’ which can set you back days or weeks.”

Richard says Coeliac UK and his local coeliac group were extremely helpful, especially in the beginning. “Back then, there weren’t really gluten-free options in supermarkets. The coeliac groups gave me tips on gluten-free food, cooking, storage, places to shop, etc. They also held dinners and other events, and I made some good friends. We still go out together.”

There are only a handful of 100% gluten-free restaurants in the UK, so one of Richard’s aims is to increase that number by talking about it on his blog. “We recently went out to a 100% gluten-free pub in Cambridgeshire, and it was so nice to be able to go out and feel normal.”

Having a superb 100% gluten free meal at The Oxford Place in Leeds
Having a superb 100% gluten free meal at The Oxford Place in Leeds

He also believes it’s important to raise awareness about coeliac disease by talking openly about it, as people can be embarrassed to discuss their symptoms. “You’ll never get well if you don’t go to the doctor,” he points out. “Diagnosis is the first step. Once you know what’s wrong, you can start tackling it.”

Interview by Karen Finn for This Is MedTech, January 2019.

Link:
- This Is MedTech

Related blog posts:
- Coeliac Disease
- Gluten Free

Monday, May 08, 2017

It's Coeliac Awareness Week

Coeliac Awareness Week is taking place from the 8th to the 14th May.


This week is Coeliac Awareness Week. Organised by national charity, Coeliac UK, the focus this year is on dining out gluten free. And being able to do so safely.

Coeliac Disease is a lifelong autoimmune condition, where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. In Coeliac Disease, the immune system mistakes substances found inside gluten as a threat to the body and attacks them. This can trigger a number of horrible, stressful and painful symptoms.

The only treatment is to adhere to a strict lifelong gluten free diet. In the UK it's estimated that 1 in 100 people have the condition.

While more places are offering gluten free menu options it's unfortunate that they are not also controlling cross-contamination risks. As little as one crumb of bread is enough to do a whole lot of damage to the gut of someone with Coeliac Disease.

I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease in 2008 and remember the years before when I could dine out quite easily. Now I barely ever do. The last meal I had out was last December at a 100% gluten free restaurant in Leeds.

I wonder how many manufacturers, retailers and restaurants consider the impact selling gluten free products (or not) has on their bottom line? If I find somewhere safe to eat then I'm going to spend some money there (my Coeliac Pound if you will) - and tell other Coeliacs to as well. Plus, I'll likely be dining out with someone else who is also going to spend money there.

For more information about Coeliac Disease and Coeliac UK's Awareness Week visit the Coeliac UK website. The hashtag for the week is #glutenfreevolution.

Over in the USA the whole of May is Celiac Awareness Month.

Link:
- Coeliac UK

Related blog posts:
- Coeliac Disease
- Gluten Free
- Funny things about being a Coeliac #9 - Menu disclaimers
- My life as a Coeliac in LEGO form
- What a perfect Crazy Golf obstacle for a Coeliac
- Gluten - my Kryptonite

Friday, May 01, 2015

Special May Days

Details of special awareness and celebration days for Coeliac Disease, Miniature Golf and Golf in May 2015.

Minigolfer, Blogger and Coeliac 'Squire' Richard Gottfried at Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate
During last year's Coeliac Awareness Week I was Mini Golfing Gluten Free at Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate, Kent

What a month May is! There are lots of special 'days' and 'weeks' and the whole month is both Celiac Awareness Month in the USA and Canada, and National Golf Month here in the UK.

Sunday 3 May (Sonntag 3 Mai) is Minigolf Tag (Day) in Austria.

Saturday 9 is National Miniature Golf Day (a quasi-official US holiday).

The 11 to 17 May is Coeliac UK's annual Coeliac Awareness Week. It's also the Coeliac Society of Ireland's Coeliac Awareness Week.

The 16 May is International Coeliac Day. Visit the Association of European Coeliac Societies (AOECS) for more information.

Over the weekend of 16 and 17 May Hastings Adventure Golf will play host to the British Minigolf Association for the BMGA British Championships.

In New Zealand Coeliac Awareness Week is running from 18 to 24 May.

Minigolfer, Blogger and Coeliac 'Squire' Richard Gottfried at Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate
A happy Coeliac with his lunch. I had some special gluten free deliveries to the course from Annie's Larder while in Margate for the BMGA British Minigolf Championships last year

Check out the blog posts and links below for more info on the different things happening in the gluten free and minigolf worlds this month.

Related blog posts:
- Mini Golf Days in 2015
- May is National Golf Month
- UK Mini Golf Competitions in 2015
- Celiac Awareness Month 2015
- Coeliac Awareness Week 2015
- Minigolfing Gluten Free

Links:
- Coeliac UK
National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) / Celiac Central
Coeliac Society of Ireland
- Coeliac New Zealand
- National Golf Month
- Minigolf Tag
- British Minigolf Association
- World Minigolf Sport Federation
Hastings Adventure Golf
- Read my Gluten Free Journey blog on the Udi's gluten free website