Gluten-free diet for celiac disease

A gluten-free diet for celiac disease or celiac disease it is essential to recover, however it is not easy to follow, since many food products are made with gluten and it is necessary to be aware of the labels.

Celiac disease consists of a permanent intolerance to the proteins of the wheat gluten (gliadin), from rye (secalina), from the barley (hordeina) and the triticale (hybrid of wheat and rye). Recent studies suggest that oatmeal in its pure state (not contaminated by wheat flour) does not seem to influence the pathogenesis of the disease. The cause of the disease is unknown, but genetic, environmental (gluten) and immunological factors contribute to its development.


Eliminating gluten from the diet is essential for the recovery of patients with gluten intolerance. A gluten-free diet for celiac disease allows the intestinal villi to regain a normal size and a clear improvement in symptoms can be seen two weeks after the gluten has been eliminated from the diet. After two or three months, a good nutritional status is achieved in celiacs, remitting the anemia, but it may take two years until the duodenum biopsies are completely normal.

Advantages of eliminating gluten from the diet

Gluten intolerance can trigger irreversible damage to the stomach when it has taken a long time to diagnose the disease. The most frequent complications are anemia, infertility, spontaneous abortion, osteoporosis, bone fractures, autoimmune disorders and, in the most severe cases, some type of intestinal cancer.


How to eliminate gluten from the diet

Eliminating gluten from the diet is more complicated than it seems. It does not consist only in suppressing wheat, rye, barley or diet triticale. The problem for celiacs is that between 70 and 80 percent of manufactured food products contain gluten because it is used in the production of dyes, flavorings, preservatives, thickeners and seasonings and, therefore, may be present in sauces, soups , cold cuts, batter, preserves ...
Distinguishing between foods that contain gluten, those that may contain gluten and those that do not contain gluten is essential for the treatment of celiac disease.

Foods that contain gluten (prohibited)
- Bread and flours of wheat, barley, rye, triticale, and probably oats.
- Manufactured products whose composition includes any of the flours
already mentioned and in any of its forms: starches, modified starches,
starches, flours and proteins.
- Buns, cakes, pies and other pastry products.
- Cookies, biscuits and pastry products.
- Italian pasta (noodles, macaroni, noodles, etc.) and wheat semolina.
- Malted drinks.
- Distilled or fermented beverages made from cereals: beer, barley water,
some liquors, etc.


Foods that may contain gluten (prohibited)
- Sausages: chorizo, morcilla, etc.
- Delicatessen products. Various pates.
- Flavored yogurts with pieces of fruit.
- Processed cheeses, in portions, of flavors.
- Preserves of meats. Canned fish with different sauces.
- Candies and jelly beans.
- Coffee substitutes and other machine drinks.
- Fried fruits fried and toasted with salt.
- Ice creams. Chocolate substitutes.
- Food coloring.

Gluten-free foods (always allowed)
- Milk and derivatives (cheese, cottage cheese, cream, natural yoghurts and curd).
- All kinds of meats and fresh viscera, frozen and preserved in nature, ceci *
na, Serrano ham and cooked ham quality extra.
- Fresh and frozen fish without batter, fresh seafood and fish and maris *
cos preserved in natural or in oil.
- Eggs
- Vegetables, vegetables and tubers. Fruits.
- Rice, corn and tapioca, as well as their derivatives.
- All kinds of vegetables.
- Sugar and honey. Oils and butters.
- Coffee beans or ground, infusions and soft drinks.
- All kinds of wines and sparkling beverages.
- Raw dried fruits.
- Salt, wine vinegar, spices in branch and grain and all natural.

All these foods can be taken in their natural state, but not preserved; In addition, with them they can be used to cook, prepare sauces and make combinations with each other.

Marisol Nuevo Espin

Advice: Working Group on Early Diagnosis of celiac disease
Coordinator: Isabel Polanco Allué. Spanish Society of Gastroenterology,
Hepatology and Pediatric Nutrition

It may interest you:

- In the restaurant with a celiac child

- My son is celiac, what do I do?

Video: The Effect of a Gluten-Free Diet on Liver Function Tests - Celiac Disease in the News


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