Wednesday, April 8, 2009

What is Celiac's?


Okay, for those of you who don't know that my Lee has something called Celiac's or Celiac's disease. People who have Celiac's have an intolerance to gluten, wheat, rye, barley. Eating things that contain gluten (it's used as a filler in some things and is in all wheat products) causes cramps, bloating, stomach-aches, and bleeding. People with Celiac's have to avoid anything with gluten in it. This isn't as easy as you would think. Anything that is manufactured on the same equipment as wheat or sometimes even if it is made in the same facility can cause a reaction. Extra care has to be taken to make sure you read all the ingredients in everything that you are going to eat and you also have to be smarter than the not so honest manufacturers. Some food makers name ingredients something else so, if you're not paying attention, you can make a person with Celiac's ill. Unfortunately, Lee had Celiac's for a lot of years without knowing and in the late stages you can develop an allergy to dairy. This makes feeding him very tricky! Actually, at the moment our house we live in has two kitchens- his and mine and the kid's. This helps significantly, but won't always be possible as we move on. Luckily, Lee loves rice and vegetables and corn and they make gluten free bread and soy ice cream! We just eat pizza when he's not home, it makes him sad!=0( Want more info? Check this link http://www.celiac.org/index.php

4 comments:

  1. poor Lee. I think of him every time I see gluten-free cake mixes when I'm buying Soy nut butter for Gavin. :)

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  2. My step mom and an aunt also have it. They have come a long way since Aunt Celia (yes, Celia has Celiac's . . . crazy) got it over 30 years ago. She used to not really be able to eat anything and had some sort of food pump or bag that she had to wear.

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  3. I am so sorry that your man has Celiac. How do you feed him? Do you ever get to go out to eat? Unfortunately it seems that all the cool gluten-free restaurants are on the East coast. I would be sneaking food left and right.

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  4. Actually Bec, We can eat at Ruby Tuesday's without a problem..mostly because they have an awesome salad bar! Most authentic Chinese joints have something he can eat as well (cheap soy sauce is made with wheat authentic is not) and thank you Wal-Mart for being so good with their food labeling that makes it sooo much easier!=0)

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