General

On celiac diagnosis I was down to eating eggs, dark chocolate and bananas while my gut recovered. Free from oats with water and berries were good, though I later removed the oats too. What I had done was try to become vegan. I'd replaced many naturally gluten free foods with gluten containing foods and it had tipped my body over the edge into a spiral that was taking out my intestines and attacking my central nervous system. As I recovered I could start adding in more foods that were naturally gluten free. I found that with some foods there were brands you could trust to be gluten free and others you could not. Learning this takes a bit of time but once you know things get easier again and normalise, you figure out which brands of chocolate or crisps (chips) are okay. Also, much of the "free from" foods are not free from gluten at all, they may be lower gluten, but I found few to be actually safe for a celiac. Meat and fish are okay if they aren't flavour enhanced or treated with a gluten containing preservative or marinade; again, you get to know what providers you can trust and which you can't. With a bit of research the "food roulette" becomes a steady and healthy diet... a new normal.

By Angela Abraham, @daisydescriptionari, December 24, 2021.