If you’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease, you don’t necessarily have to give up cake and pizza. Your cake and pizza just have to be made without gluten. You can bake or purchase gluten-free breads, muffins, and piecrusts. Most health food stores carry these items, and grocery stores are starting to stock them as well. If you share your kitchen with gluten-eaters, make sure you clean all appliances, utensils, and work surfaces before preparing gluten-free foods. Also, remember to wash your hands thoroughly and often.

Getting ready
1. Pack up all unopened, prepackaged foods that contain gluten. In addition to flour and pancake mix, this will include many soups, sauces, dressings, seasonings, stock, and candy. Check labels for ingredients. Donate unopened gluten-containing items to a local food bank. Give opened packages and containers to neighbors.
2. Organize your new ingredients in airtight containers. If you plan to make bread and other items from scratch, you will need several containers to hold your flour, rice, buckwheat, and other dry goods.
3. Invest in a few good gluten-free cookbooks to guide you. Then try out some gluten-free recipes and keep the good ones handy.
4. Share recipes and food ideas with other people who are living gluten-free. Join a celiac support group. For more information, check out these websites:
• www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/ [2]
• www.celiac.com [3]

What to eat:
Meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit are all fine choices. Instead of wheat flour, try flours made from potato, rice, and soy. Other grain options include amaranth, quinoa, and buckwheat. Check labels and always buy products that are gluten-free. Avoid anything made with wheat, rye, or barley.

What is Casein?
Casein is a protein found in milk and dairy products. It is also used as a binding agent in many other food items. While most celiac patients do not have to give up dairy products, a gluten-free and casein-free diet has become a popular dietary strategy for a number of conditions ranging from irritable bowel syndrome to autism. Most doctors, however, do not recommend a gluten-free/casein-free diet as a treatment for any condition unless a person has allergies to both gluten and casein.

Check labels carefully!
While grains are the only foods that naturally contain gluten, gluten-containing ingredients are used widely as additives in the food industry. Some of these items include:
• Hot chocolate
• Processed meats
• Sauces and dressings
• Soups
• Stock and bouillon
• Sweets

Feel-better fact:
About 70% of people with celiac disease feel better after just two weeks on a gluten-free diet, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Online goodies
For gluten-free recipes and products that you can order online, check out these websites:
www.DivineCaroline.com [4]
www.Chebe.com [5]
www.organicvalley.coop [6]
www.foodallergytest.com [7]
www.glutenfree.com [8]
www.glutenfreemall.com [9]
www.traderjoes.com [10]
www.glutenfreeflour.com [11]
www.csaceliacs.org [12]

Marvin Kramer: When gluten is the enemy
A little over a year ago, Marvin Kramer, a 66-year-old retired science teacher from Long Island, N.Y., developed chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain, and anemia. In addition, his joints hurt, sores erupted inside his mouth, and his teeth became discolored. His doctor administered a blood test that confirmed Kramer’s diagnosis: celiac disease.

Celiac disease is an inherited autoimmune condition that affects one in every 133 Americans. If a person with untreated celiac disease consumes food that contains gluten—a protein found in wheat and barley—the lining of the small intestine will be affected. The intestines contain projections called villi that absorb nutrients, and celiac disease causes the villi to flatten, which diminishes their ability to absorb nutrients from food. This can cause the person to become malnourished, even if he is eating a balanced diet.

The exact cause of celiac disease is unknown, but for some reason, the disorder is especially common in people of European ancestry. Women are affected more often than men. People can develop celiac disease only if they are genetically susceptible, if they consume gluten, and if the gene has somehow been triggered.

The symptoms of celiac disease can be unpleasant and include diarrhea, bloating, weight loss, anemia, persistent fatigue, and muscle cramps. To confirm the diagnosis, a doctor will administer a blood test called a celiac panel.

The only treatment available for celiac disease is strict adherence to a gluten-free diet. It certainly worked for Kramer. He gave up all foods containing gluten. Within weeks, he felt much better. These days, says Kramer, he feels like his old self again.