Celiac

Celiacs is a fairly common autoimmune disorder. The body cannot digest and absorb gluten in wheat and treats it as a foreign and harmful substance. When consumed, it causes symptoms of bloating, cramps, diarrhea, and eventually wasting and weight loss. The villi and microvilli along the walls of the intestine begin to deteriorate and flatten decreasing the surface area of the intestine. Thus, the body is not absorbing as much nutrients as normal. It is a severe and life threatening condition and individuals that are diagnosed with this must avoid gluten.

The only problem is that gluten is practically in everything due to cross contamination.

Today, I got to help Dianne adjust the cafeteria’s menus for a celiac student. We went through each and every item and checked to see if gluten was in it, or could possibly be cross contaminated. Some foods you wouldn’t thing contain gluten are these: 

Hamburger, pickles, vinegar, white pepper….who would have thought!?

Students are also provided a nifty little toaster bag to use to prevent cross contamination. 

Dietitians need to be aware of the potential contamination of gluten because often times the label will read that it does not contain wheat, but it can contain an ingredient that has been contaminated with gluten.