Treatment - Gluten free diet

The only treatment for celiac disease is to follow a gluten-free diet. This lifelong diet can be difficult and socially troublesome, especially in young patients, but it is crucial in order to avoid serious health consequences. Vitamin and mineral supplements may be prescribed to correct the nutritional deficiencies. Occasionally, corticosteroids (such as Prednisone) may also be prescribed for short-term use or if the patient has refractory sprue. Following a well-balanced, gluten-free diet is generally the only treatment required for staying well. That’s why, after diagnosis, the first person that patient should talk with is a dietitian or a nutritionist. The patient will then learn from a dietitian how to read ingredient lists and identify foods that contain gluten.

The patients must know that, no matter how snall the amount of gluten is, it can damage the small intestine perhaps even without any noticeable symptoms.
A gluten-free diet means avoiding food that contains wheat including spelt, triticale, and kamut, rye, and barley. Many people are afraid that there are too many restrictions included in a gluten-free diet, but the fact is that the diet is not that restrictive and people with celiac disease can lead a nice life. For example, they can use potato, rice, soy, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, or bean flour instead of wheat flour.

Meat, fish, rice, fruits, and vegetables do not contain gluten, so people with celiac disease can eat as much of these foods as they like.
Patient must know that the gluten can also be found in some medications, so, they must avoid using them. Another common problem among people with Celiac disease is a deficiency in digestive enzymes.

This means that the intestinal systems of celiac patients often do not produce an adequate digestive secretion.

The most common gluten-free diet samples

Breads, cereals, rice, and pasta: 6 to 11 servings each day

Bread should be made from corn, rice, soy, arrowroot corn, or potato starch; pea, potato, or whole-bean flour; tapioca, sago, rice bran, cornmeal, buckwheat, millet, flax, sorghum, amaranth or quinoa. Hot cereals can also be beneficial. They should be made from soy, hominy, hominy grits, brown rice, white rice, buckwheat, millet, cornmeal. Quinoa flakes are also recommended. Puffed corn, rice, or millet, or other rice and corn made with allowed ingredients.

Vegetables: 3 to 5 servings each day (including starchy vegetables)
It is proven that all plain, fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables made with the allowed ingredients can be very beneficial to mucous lining of the stomach and the intestines.

Fruits: 2 to 4 servings each day

Milk, yogurt, and cheese: 2 to 3 servings each day

Meats, fish, dry beans and peas, eggs, and nuts:2 to 3 servings or total of 6 oz daily

All meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs can be used as well as the dry peas and beans, nuts, peanut butter, soybeans, cold cuts, frankfurters, sausage without fillers etc.

Fats, snacks, sweets, condiments, and beverages

Butter, margarine, salad dressings, sauces, soups, desserts made from the allowed ingredients can be used on daily basis. Patients shouldn’t be afraid of sugar, honey, jelly, jam, hard candy, plain chocolate, coconut, molasses, Marshmallows, meringues. Even some alcohols can be used such as wine, rum, alcohol distilled from cereals such as gin, vodka, whiskey… Avoid sauces, gravies, canned fish, products with hydrolyzed vegetable protein or hydrolyzed plant protein made from wheat protein, and anything with questionable ingredients.

It is important to know that most foods made from grains contain gluten. Avoid these foods unless they're labeled as gluten-free or made with corn, rice, soy or other gluten-free grain:

• Breads
• Cereals
• Crackers
• Pasta
• Cookies
• Cakes and pies
• Gravies
• Sauces