Many life-long illnesses can come as a shock, and they can drastically change your life forever. Adapting to your new life could prove difficult, especially if it means you won’t be able to enjoy some of the things you used to love. If you’ve recently found out you have coeliac disease, it means you’ll no longer be able to eat some of your favourite foods that contain gluten. However, there’s no reason your diet can’t still be healthy and delicious, and there are many gluten-free foods you can try that taste just like the real thing.

With a bit of time, patience and full understanding, there’s no reason you can’t learn to love the coeliac disease diet. In fact, many people without coeliac disease choose the gluten-free diet because of perceived health benefits. While many experts debate how beneficial avoiding gluten is, there’s no argument to say that sufferers of coeliac disease can’t enjoy a full and balanced diet.

A Quick Guide to Gluten Free

To help you adapt to your new food lifestyle as quickly as possible, it’s important you understand what foods you need to avoid, which foods are completely harmless, and what your alternatives are to your most loved dishes containing gluten.

• A lot of delicious food is already gluten-free –Thefirst thing that scares people who’ve just found out they have coeliac disease is the fear of having to cut out their most loved dishes from their diet. However, there are many foods you can enjoy just the same as before, including favourites such as potatoes, fish and meat. Most dairy products are also gluten free, and you can still enjoy a night out drinking wine, spirits and cider – responsibly, of course.
• Foods you should be weary of –You should make sure to check the ingredients on the packaging of almost all processed foods. You might also have to refrain from your favourite beers and lagers if you don’t want an even nastier hangover than usual. Perhaps the hardest things you’ll need to avoid are bread, pasta and a range of cereals.
• It’s not all doom and gloom – Needless to say, cutting bread and pasta out of your diet can be challenging. You’ve probably been used to eating both of those items in abundance, but now you can switch to specially-made gluten-free products. Nowadays, you can find almost any food item you want that’s been made gluten free, and that includes loaves, favourites such as spaghetti and Pizza bases.

Most supermarkets have a huge section of gluten free foods. They are usually a little more expensive than the ‘real’ alternatives, however, you can get a range of delicious gluten-free products delivered to your local chemist if you have a prescription. There are so many people who suffer from coeliac disease that many innovative food replacements are created on a constant basis, and you no longer have to avoid your favourite foods in order to live a healthy life.