Coeliac Diary

Back Pain

2009-05-27T08:20:00.000+01:00

I used to suffer from a lot of back and other joint pains. At 55, I was diagnosed as a coeliac and went on a gluten-free diet. Most of the pains went. This is not uncommon according to some local specialists.

Hotels in Holland

2009-05-25T08:23:00.000+01:00

I have just spent an enjoyable weekend cycling round the dunes of Den Haag with a friend.

We went for lunch at the Hotel Duinoord, which is part of the Fletcher Hotel Group, at Wassenaar, which is a few miles north of Den Haag and a short walk from the beach. I asked what asparagus was available as the season has started and we both ordered asparagus with smoked salmon and some glasses of rose. I said I didn’t want any bread, as I don’t do gluten, so you can imagine my surprise, when I was presented with four small slices of excellent gluten-free bread.

The waitress thought it was a hotel rather than a group policy, but it would probably be worth checking out the group if you are visiting Holland.

We have always found the food at the Hotel Duinoord excellent and as we’ve always visited in the sun, the setting is also very good, where you sit on a terrace. I’ve got a red face to prove it!

Carluccios Gluten-Free Menu

2009-05-20T08:25:00.000+01:00

Carluccios now has a gluten-free menu. I was in the Trafford Centre yesterday and had an enormous bowl of pasta with Italian sausage. It was very good.

Spoff

2009-05-15T08:27:00.000+01:00

I saw their products in Waitrose in Hitchin and bought a packet. I've since tried them and they're worthy, interesting and do you good.

Phil Vickery and Jamie Oliver

2009-05-14T08:29:00.002+01:00

A friend gave me a copy of the Phil Vickery book. It’s interesting, but I’ve found some equally good stuff on the net. It’s a very good present, but I probably wouldn’t have bought it for myself.

Typically, there is this is from Jamie Oliver.

I’ve found it to be a good GF fish pie. I use a Cornish Goats Cheddar from Waitrose instead of good Cheddar. It also doesn’t need a lot of washing up, as you make it all in the baking dish. It freezes well too!

Phil Vickery and Jamie Oliver

2009-05-14T08:29:00.001+01:00

A friend gave me a copy of the Phil Vickery book. It’s interesting, but I’ve found some equally good stuff on the net. It’s a very good present, but I probably wouldn’t have bought it for myself.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fish-recipes/fish-pie

I’ve found this a good GF fish pie. I use a Cornish Goats Cheddar instead of good Cheddar. It also doesn’t need a lot of washing up, as you make it all in the baking dish. It freezes well too!

Waitrose New GF Cakes and Biscuits

2009-04-25T08:37:00.000+01:00

I’ve tried the dark chocolate chip biscuits and they are very good. They also seem to be competitively priced. But what do I know about the price of anything?

I just tried the ginger cake slices. They are good too.

It says on the box, “We created our gluten free range in a specialist bakery so you can still enjoy your favourite foods on a gluten free diet”. They are also produced in the UK.

Dr. Schar Products

2009-04-22T08:38:00.002+01:00

As you know I’m not a fan of GF bread, but I do find the Dr. Schar Mix-B more than acceptable and also my non-coeliac friends like it. It seems to rise pretty well in the breadmaker. Most others seem not to and produce bread like soft concrete. I should say that my housekeeper is a very experienced breadmaker, so it’s not my cooking!

But I can only get it on prescription, which does work and is free, but means I have to plan it. I wonder why, it’s not available in the shops. After all I just bought two one-kilo packs at €4.45 each in Den Haag. They also lots of other products of Dr. Schar in the shop.

E-Mail to Simon Mayo on Allergies

2009-04-14T08:42:00.002+01:00

"You ask why more of us suffer from allergies.

Growing up in North London in the smogs of the fifties, who would have known that it was your allergy that was the problem. With me, I’m a coeliac (allergic to gluten) and wasn’t detected until a few years ago. With this allergy, the methods of discovery did not exist until about 1960. If they had, my father and grandfather probably wouldn’t have died as young as they did.

So with cleaner air and better methods of detection, it’s obvious that we’ll get more allergy sufferers.

A few years ago, I was part of a team that developed a device for asthma drug delivery and learned a lot about that disease. For instance, one of the major causes is open flames, smoking, sealed houses and carpets, which many of us have these days. Draughty country cottages with stone floors are so much better. I also read somewhere that the beautifully clean country of New Zealand has some of the worse asthma.

What should we do?

The work done on labelling foods is to be welcomed and we must lower levels of allergens still further and also eliminate cross contamination. But we should also bring all medicines under the same rules.

For instance, nearly all cough syrups contain wheat-derived glucose syrup and many tablets use wheat starch as the base. These actually make my illnesses worse.

I would also like to see it compulsory for all restaurants, cafes and pubs to label their food as to allergens. One chain, basically says that if you have an allergy, then don’t come here."

It wasn't read out, but note the bit about medicines. They must be labelled.

Scarlet Fever?

2009-03-29T08:46:00.001+01:00

I was talking with friends today and I happened to mention that at the age of about seven or so, I had scarlet fever. The curiosity was that my doctor couldn’t find another case of the disease anywhere in London, one Egerton White, at the time and I certainly didn’t give it to anyone. I can remember not feeling that unwell and I was isolated in my bedroom for about six weeks. Over the years my mother became convinced that I hadn’t had the disease, but do you think it was some weird coeliac symptom making its presence felt.

Unfortunately, my medical records for that time are lost. I should say that at times, I do get very warm and at others my body refuses to warm up when I’m playing tennis, when it’s cold. I also find that I react fairly strongly to caffeine and restrict my intake.

Interesting Article from the US

2009-03-15T08:49:00.000Z

I was searching for something completely different and I came across this article from the US. It’s quite positive and states that in the US, they now accept that coeliacs are 1% of the population.

Beer

2009-03-12T08:51:00.000Z

I don’t like to put a damper on gluten-free beer, but I was someone who really enjoyed his beer. I used to drink a couple of pints of Adnams or Greene King, fairly regularly and I missed it after I was diagnosed. A few months ago, I tried a bottle of the same Adnams, as it someone said that the gluten level should be low. I had no ill effects, but the beer tasted awful.

Was it psychological or does it take time to get used to good beer?

Cholesterol

2009-02-24T08:53:00.000Z

My cholesterol has been diagnosed as a bit high, but I don’t think I eat too much that is supposed to be high in cholesterol. I eat a lot of meat, fish and two veg, not much bread, fruit, not too much cake or biscuits etc.

Does any other coeliac suffer?

Tattersalls

2008-12-02T16:26:00.000Z

It was cold and miserable in Newmarket today, but because everybody was hiding and having lunch, we bought a broodmare for less than we should have.

As an aside,the caffe at Tattersalls had some GF bread, which they reckoned was wonderful and came from Bury St. Edmunds. I didn’t try it, as it sounded too good to be true. They didn’t have any today, so perhaps it was. But at least they knew their allergies.

The Coeliac Scam

2008-11-21T06:36:00.003Z

Someone pointed this blog entry out on the Internet.

There are two things in the original article that are wrong; most coeliacs don't get free prescriptions and nearly all of the GF stuff you can get on prescription is not worth eating.

I don't think I'd want to be his patient.

Gluten Free Hamper

2008-11-14T18:16:00.000Z

I was looking at a web site and saw a Google ad for a Marks and Spencer gluten-free hamper.

Details are Gluten-Free Greetings - £55.00 - Product Code: 00645232

It may not be to everybody’s taste, but it’s an interesting development.

India

2008-11-14T18:15:00.000Z

I had no problem at all in India. The food in Goa was excellent and the manager of the cafe in the hotel, the Lemon Tree, where we stayed understood all about allergies. Lemon Tree are a mid-range Indian group, that from the hotel in Goa, seem to be getting nearly everything right.

In Mumbai, we stayed at Taj Mahal Hotel and Tower, which is right by the waterfront and very much a flag ship for the Taj group, who incidentally are part of Tata, who have just bought Jaguar. That was superb too and when we ate on the top floor in their Lebanese restaurant, the chef came out and discussed everything. He even made some soy bread. The meal was the most expensive we had, but it was only about £40 for two. Most of the others in cafes in Goa and Mumbai were of the order of £15 including a bottle of quite passable Indian wine.

One of the managers in the Taj said to me that ALL five star hotels should know about allergies. They did.

The only mistake on the whole trip was that BA gave me a non-gluten free roll with an excellent breakfast. But as it was wrapped, and as it looked the same as my companion’s, I didn’t eat it.

Mimi Winsberg

2008-11-08T08:38:00.000Z

Mimi Winsberg never knew that the energy bars and pasta that sustained her during endurance training were also making her ill. She had completed dozens of triathlons and marathons, but four years ago, when she was in her late 30s, her health and athletic performances rapidly and inexplicably spiraled downward.

From NY TImes

Complete at home.

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

2008-11-08T08:32:00.002Z

This is a message from an Internet cafe in Panaji, Goa. It's called Cyberjoint.

It's hot (36 degrees or so) and it's coming up to two. I've just had a delicious lunch of two samosas and two fresh lime sodas for the princely sum of 34 Rs or just under fifty pence. This was in a restaurant called the Shanbag Cafe, which was recommended by Lonely Planet.

As has been said before there doesn't seem to be too much of a problem with food. We're actually staying in a place called The Lemon Tree at Candolim, which is very good, except that there's a small leak in the bathroom plumbing. Luckily on the fresh water side.

So if anybody is thinking of coming to Goa, I don't think they'll have too much of a problem. The restaurants seem to use gram flour for everything including batter. And as to the wine! That has improved a lot since I was here last.

It's also been nice and warm since we arrived.

Now this is one real and extensive change in my life since I was diagnosed a few years ago. Then I'd peel like crazy in the smallest amount of sun and generally feel hot, bothered, irritable and unwell. But today, I've been walking round in the sun with no ill-effects at all. I can't even seem to get a tan, other than a very
pale one. But the sun does make me feel well. Perhaps all it's doing is create large amounts of vitamin D.

Are we short of that as well?

I know that if I don't get the sun, it doesn't make me feel well at all.

Marmite Rice Cakes and Unilever

2008-10-29T18:19:00.000Z

I bought some of the new Marmite Rice Cakes in Waitrose on Monday, because I felt they might be gluten-free. I phoned the number on the packet and they assured me that they were, so I ate them and no ill effects. They were quite nice and made a change, but I’m not the greatest fan of rice cakes, as I know they taste of polystyrene.

The guy on the phone was really helpful and said that Unilever could send me their product list with whether things were GF or not. It arrived this morning and was a good document, in that it warned against changes in product composition and gave links to such as Coeliac-UK.

So it seems that Unilever are getting or may have got their act together on gluten. It was interesting that they play safe and say that oats are non-GF.

Holne Chase Hotel

2008-10-26T18:21:00.000Z

I spent a nice two nights at this hotel.

Food was excellent and they understood gluten-free. In one case, where I forgot to say I didn’t want toast with scrambled egg and smoked salmon, they actually cooked me another, despite it being my fault.

Bad Back Britain

2008-10-21T18:31:00.000+01:00

Going to a physiotherapist directly may be a good idea, but I’d like to add a word of caution.

Until I was fifty-three I suffered from all sorts of joint and back pain. Nothing serious, but annoying. I was then diagnosed as a coeliac and all of those pains disappeared in a couple of weeks after going on a strict gluten-free diet. Seven years on I’m fit and well with no pain.

Statistics show that one in a hundred of those in the UK are coeliacs. So is that back pain caused by the injury or diet?

Eggs Florentine

2008-10-20T10:05:00.003+01:00

I've always liked this and thought it was terribly complicated.

But then I found this BBC recipe.

It was delicious and gluten-free too!

Eating Gluten-Free in Minsk

2008-10-19T17:03:00.000+01:00

I did not want to be adventurous with my eating in Belarus.

As a coeliac, there is nothing worse than having to travel on a plane or drive down the motorway, with your guts telling you in no uncertain way that they are unhappy with the gluten. Your best course of action when this happens, is to sit near a toilet. Or sometimes permanently on it!

I had prepared by bringing a good box of supplies with me.

The box contained Trufree crackers, Fruit Break bars and Oskri Sesame Bars. If the worst had came to the worst then I could have existed on them, plus a few bananas, other fruit and a salad or two.

The Belarus Hotel has a Panorama restaurant on the twenty-second floor with expansive views of the city.

I'm afraid that the picture doesn't do the view justice!

I thought I'd be careful and only have a main course with a glass of wine. At least the menu had an English translation and there seemed to be a lot of choice.

I'd also brought one of CeliacTravel's excellent menu cards in Russian, so I gave it to the waiter and asked if a pork something was OK. He took the card and checked with the kitchen.

I was getting a bit apprehensive, but when the meal arrived, I had no worries. The pork had obviously been cooked without any source and it came with some onions, peppers and tomatoes. They did bring a cup of tomato sauce to go with it, but I decided that as I was ahead I'd stay there.

I had no reaction to the meal at all. The card had done its trick.

The two breakfasts that I ate in the hotel were fine too. But then with a buffet, you can usually be fairly careful about what you eat. I stuck to fruit, cold meats and vegetables.

So would I be more adventurous if I went to Belarus again? Probably, especially if I went with someone, who understood their cooking better than I do!

As a postscript here, much of the cooking in Belarus is based on potatoes. They even make pancakes that way. So if you're careful, it isn't one of the most difficult places to eat gluten-free.

But you'll have to take your own biscuits or bread!

Calais and P&O Ferries

2008-09-13T18:39:00.002+01:00

I got mixed up in the trouble at the Chunnel on Friday night as I was coming back from France. Actually, very easy getting into the Port at Calais and then due to P&O I had to wait two hours later than I should for the ferry. Partly, this was due to port problems, but it wasn’t too bad as I spent a lot of time educating a medical student about coeliac disease.

I was getting hungry as although it was only eight in the evening all the snack bars seemed to be closed and you could just about get coffee or a Coke. Incidentally, there was a lot more available at Dover than Calais. So I just waited for the boat.

I did get a good coffee and some crisps on the boat, but the notice in the Food Court summed it all up. “Food Allergy Advice – Whilst every effort is made to maintain the integrity of all food served onboard, we regret that due to the complexity of our operations, we are unable to guarantee that any food will be free of food allergens.”

Is that good enough?