“My daughter has celiac disease, and is having trouble with the gluten-free diet. What do you recommend?”
My daughter has celiac disease and is having issues with adjusting to the gluten-free diet. Do you have any recommendations to make this diet more, I don't know, enjoyable for her?
8 Answers
There are many things you can do. Most families find meeting with an experienced dietician helpful. There are also good support groups on social media. Learning how to cook and bake gluten free can also be very helpful. Get a couple of gluten free recipe books. Write down all your daughters favorite gluten containing things and find out how to cook or bake them gluten free. Involving your daughter in food preparation is also very important as she will have to stay gluten free the rest of her life and those skills be invaluable for her as she grows up.
Gluten Free Diet can be hard, especially for young children who see their peers eat any kind of snacks without having to read their labels. I have found that most success with gluten free diet comes from the entire household becoming gluten free and that becomes a way of life for the family.
There are also some amazing resources for kids and celiac disease. Gikids.org is one such good resource.
Hope this helps.
There are also some amazing resources for kids and celiac disease. Gikids.org is one such good resource.
Hope this helps.
Hello and thank you for your question. I wish I had a better answer to this because I know that the gluten-free diet can be very unappealing for many patients. What I would suggest doing is if there is a local dietitian you can speak with, they may be able to have better options for you so that she can enjoy her food and still be on a gluten-free diet. There are also lots of online websites with groups that you can join (like Facebook groups) that share lots of different gluten-free recipes. I would suggest giving them a try.
You have to work with a dietician to help her adjust to the gluten free diet. There is no alternative to gluten free diet in celiac disease.
Untreated celiac disease eventually leads to lymphoma. She should meet with a dietitian and see where her problems with diet are.
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (www.eatright.org) and http://www.publix.com
Take her to a supermarket, health food store, or bakery where they specialize in having a large selection of gluten-free foods -- cereals, breads, pasta, pancakes, cookies, cakes. Let her pick out what she thinks she would like. Make a pact to return every two weeks or so. This will enable her to have some autonomy and choice in the face of a restrictive diet. Make certain to follow up with your doctor to repeat testing to assess that she is keeping with the diet.
Medically the question has no answer. The therapy for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet. There is no medication or other treatment. So the issue is finding or creating foods that are gluten-free. Depending on where you live there are specific bakeries and grocers that specifically feature gluten-free products. Also, in my experience many parents experiment with alternative flours that are gluten-free for their own baking experiments.
Mark R. Corkins, M.D.
Mark R. Corkins, M.D.
