Barley extract

[Rsianmay]

Hi my 15 year old has recently been diagnosed with cealiac disease, I am just finding it hard at the minute, does anyone know of he is allowed normal Coco pops as they contain barley extract and I was told to avoid barly? 

Thank you 

[GFinDC]

Hi Rsianmay,

No, he shouldn't eat anything with wheat, rye or barely.  In addition, it would be best not to feed him oats for 6 months also.  !0% of celiacs also react to oats.  So if he is eating oats while trying to heal it might confuse things if he does react to them.

It would be best to keep him away from all processed foods for a while.  It can be hard to figure out what products are safe to eat.  There are cereals and other foods that are gluten free now and they are marked gluten-free.  But the safest thing is to stick with whole foods, like meats, veggies, nuts, and eggs.  Celiac disease is an AI (autoimmune) disease and that means the bodies own immune system attacks it.  The classic symptoms are digestion symptoms, but celiac can also cause damage to many other parts of the body.  Celiac is not like an upset stomach where you get over the problem in a few hours or days.  The immune reaction can go on for weeks to months.  So avoiding all gluten is very important if the body is to have a chance to heal.

Many people with celiac also have problems digesting dairy also.  That should pass after a few months gluten-free.  There are dairy free milks available like almond milk and rice milk now.  I don't recommend soy milk though.  Some people decide to eat dinner type foods for breakfast instead of cereals.  I like to have pre-cooked meats like bacon, or sausage or something ready to grab in the morning.  Quaker gluten-free rice cakes are also good with peanut butter.  It's important to get plenty of protein while healing the gut as its needed to rebuild damaged tissues.  The small intestine if spread out is about the size of a tennis court, so there is lots of tissue to rebuild.

There are problems with cross contamination to watch out for also.  It only takes a very small crumb of gluten to kick off the immune reaction.  So, sharing a peanut butter container with people who eat gluten is a no-no.  Sharing a toaster with gluten eaters is also a  problem.  A colander is also bad because the little holes are hard to properly clean of gluten residue.

Mission corn tortillas are gluten-free and fairly cheap.  They make an ok substitute for bread.  I sometimes run water over both sides of the tortillas and nuke them for 15 seconds to soften so they don't crack when rolling them.  Udi's bread is available in gluten-free versions also.  But it is a lot more expensive than gluten bread.

Simple whole foods are safer for us because they don't have long lists of ingredients to check.  Most processed foods are full of chemical additives that make them sell better but really aren't food.  Going gluten-free can be a very healthy choice if you switch to a whole foods diet.

Another thing to know is that celiac disease genes can be passed on from parent to child.  Having the genes just means you could possibly develop the condition, not that you automatically will get celiac.  About 30% of people in the USA have one of the genes for celiac disease, but only about 1% actually get celiac disease.  But the risk is higher for first degree relatives of a celiac.  So parents and siblings should be tested every few years or sooner if GI symptoms appear.  There are many symptoms of celiac besides GI symptoms, and some people have no GI symptoms, but still have body damage.

That's a lot, but the main thing to know is you live well with celiac disease and be healthy.  We just have to be careful with our diet.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Jmg]

2 hours ago, Rsianmay said:

Hi my 15 year old has recently been diagnosed with cealiac disease, I am just finding it hard at the minute, does anyone know of he is allowed normal Coco pops as they contain barley extract and I was told to avoid barly? 

Thank you 

Hi and welcome

I think you may be in the UK? If so, the free from sections of larger Tesco's and other supermarkets often stock this:

Open Original Shared Link

Definitely don't go for the regular ones. I reacted to barley malt in a brand of cornflakes despite them being previously declared safe by coeliac UK.

Have you joined Coeliac UK? They have an online database of safe foods and will send you a book listing them. It's definitely worth a go. 

Best of luck to you both