83 year old fit as fiddle male - advice about a life eating no gluten needed.

[SirMakem]

7 months ago I was diagnosed as having ceoliac disease. Since then I have avoided eating gluten and my life has become miserable.

How did I find I had ceoliac disease? Well, I had quite severe itching over my back and asked advice. During my life I travelled in very hot, often humid countries and wondered as I had some no-malignant moles, if there had been changes. I was asked to take a blood test and it turned out that I had ceoliac disease, apparently quite a high value. I later found that the itching was caused by a change in lightweight thermal underwear.

I am an avid DIY traveller, happy to live any where between jungles without toilets or bathrooms and 5 star with everything. For the past 25 years prior to Covid I travelled far and wide, twice round the world and never considered nor had any reason to worry about what I ate. It could be from insects to Michelin level and I had a great life. I do not drink or smoke.

7 months ago I lost that life. In a way it was good that Covid struck and we were confined to some extent. Actually I had travelled widely in China including the Covid origin.

I have never had any symptoms of ceoliac disease and don't feel any different eating gluten free foods (Except hunger at times!). Certainly no improvement, although I would not expect any as I never had any problems. I feel 'normal' as I have done for 83 years.

I now have to choose from two possible choices, eat any food for the rest of my life and be happy, or, do not eat gluten.

Obviously I have no idea how long I have to live such an active life, but lets say, 10 years.

My question to members of this forum is whether I should accept that I might not live actively for 10 years if I continue my previous lifestyle, or should I adjust my life to suit gluten and live/exist the 10 years?

I have tried to get medical information and opinion tailored to my circumstances but have not yet found any. I had hoped I may find advice that considering my past it was unlikely I would die or be very infirm, maybe in pain, very soon after abandoning a gluten free diet. It seems that once you get the diagnosis that the instruction is, "Eat gluten free", end. Or perhaps 'toss a coin' and I may well do that but first I ask sufferers who live with the condition for an opinion.

[Scott Adams]

It may be possible for you to continue to eat gluten for the rest of your life and remain asymptomatic, but it is also possible that the side effects/damage from doing so could add up and reach critical mass at some point, which could cause you anything from mild to severe health issues that could lower your quality of life, and even shorten it.

We have no real way to know for sure how things would go for you in the future if you were to continue to eat gluten, however, I do know a lot about the many possible negative health consequences that you could face by making that choice. Considering all the possible downsides, I believe that the most rational choice that you could make to ensure prolonged good health and independence would be for you to stay gluten-free. 

I think you also may be creating a false choice here, as it is possible to continue your travels and remain gluten-free. Worldwide, celiac awareness is at an all-time high. You could use a combination of packing gluten-free snack bars and trail mixes for emergencies, and taking with you gluten-free restaurant cards in different languages. Also, given that travelling generally means eating outside your home, you should also consider taking AN-PEP enzymes with you, which have been shown in numerous studies to break down small amounts of gliadin before it reaches your intestines (more about this is in the thread below):

I will assume you have a smartphone, and if so you should also be able to find gluten-free restaurant and eating options in most countries.

Of course this is 100% your choice, but given how healthy you seem to have been thus far, a gluten-free diet seems like a relatively small investment for you to make to increase the odds of extending your good health for as long as possible.