Do You Have This Outside Uk?

[Guest BellyTimber]

Do you have this in your countries?

"Codex Alimentarius Wheat"

I think after the Second World War when a lot of wheat was sent to the UK from the Western Hemisphere, the following happened.

The context I have been told was that Finland had been ahead in diagnosing celiac disease and because they didn't have any other crops (I don't know if that is true) they decided to get most of the gluten out of wheat and feed the rest to the celiacs.

A second biopsy was introduced to check whether the villi were healing.

The UK then copied that experience.

Upon a biopsy proving positive the person was and is declared to have celiac disease and is allowed bread, flour and biscuits on doctor's prescription at a flat rate.

The "Codex Alimentarius" keeps being changed, a few years ago it became 200ppm, I don't know whether that was down or up from previous.

This doesn't apply to me for two reasons:

- They forgot to send me for the biopsy straight away and it is too late for a safe gluten challenge. (A conference speaker said to me, off the podium, that he thinks this happens a lot.)

- I am wheat intolerant.

I hear again and again that in British hospitals it is difficult to get gluten-free meals for in-patients with celiac disease.

Different countries have different diagnosis statistics but they mostly appear spurious due to woolly thinking in the criteria.

I'm told that prescriptions will also cover the WF items as well.

In shops it is difficult to distinguish CAW items from GFWF items, very nifty label reading is required. At celiac events it's assumed you don't need to go WF which I find alarming.

I know the prescription thing is unique to the UK but wondered if any of you have CAW and how you get on with it (all power to you if you do!) rather than any scientific background papers as I have got some of those already, it's the experiences I'd like to hear.

[lotusgem]

Michael,

never heard of what you described, although I am self-diagnosed, so not working with a doctor. But I doubt if CAW exists in the U.S.A. because it would imply a much more widespread knowledge of the disease than appears to be the case with our doctors. I find it interesting that even though Celiac seems to be generally known in Britain, still, it sounds as though there may be a good bit of misinformation circulating over there. I guess you're a step ahead of us, though, because we haven't yet gotten to the point where most doctors are even aware of the disease.

(By the way, I loved Top Cat too! Used to have a Top Cat coloring book. Later, in the 70's, I worked as an "inbetweener" drawing animated cartoons at Hanna-Barbera studios in Hollywood, the home of dear T.C., the coolest cat around.)

Paula

[tarnalberry]

Nope, not in the US. There may be some products that are imported here that make use of CAW, but I've never seen any myself.

[Guest BellyTimber]

Paula - a Top Cat fan!! Is there a fan club - a web site - etc - etc - perhaps we can "talk" about him on the Gab-Chat pages?

No I don't think most doctors have awareness of celiac disease-like conditions here either. Yes misinformation is rather a good word for it.

I did read somewhere that in the States, CAW would by law have to be called low gluten rather than gluten free, perhaps it is known but on a very small scale (the low gluten rationale doesn't have much appeal). I think here it is tied in with prescription foods (though you can also get certain WF items on prescription) and perhaps a glut of aid in the form of wheat after the war.

According to a post on the travel section, Italy seems to have a prescription food system of some kind, I don't know anything about it though.