My Boyfriend Thinks He Has Celiac Disease

[Megan7788]

My boyfriend and I have been together about a year now. Since I

[GlutenFreeManna]

My boyfriend and I have been together about a year now. Since I

[Skylark]

Ideally he would go back on gluten for at least a month and to the doctor for testing. As GlutenFreeManna said, he cannot be tested gluten-free. If gluten makes him way to sick to consider going back on it, he'll have to go without testing but a lot of people get tired of the diet and wish they knew whether traces of gluten would harm them.

If you're so inclined, learning about the gluten-free diet and cooking gluten-free food and goodies for him is the most supportive thing to do. It's so nice when a friend pays attention and offers me gluten-free food. You don't have to buy expensive stuff. It's easier to get 100% gluten-free food from scratch with natural, whole ingredients anyway. Get yourself a fresh cutting board that you only use for his gluten-free food and try to cook for him in pots that you've scrubbed well. Things like older teflon and seasoned cast iron often have gluten on them so set those aside for your own cooking. Clean food prep surfaces well too and make sure there are no breadcrumbs or flour around the kitchen.

GlutenFreeManna gave you a great list of foods. Remember that lots of recipes are naturally gluten-free or can be make that way. Something bready like pizza is a really hard place to start. I'm much more likely to do a gluten-free stir fry with rice (San J tamari is gluten-free), fry up some chicken breasts with herbs and serve with mashed potatoes and veggies, or toss something in the broiler or on the grill. (Put foil on the grill rack since it will likely have gluten on it.) Think potatoes and rice, salads and veggies, and meats with naturally gluten-free seasonings.

For eating out, do a little research and make a list of restaurants in your area that you like and that have gluten-free selections. Then you can suggest somewhere you will both enjoy eating.

If either of you have questions, feel free to ask here. We're all experts on this diet, from hard-earned first-hand experience.

[WheatChef]

If you've got even the most remedial of skills in the kitchen it's super easy to just keep cooking dishes that are gluten free (assuming you're not vegan). You're already being a super girlfriend with how supportive it sounds like you're being as well as how active you are in learning and asking about info on this whole disease/diet. Eating gluten free around your boyfriend is super awesome and who knows, you may find out that you feel better on the diet as well. Either way, if you do sneak a beer or a bagel every now and then (which would not only be acceptable but simply your right to do so) just be sure that you keep track of this and avoid kissing for almost 2hours afterwards. The gluten in your mouth, stuck under your tongue and around your teeth could inadvertently enter his mouth and cause him problems.