Low Gluten- Is It Ok

[Nic from Aust]

My 6yo daughter has been diagnosed with coeliacs since last xmas. Her dietician put her onto a low gluten diet. She said that the amount of gluten in foods with glucose etc in is minimal and wont effect her. But I am worried!!

[KaitiUSA]

That is false. She needs to be completely gluten free. A low gluten diet is the same as being on gluten..she will likely see complications in the future if she continues that. Glucose does not have gluten either so I'm not sure where your dietitian is getting that. Sounds to me like the dietitian needs the boot out the door. Alot of dietitians and even alot of doctors do not know what they should about celiac.

You may want to print out the safe and forbidden foods list on here to use as a guideline. Gluten can be hidden under so many things. Also, there are brands, such as Kraft, that will not hide anything and liste wheat,rye,barley,oats on the label. Those brands are helpful and the whole list of brands like that are listed on this site.

P.S-It depends on what country you are in for brands though.This is US policy on brands.

[Carriefaith]

My 6yo daughter has been diagnosed with coeliacs since last xmas. Her dietician put her onto a low gluten diet.

A low gluten diet could still damage the villi in the small intestine and lead to the malabsorption of nutrients. Your daughter may or may not have symtpoms on the low gluten diet but intestinal damage may still be occuring. Celiacs need to be 100% gluten free or they have a higher chance of developing anemia, osteoporosis, infertility, cancer, ect. I would highly recommend changing dieticians.

If you need any help or have any questions don't hesitate to post them here

[mike and dante]

hi there your dr. should have his/her licence removed. going on a low gluten diet is just as dangerous as eating all gluten. one crumb is enough gluten too much.I hope you take the advice of all of us living with celiacs and not theirs , their way is wrong!!

[gf4life]

Hi Nic,

Your dietician is mis-informed. Low gluten is not good enough, it needs to be 100% gluten free for your daughter to be healthy. You are from Australia right? That is why your name is Nic from Aust. I have noticed that a lot of gluten free brands are from Australia, so you should be able to find good food choices to substitute for the gluten foods. I know how picky 6 year old girls can be though, since I have one of my own but since you obviously want her to be at her healthiest then you will need to either get a new dietician or do the research yourself on how to feed her 100% gluten-free (my recommended choice!).

It is certainly possible to be 100% gluten-free, since so many of us here are able to do it for us and our kids. A lot of doctors here in the USA also tell their patients that it is impossible to be 100% gluten-free, especially with regards to children. But what I have found is that a 6 year old is perfectly capable of learning how to eat gluten-free and what to watch for when others prepare her food. My daughter would have gotten sick at least a dozen times last school year if she was not aware of what she can and can't have. At snack time the teacher and aide would just be passing out snacks and wouldn't notice when they got to my daughter. They would put regular gluten pretzels, cookies, and crackers on her plate. She would just speak up and tell them that she can't eat that and now she needs a new clean plate to eat her own gluten-free snack (that we keep at school in her classroom in a plastic storage bin). The teacher and aide both told me that they really appreciated how knowldgable she was about her diet, since it was too easy for them to forget.

Let your daughter help you decide what she will eat and teach her not to accept food from other people unless she clears it with you first. As she gets older she will be able to speak for herself at school and other peoples homes. There is a wealth of information available on food brands here, but not all of it will be available where you are. You will need to call companies to find out what foods they offer are gluten-free and make your own list. Unless of course there are support groups there that have created their own lists to share. Then you could just add to that. But do not go back to that dietician, please. That kind of misinformed dietician does more damage than good.

God bless,

Mariann

[Guest nini]

Low Gluten is NOT OK... stick with completely gluten free it's the only safe way.

In Australia I know there is the Orgran brand of products, they have some bread mixes, crackers and such that are all gluten free.

But if you are in Austria then I don't have a clue LOL!!!

[plantime]

Everyone here is right. A little bit of gluten to a celiac is like a little bit of rat poison to a mouse.

[connole1056]

That is too bad you were told that. Did you ask why a little gluten would be alright, but alot wouldn't? It does not make sense to me! A long while back, I heard about celiacs outside the US being told low-gluten was fine, but I thought that had been settled and was not happening any longer.