prescriptions for babies.

Indie_Kid

Humphrey10 wrote: »

Seriously? They don't sell fruit, vegetables, pulses, meat, cheese, milk etc etc? Are you looking in a bakers or something?

If someone's only dietary restriction is that they cannot eat wheat gluten, I really cannot understand what the problem is. If there are other restrictions then I can see the problem and why they'd need specialist food, but if it's just wheat free stuff I really don't see the problem.

You can't just live on fruit, vegetables, potato, meat, milk, etc. At one point I was both wheat and lactose intolerant. I can only eat 2-3 portions of fruit / veg a day. Certain foods given me severe indigestion or wind.

straalende

Humphrey10 wrote: »

Assuming it's gluten free bread and flour that you are talking about, I really can't see how the lack of that would drive anyone to tears, or why it needs to be an important part of her diet. What's wrong with rice or potatoes, if it's carbohydrates she wants?

Also, why would someone need to eat ready meals and sweets? Lots of people don't, for healthy eating, for health reasons, to save money. It's not strange or unusual not to eat such things.

I'm not trying to be nasty, I'm trying to understand what health condition could require someone to make bread and flour an important part of their diet?

Bread, flour and breakfast cereals are a major source of folic acid and vitamin D in our diets today. A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone thinning (which I have in my spine, not fun!). There's your 'health condition that requires bread and flour to be an important part of a person's diet' - I'm just going on the published advice to doctors, they are told to prescribe these things. Gluten free food is made to be richer in calcium to support bone health for this reason.
I understand you're not trying to be nasty but it's surprising how critical people can sound without realising.
I never ate much bread to begin with but don't fancy eating rice or potatoes every lunchtime either! I imagine many non-coeliac people eat toast at breakfast or sandwiches for lunch and might find it difficult to cut these out altogether. Perhaps you might not, but we're all different. I have been buying gluten-free bread since my diagnosis at almost £2.50 a loaf because I neither get free prescriptions nor really use enough to pay the prescription charge. I might buy 2-3 loaves a month so at most I spend about £7.50. I could pay £7.20 for more loaves on prescription but wouldn't use them so it's a waste of my money and that of the NHS. But that's just me, lots of people eat more bread and who is anyone to say they shouldn't? Bear in mind, these loaves are, according to the advice to doctors, 1/3 the physical size and half the weight of a normal loaf. So though it might seem like a lot, the nutritional content is simply not comparable with an equivalent number of supermarket or baker's loaves.

I agree with GlasweJen about the likelihood of that child eating the amount of gluten-free foods she described, it seems unlikely for sure, but the majority of people for whom doctors prescribe this food really do need it. Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition and not just fussy eating. It can lead to lymphoma. How's about a bit of empathy?

I think coolcait made an excellent post and agree that serious nut-allergy sufferers should receive prescription foods where needed. PKU sounds very frightening indeed and I am glad to have learned something today. I wish your friend well.

So as a coeliac empathising with the nut allergy sufferers, and indeed anyone with a serious medical condition, can I ask everyone to try to show a little more understanding to eachother?

Cheers.

straalende

coolcait wrote: »

Equally, without wanting to be nasty, your last paragraph sums up the attitude which my friend faces every day. It's understandable from 'the man in the street'. I personally find it appalling and unacceptable when it's coming from health professionals - in the widest definition of the phrase.

Well said.:T

Humphrey10

sh1305 wrote: »

You can't just live on fruit, vegetables, potato, meat, milk, etc.

Yes of course most people can, they don't need wheat at all. What on earth would they need to eat wheat for? If you can't eat milk or vegetables I can see how you might have to resort to bread due to lack of alternatives, but most people can eat milk or vegetables.
As I said in my post:
'If there are other restrictions then I can see the problem and why they'd need specialist food'

Vitamin D - you get it from sunlight I thought? Unless you have dark skin or don't go out in the sun. From a quick Google, fish and eggs contain vitamin D also, and are wheat free. Folic acid is in many foods, leafy veg and beans, both of which are wheat free.

I have countless low-GI cookbooks at home, with lots of wheat free meals inside. I'm vegetarian too, so if you eat meat you can have a much more varied wheat free diet.

I now no longer feel at all guilty for costing the NHS £3 a day for test strips and god knows how much for fancy analogue insulin!

I did think it odd that some people with diabetes say they have a very healthy diet and then wonder why they go blind, need amputations, etc due to high blood sugar. When questioned, it's usually because they have been stuffing their faces with bread 'because it's normal to eat bread, everyone must eat bread or they will die, and it doesn't have any sugar in!'. I thought they were just self-harming, I didn't realise that anyone could honsetly think bread was an essential food for humans!

MrsE_2

sh1305 wrote: »

You can't just live on fruit, vegetables, potato, meat, milk, etc. At one point I was both wheat and lactose intolerant. I can only eat 2-3 portions of fruit / veg a day. Certain foods given me severe indigestion or wind.

Yes you can:huh:

Indie_Kid

MrsE wrote: »

Yes you can:huh:

You try just living on those things and tell me how boring it gets. where would you get your energy from?

Unless you've had a wheat intolerance, you don't understand and never will do. If you claim you can live on those things, explain exactly what someone can have for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks? I've been told by my GP that I have to limit my fruit / veg intake - because of the issues it causes with IBS.

faithcecilia

sh1305 wrote: »

You try just living on those things and tell me how boring it gets. where would you get your energy from?

Unless you've had a wheat intolerance, you don't understand and never will do. If you claim you can live on those things, explain exactly what someone can have for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks? I've been told by my GP that I have to limit my fruit / veg intake - because of the issues it causes with IBS.

No one has said that people shouldn't be able to buy wheat-free products, just like some have to buy nut-free, and I have to buy dairy-free, celery-free, etc. You had said it was impossible to eat out, the above food list was suggested as options for such occasions, not for the only things you ever eat. I am in no way saying that your dietary needs aren't important, I understand only too well as I have ended up in hospital before now simply from walking down the fruit and veg aisle in a supermarket:eek:, but in almost all situations it is possible to get by.

GlasweJen

The store I work in had to move the christmas nuts away from the fruit and veg section as they were causing me to react from 50m away in optical!

Humphrey10

sh1305 wrote: »

You try just living on those things and tell me how boring it gets.

Loads of people do with no difficulty at all. Look it up on Google, you clearly have Internet access, try searching for things like 'low GI' 'low GL', and 'wheat free' for examples.

iamana1ias

sh1305 wrote: »

You try just living on those things and tell me how boring it gets. where would you get your energy from?

I haven't eaten meat for almost 25 years.

I haven't eaten bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, fruit or anything with sugar or flour in it for almost 4 years. I live on non-starchy veg, cheese and eggs (mostly) and have a fantastic repertoire of meals.

On top of that I am rarely hungry, have bags of energy and think clearly (because my brain isn't being fogged up with sugar ).

sh1305 wrote: »

Unless you've had a wheat intolerance, you don't understand and never will do. If you claim you can live on those things, explain exactly what someone can have for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks? I've been told by my GP that I have to limit my fruit / veg intake - because of the issues it causes with IBS.

I have eggs for breakfast (boiled, scrambled, fried or omeletted), soup (cauliflower and broccoli mostly) or salad for lunch (with prawns, feta, tuna or halloumi), and then a protein (fish mostly) with 2 or 3 non-starchy veg for dinner. I make a bread replacement from cream cheese and eggs (google "oopsie rolls"). For snacks I have a handful of nuts, or peanut butter with celery, or a small piece of cheese.

You need to be a bit more open-minded about food, my love