A comment from the US -- Extremely hard! Celiac's not only have to be concerned about wheat but
wheat, barley, rye and oats (mainly a contamination problem). Additionally, food cooked in utinsils
that have had gluten products cooked in them also are unsafe (IE baking utinsils where there is
debris baked onto the pans, iron wear where there is gluten cooked onto the utinsil) it all leaches
out into the food that's being cooked.
How hard is it? I was in the hospital in Aug. and went without food for 60 hours because the
hospital could not supply a gluten free diet and until I instructed them on how to do it. I had to
call a friend to go to the supermarket and pick me up some rice cakes and some coldcuts from a brand
I know is GF.
2 years prior, the same thing is a hospital. I said, gluten free. They said, What is that? The
doctor sent back 3 meals because they were not gluten free. Again, I had to call up someone to
bring me food.
I watched as I had Chinese dish prepared to my specifications -- no soy because it contains wheat.
They did. Except they were also cooking someone elses meal, dipped a dipper into the soy and dropped
droplets all over mine moving it to the other meal.
In a restaurant, they automatically put on croutons after I specifically said no gluten, no bread
etc. It came with croutons. I said I can't eat that. They simply went over to the counter and I
watched them take out the croutons!
Hard -- yes extremely hard.
BTW, I had no symptoms from gluten. I just stopped absorbing my prescription drugs and had become
lactose intolerant. It took 18-months on a GF diet for the lactose intolerance to clear up. I can't
take the chance of someone contaminating my food -- my life depends on having a non-destroyed small
intestine in order to absorb the required medications.
Quoted message said:Geez.
Just eat at anyplace, and order wheat free food.
How hard can it be????
K (in the same boat)
