h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

bionicTonyM? That's 'cos I have a plastic valve in my heart which, if it goes very quiet can be heard 'clicking' !!.. Not quite ^ million dollars worrth ( 20p from Woolies ?).
Anyway, having been diagnosed with coeliac disease when I was in my late 40s (and realising I was born with it !!) I was surprised to see that no mention was made of gluten free products which can be obtained under (free) prescription. ...............
I agree with the contributor who notes that it is a disease and not merely 'an allergy'................finding out about it late in lfe meant that I understood, at last, why so much of my "digestive life" (You really don't want to know !!) had been so troublesome.
Coeliac disease is a very serious malabsorption condition.I thought you article was somewhat less serious than it could have been
BionicTonyM

My son,who is now forty,was born with this problem.As i breast fed him for quite a while,it did not show up.It was only when he was fed solids,things started to go wrong.He was prescribed all his dietary needs on the NHS,i picked up most of his food from the chemist.He is a strapping lad,but has to be so very careful of what he eats and drinks.He could not work out why,after only two pints of lager,he woke up with the worst hangover ever,stupid boy,it did not occur to him what lager was made from, It has also transpired he is dairy allergic,so he uses soya milk,from what i have read in this entry,that can be a bit dodgy.I tried soya milk in my tea and all i can say it was revolting.My son is a chef,but rarely eats what he cooks for his clients.I have two other children and neither of them are affected in this way,i wonder where it comes from and why?

The use of the word "corn" is problematic because in much of the world corn is a synonym for wheat (hence the London Corn Exchange).

Nurse's Corn Flour is a vey fine wheat flour.

When checking ingredients, it is never sufficient to rely on the term corn: you need to find maize.

Ah, good point. In the US, corn is maize.

It mostly is everywhere but I will lay odds that if you check the ingredients of a corn flour box, a good number of the older brands will be selling flour from grains other than maize.

When selling as a vegetable, the word corn is always (as far as I know) to maize everywhere. However 800 years of usage of it as the common word for "grain" can't be replaced trivially and there are some odd spots where its old meaning is still found (ingredient lists being one).

Absolutely right, and good to watch out for.

Also beware: in the US, corn meal is maize, but don't use a cornbread mix.

It will always have a little wheat flour in it, as a relative found out when I refused to eat her cornbread until I had read the bag. Then, of course, I just refused to eat it.

It's great to see such interest and discussion in this topic - it shows just what a minefield it is, and it's always useful to share experiences and discoveries.

Just for reference, while Kellogg's Cornflakes might be out, many shop brand equivalents are fine - Morrisons and Tesco (if my recollection is correct) do perfectly decent cornflakes suitable for a coeliac. Health food stores that deal in vegetarian and vegan products can be a good spot to track down gluten-free varieties of goods, like soy sauce. Experimentation in the kitchen can lead to many discoveries - my wife makes a mean gluten-free cookie, for example, that frankly puts the shop bought gluten-free equivalents to shame.



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