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

I am stuck cooking for DG who has similar problems digesting food and gets sick when there is something in the food that bothers his digestion and with celiac (extreme gluten intolerance) it is really difficult to consistantly fix meals that are nutricious and not boring but don't result in a three or four day bout of illness both mental and physical. Between NOT being able to use processed foods and not beinG able to get the right amount of fiber and nutrients from ever more expensive produce it is a real conundrum. In addition there are food labeling issues that are a real problem here as well as companies that CAN make healthier food for everyone refuse to label things clearly because their lawyers try to limit their liabilities.

We're fairly lucky in the UK in that respect, all our foods are fully labelled with ingredients with special attention given to potential allergens and, usually, calory count and other useful information.

Well they do have to label things ---except for the frozen chips --they can be coated with a very fine level or flour to keep the pieces from sticking to each other. This has wheat in it and for some reason not on the packaging. Potatoes are otherwise safe to eat so that is rather annoying. MSG is also quite comman in foods- especially in oriental foods and for some reason dips and flavoured potato crisps. It is one of the additives that causes people to binge eat.

Pretty sure all this stuff is labelled in the UK. Still, information is only part of the battle isn't it?

Yes the problem is that everyone's nutritional requirements are so darn idiosyncratic, because of the zillions of bacteria in the gut---when their balance is off, food cannot be digested, this is sort of a non-disease dysfunction ---but celiac destroys the tiny fingers called villae in the small intestine that transfer the nutrients to the blood. And I believe it interferes with fat digestion as well. Celiac also has a way of effecting mood and thought processes as well. Really scary and as hard to diagnose as any of the auto-immune diseases such as lupus and fibromyalgia.