• Autoimmune diseases/ Celiac/ Coeliac/ Food intolerance/ Healthy Food/ Ketogenic diet/ Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity/ Wheat and Dairy Intolerance

    Healthy Food while travelling – with Food Intolerance

    healthy food while travelling - with food intolerance

    Finding Healthy Food while travelling – with Food Intolerance problems is not easy. I am lucky enough to have just had two wonderful, mainly sunny, weeks exploring the Canadian Rockies. As my son and I are both Gluten and Dairy free, travelling and eating out generally can cause problems. Canada had many more Gluten free restaurant options than we get in the UK and restaurant staff everywhere were much more aware and helpful than here. They also seem to serve low carb main meals and do not offer fries with everything. As with the special meal pictured above – the potato was minimal, which is how we like to eat. Even when high in the Rockies, Salads and fresh fruit salads were plentiful. We also found that they have quite a few Gluten free beers. As elsewhere, we found Italian Restaurants usually had Gluten free pasta and Pizza options.

    Preparation is everything

    I started by investigating the airline food available but there was literally nothing we could eat and although most airlines can substitute Gluten free or Dairy free they seem incapable of doing both. The risk is too great and nobody wants to be ill on a 9 hour flight or at the start of their trip. I bought some Paleo Protein Bars and made some chocolate crisp protein bars to fill in for when breakfast or lunch was not possible. We took dates, dairy free chocolate and mixed nuts (which we couldn’t eat because someone on the flight had a severe nut allergy.) We have a basic standby of fruit, ham or turkey, gluten free crackers and crisps which saw us through most of the difficult days actually travelling. Each place we visited we Googled ‘Gluten free Cafes and Restaurants’ and were quite overwhelmed by how much information was out there.

    Eating Out 

    We actually found some great places!  We had a delicious, really healthy lunch of Meatballs on zucchini noodles with mushroom sauce in The Kofta Meatball Kitchen in Cambie Street, Downtown Vancouver. We had a good burger with a very acceptable Gluten free Bun in Milestones, Kelowna plus salad.

    The best meal of the entire holiday was the steak wrapped in smokey bacon with a black pepper demi-glace and lovely fresh vegetables which is the feature image above. The chef at The Marmot Lodge, Jasper, then excelled himself by producing a gluten and dairy free Hazelnut chocolate tart with a berry coulee! It was incredible – thank you, you are a star!

    hazelnut chocolate torte

    Then when in Victoria on Vancouver Island we found an amazing place called Sante Gluten Free Cafe (check out their Facebook Page) where we had a fantastic chicken risotto and we also bought pizzas, lemon coconut slice plus a Cinnamon bun for our long journey home. We also had a lovely meal in the Milestone’s on Victoria Harbour.

    We survived the whole holiday without getting ‘glutened’ and have some lovely memories – so thank you Canada! It certainly isn’t easy finding healthy food while travelling – with food intolerances but with a little planning it is possible to eat and even be a little indulgent 😉

    Let’s hope awareness keeps improving.

  • Autoimmune diseases/ Celiac/ Coeliac/ Gluten/ NCGS/ Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity

    Celiac or NCGS is there a difference?

    Celiac or NCGS

    Celiac or NCGS is there a difference? Celiac (Coeliac in UK and Ireland) disease and the connection with wheat has been known about since the 1940’s and with gluten since 1952. Celiac disease is caused in genetically predisposed people by a reaction to a gluten protein called gliadin which can be found in wheat, barley, rye, spelt, durum, Kamut and triticale with some people also reacting to oats. Celiac Disease can vary from mild to severe usually showing destruction of the gut lining and is an Autoimmune disease.

    Despite nearly 65 years of knowledge it is poorly diagnosed across all age groups and it is estimated that less than a quarter of people are diagnosed. To confirm diagnosis raised antibodies (IgA) and destruction of the villi in the gut lining have to be demonstrated. Certain populations have a higher incidence, the populations of Ireland and Italy appear to and also people with Downs Syndrome have an increased risk .  Celiac disease is associated with a multitude of other chronic medical conditions, many of which are Autoimmune disorders and also some neurological disorders.

    NCGS – Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity was originally described in the 1980’s and only since 2010 has been included in the spectrum of gluten related disorders. It is also associated with Autoimmune disorders and neurological disorders where no small bowel disease has been discovered.

    It is known that there may be a genetic predisposition but that a trigger such as surgery, infection, pregnancy and emotional stress can trigger symptoms of Celiac disease and NCGS.

    The varied symptoms are common to both and can be:- Read More