Gluten Facts

An estimated 1-2% of the population suffers from this autoimmune digestive disease (where the body's own defense system mistakenly attacks its own body) and leads to chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The problem can be traced back to an indigestability of certain proteins known as gluten.

Gluten is a general term for the protein found in the majority of cereal grains - namely wheat (and its family grains such as spelt, triticale & kamut), barley, rye and possibly oats. Strangely enough, corn and rice also contain gluten, but for some reason, do not cause the same effect in coeliac sufferers. However it is not the total protein content of these foods which initiates coeliac disease. It is possible to differentiate between gluten and non-gluten protein. In wheat, gluten consists of two large fractions known as prolamin and glutenin, and these proteins can be further divided into sub-fractions. Only certain sub-fractions of the prolamin fraction initiate coeliac disease. These sub-fractions are called gliadins.

When a person with coeliac disease eats food containing this protein, the lining of their small intestine loses the villi (tiny hair-like projections that form the intestinal lining and vastly increase the surface area to allow absorption of nutrients) making sufferers unable to thrive, regardless of how much food they consume. This inability to take in the nutrients not only leads to malnourishment through vitamin deficiency but can also result in anaemia, osteoporosis and other neurological complications. If the disease goes untreated for too long, patients are more at risk of contracting cancers such as intestinal lymphoma and bowel carcinoma.

The good news is that coeliac disease can be treated by a change in diet and sometimes, all that is needed for a patient to return to good health, is to eat a gluten-free (prolamin or gliadin-free) diet. As the incidence of coeliac sufferers is increasing as well as those who may need a modified diet to control other problems, the range of ready-made gluten-free foods is escalating. Often though, these foods are not available on prescription, and are expensive because of the high standards of care needed to ensure no cross contamination occurs. Don't worry, you don't have to suffer a menu of beans and salads for evermore and you don't have to become an expert at reading the small print on every ingredient label in the supermarket (though I'm sure you already are!). You may yet discover hidden culinary skills- there is nothing quite like the smell of home baking to get the digestive juices flowing and with a little imagination, you will soon find delicious alternatives - we are here to help you do just that!

If you have already tried to bake gluten-free bread or have tasted the ready baked loaves on offer, you will already know the taste, texture and structure is not the same. More than any other, the gluten found in wheat imparts elasticity and chewiness, holds gases to allow rise in a loaf and generally gives a superior shape and mouth feel. However for those of you who cannot digest the protein, then compromises must be made and we're here to help. Infuriatingly, though, it is difficult to bake most things other than pastry and biscuits without both gluten and egg because without egg you need the binding properties of flour, and vice versa, so those with an egg allergy have to experiment a little more with egg replacers.

Yes, but you must not confuse it with normal wheat starch. Gluten-free wheat starch needs a high degree of separation technology and special production conditions, but certainly gives better taste and structure when used in baking bread, cakes and pastries. Over the years, countless coeliac patients have shown no adverse health effects when consuming food made with wheat starch which has had the proteins removed that are known to cause the problem. Please note the codex alimentarius limit of less than 200 parts per million(ppm) is to be reduced to less than 20 ppm for a product to be recognised as gluten-free, so labelling systems will change to reflect the changes when EU legislation comes into force in 2011. Our test kits can detect gluten at the lower level so we are confident that we can offer customers safe GF products. It has been noted though that some coeliacs cannot tolerate wheat starch even at the lower level and prefer to avoid "codex" wheat.

Although parents have been reporting for years, a connection between diet and autism, there is a growing body of research that shows that certain foods seem to be affecting the developing brains of some children and causing autistic behaviours. This is not because of allergic reactions to the food, more a result of the child's inability to properly break down certain proteins. Removing dairy and gluten containing foods may seem daunting at first, but the resulting improvements once diet is altered, are felt to make the whole exercise worthwhile. Please note that any wheat-containing products, even those deemed to be negative by the codex alimentarius (<20ppm) are not suitable for the suggested diet. We have produced a special blend of flour (Respectrum flour) containing potato, tapioca and white rice flour (no brown rice flour) specially for those following the exclusion diet, and our gluten-free baking powder is made with white rice flour also.

Cross contamination is a problem in the food industry and patients need the assurance from manufacturers that they have done everything within their power to provide safe products. The production facility employs HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) procedures to ensure product integrity, and staff are trained in allergen awareness.

Contact us on info@innovative-solutions.org.uk if your GP or pharmacist requires the P.I.P. references to enable you to receive products on prescription, and we will email the form to you. Alternatively, use the link at the side to download the prescription form in Word format. Please be aware that the pharmacy wholesalers do not stock our products so the pharmacist will have to telephone us direct to obtain your prescription.