diabetes and celiac disease-- celiac diet -- OT somewhat

[Rosemary C Hyde PhD]

Dear Margaret,

At least in the US, the hardships of a gluten-free diet have largely been mitigated by the energetic initiatives of the health food industry -- one can now get gluten-free everything, from pasta to bread, crackers, cookies, pastry, snacks, ice cream, you name it. I tend to avoid Italian restaurants, but at home I make great pizzas with rice crusts that I buy ready made, and with rice cheese (to avoid dairy), and other typical pizza ingredients. When I go to a picnic or a potluck, I just make sure I bring something yummy that's gluten-free (and a lot of other folks will appreciate it, too). If I serve rice crackers for hors d'oeuvres, people are pleasantly surprised -- it's a bit offbeat, and they usually really like them. So it's no longer such a great hardship as it was 30 years ago or more to follow a gluten-free diet. Tell your friend that they'll probably enjoy exploring the possibilities, and they'll all most likely get to like the gluten-free varieties of food better than the wheat-based ones. They often use whole grains and better quality foods, and tend to be tastier than the more common wheat alternatives.

Rosemary