What is Gluten?

Gluten is the main protein found in cereal grains, including wheat, barley, rye, kamut, spelt, oats, triticale.  A large number of people are unable to consume gluten without serious and sometimes dangerous bowel illness as a result.  Symptoms include:

diarhea;

weight loss;

malnutrition.

One group of people who are seriously affected by gluten are called "celiacs".  There are Celiac Associations all over Canada, where people support each other and teach new members how to eat a satisfying and convenient diet built around gluten free products.  Wherever you are , the Canadian Celiac Association link can help you locate the nearest chapter to you.  There is a growing selection of gluten free products on the market today, and the celiac really need suffer very little deprivation.  Bread is the most difficult thing to compensate for.  Take out the difficulty in finding a satisfactory sandwich loaf, and there is really nothing you can't get or make with gluten free products. 

At Eat Healthy Foods we have a fine selection of gluten free foods. 

We sell a book (The Gluten Free Pocket Dictionary) which will tell you what products are gluten free and which are not.  It is not a big book, just a small pocket dictionary that you can carry around until you know what contains gluten and what does not.  It costs $8.95.

You can use it to determine which products are OK for you and which are not.  Other good links include:

Celiac Information;

Celiac Disease Foundation;

Celiac SPRUE Association;

Canadian Celiac Association.

If you are newly diagnosed. try not to think of it as an imposition on your lifestyle, but an adventure in seeking out new foods you might never have tried!  Or if you don't wish to be adventurous, we have many things that you are used to having that we can provide a gluten free option for.  We have everything from breakfast cereal to pastas, to pizza, to snack foods to take out meals that are gluten free and absolutely delicious. Your life is not over - it hasn't even changed that much, once you know where to find the products that you can have.