Mandisha Kaur These days, it’s pretty common to run into someone who plans their meals around gluten-free products. Some do so voluntarily, but for others, it’s essential to their health.
In Canada, one in every hundred people are diagnosed with celiac’s disease. Shifting to a gluten free diet is not easy, especially for families with young children.
That’s where Growing Up Celiac comes in, a book produced by the Canadian Celiac Association (CCA).
Aimed at young families, Growing Up Celiac provides information about celiac’s disease, and how to transition to a gluten-free lifestyle. Referred to as a “workbook,” Growing Up Celiac addresses all areas of life, including dining out or what to do at a birthday party when your child can’t eat the cake.
With its family oriented approach — it contains advice from other parents as well as exercises — the workbook provides an important service to the group most affected by celiac disease.
Dr. Justine Turner, an associate professor at the University of Alberta and specialist in pediatric gastroenterology & nutrition, explains that most people diagnosed celiac are children. She added about 220 children are diagnosed with the disease yearly.
Things as simple as family dinner, school lunches, and even playdough could suddenly pose a threat to a child’s health. And while celiac disease is a physical disorder, it can cause social complications as well.
Dr. Turner, consulted in the development of the Growing Up Celiac workbook, was surprised by some of the discoveries made through the project.
“One of the things that surprised me is that parents wanted to talk about food bullying,” Dr. Turner said. “There are patients who’ve told us they were bullied at school because they eat different food.”
There is a section in the back of the workbook dedicated to the problem of ‘Food Bullying.’ It suggests that the parents familiarize themselves with school bullying policies so that they know what to do, should the need arise. And that’s just one of the sections that goes beyond what to eat or how to shop. Others include travelling tips, advice for teachers, and how to help a child understand celiac disease.
Dr. Turner said this is a welcome resource to those recently diagnosed — adult celiacs included. Through the workbook, the CCA engages meaningfully with the celiac community, alerting newcomers to the kind of difficulties they will face, as well as provide solutions they can use.
“Some things that we don’t think about as doctors is going to have a huge impact on everything that child does,” Dr. Turner said.
