Talofa Lava, sister Rasela in the bellylicious kitchen today. Yes, it’s that one hour of the week where we turn the BayFM studios into a tasty treat for your hungry ears … what are we covering today ??

GLUTEN, GLIADIN, COELIAC DISEASE … living with it, learning to live without it, replacement foods and alternatives so delicious they may entice you into a gluten free life whether you need to or not !!

 

I had a panel of guests this wonderful wheat free morning. They all had fascinating and informative stories about gluten and how it has graced their lives with lessons and learning’s, which is what disease can do if you look at it positively and discover more about the incredibly unique and gorgeous body you live in.

Perhaps you already know about gluten inside out or perhaps by listening or reading this you could learn a thing or two from belly, after all this is community radio, deliciously diverse, full of facts, fun and free spirited conversation.

What you choose to do with what you hear or read is entirely up to you because only you can know what’s best for you. We are just here chewing the unsaturated fats and stiring up a pot of bubbling belly broadcasting.

We started with a track from Xavier Rudd and maybe he’s singing about gluten in this track because it’s called FREEEEEEEEEE … all other tracks came from the Bomba vs Laroz album which i highly recommend.

A little lowdown on Coeliac Disease may help you to understand the basics of someone that has to live with this mostly reversable condition. This person could be YOU.

Coeliac Disease is a hereditary disorder which looks to be on the increase and thought to currently affect around 1 in 150 people. Still so many people live with the symptoms and are unaware they have to suffer this way. Those with the condition are sensitive to a part of protein found in wheat called gluten but more specifically GLIADIN which is the protein part of the wheat. It also includes some other grains that between them cause an immune response which damages and changes intestinal villi (vil-eye)  leading to malabsorbtion of nutrients from food amongst other things.

The walls of your intestines are covered with this villi which sort of resemble fingerlike structures, naturally flowing upright from the walls of the intestine. They are meant to allow the absorption of the nutrients we need to survive in between their villi structures.

 

Check out this slide show for a more detailed exploration into your intestines – http://www.medindia.net/slideshow/celiac-disease.asp

Someone with Coeliac Disease like my first guest Mikki has a different story going on down there. The villi in her intestines lays flat if she eats gluten. This is part of the immune response. If the villi are laying flat on top of one another, then the nutrients from food cannot be absorbed.  Inflammation and destruction of the intestinal villi also occurs which reduces the surface available for absorption in the small intestines so it is easy to become malnourished.

Common symptoms include – diarrhoea, abdominal pain, flatulence (farting), muscle cramps and spasms, fatigue and weight loss, and when more severe, anemia, easy bruising and bleeding, and reduced bone mineral density.

!! THE GOOD NEWS !!

Unlike most diseases, damage to the body is almost totally reversible by adopting a gluten free diet and a possible change of lifestyle. Rigorous reading of food labels will be necessary to detect ingredients and hidden wheat additions as wheat is used as a ‘filler’ to bulk out things like sausages for example !! Significant renewal is possible after 1-2 years of consistent effort but villi reversal results can often be seen after only a few weeks.

Many individuals with this disease are also lactose intolerant and so avoidance of most dairy products or at least reduced intake is recommended.

OMG !!! you may be thinking and a few years ago you might have had every reason to wonder what the beejeebers you would have left to eat BUT don’t despair … there are many many alternatives and here to tell us about them we have not one but TWO gluten free creative artists – Dale and Naomi – who are here to chat about their delicious mouthwatering xmas treats they have developed to cater for such needs.

 

As the guests lined up and we settled into the show Mikki spoke up first about bringing up her daughter who had Aspergis until she put her on a gluten free diet at the age of 11  and witnessed unbelievable changes. At the same time a listener called in to say it also helps in Down Syndrome and it has been documented that it is very common for people with Schizophrenia to be Coeliac’s, gluten intolerant or allergic to gluten … I’m sure the list goes on. The membrane of the intestine is very similar to parts of the brain and a sensitivity to gluten can cause moodiness and depression as well as agitation. I know this first hand.

I will come back and complete this post shortly but for now i will leave your belly’s rumbling with a link to “Lindt Chocolate Christmas Log”, “Heavenly Christmas Fruit Babycakes”, “Heavenly Gingerbread Stars” and “Star-Topped Mince Pies” all preservative free, chemical free, with natural food colourings, organic eggs, Australian butter, fruit and nuts and of course GLUTEN FREE .

My mouth is truly watering because i have a leaflet beside me with pictures of the above mentioned !!

Here are the luscious links –

Email – glutenfreeXMAS4u@gmail.com

Phone – 02 6680 1797 or 0434 550 811

Last orders Dec 17th. Last baking day Dec 21st.

Yuuuuuuuuum. With love sista r x