A celiac disease patient’s diet requires a strict life-long suspension of all foods containing gluten, i.e. wheat, spelt, Khorasan wheat, rye, barley, and sometimes also oats. The ingested gluten triggers an immune response within the body, which gradually leads to the damage of the intestinal mucosa. This causes digestive disturbances when ingesting heavy foods, which is reflected in the form of bloating, diarrhoea and other problems. Therefore, most of often, the patients do not experience problems immediately after the consumption of a meal containing gluten, but rather after greasy food, milk, etc.
It takes a several-month lasting gluten-free diet without any “misdemeanour” for the mucous membrane to heal and the symptoms to subside. Already an amount greater 10 mg – this means a pinch of flour – can have a harmful impact. Since small amounts of gluten are often present in many other processed foods, gluten-free diet is particularly complex for the patient. Without the fear of dietary transgression, the patients can only consume unprocessed products which are naturally gluten-free (fruits, vegetables, milk, meat, etc.), otherwise only those products are safe, where it is clearly stated that they do not contain traces of gluten, meaning, that they are produced in a way where the product does not come into contact with wheat. Most of these products have been made by specific manufacturers who, under strict supervision, manufacture only gluten-free products – bread, pastry and pasta from other cereals which pose no risk for patients with celiac disease: corn, buckwheat, millet, rice, quinoa, etc.