The Medical Nutrition and Nutrition Entrepreneurs dietetic practice groups of the American Dietetic Association provide medical nutrition therapy based on your diagnosis. Dietitians often have their own private practice nutrition counseling services in addition to services provided in a clinic or hospital. You can find a dietitian at the American Dietetic Association. Include your zip code or city / state, the type of service you want (individual consultation) and expertise in digestive disorders and gastrointestinal diseases / disorders.

GMML stands for gluten free meal. People who have gluten intolerance cannot eat any wheat, rye or barley. Oatmeal cannot be harvested with equipment that is used with wheat, rye or barley or manufactured in a plant that processes wheat, rye or barley to be considered gluten-free.

I would recommend you evaluate your menu items to help your customer identify foods they can order.

First how were you diagnosed with gluten intolerance? Diagnosis should include testing your blood for antibodies (IgA TTG and EMA) and possibly an endoscopy with a biopsy of your small intestinal wall. Gluten intolerance is not a food allergy, but an immune disorder. Typically, persistent diarrhea, bloating and stomach discomfort after eating wheat is the most common symptom. Nutrition therapy which eliminates foods with gluten is the only treatment.

Rice, potato or corn flour, buckwheat, soy, tapioca and quinoa are substituted for wheat, rye and barley that contain gluten which are in many foods. Oats are only allowed if they are manufactured in a plant not manufacturing or milling any wheat, rye or barley ingredients. Vegetable protein products including bacon toppings which may contain wheat protein and soy sauce contain gluten as well. I would suggest you contact a registered dietitian for a detailed list and individualized meal plan.

There seems to be a popular notion that yeast in food products causes yeast (candida) infections of the gut. Eating yeast products like bread or bakery products (baker's yeast) or fermented alcoholic beverages like beer (brewer's yeast) does not cause a candida infection in the stomach or intestines. Candida is part of the normal flora on the skin and in the large bowel with no negative effect unless a person is critically ill from another cause. Candida can infect the uterus or bladder as well as thrush in the throat which often accompanies chemotherapy or radiation of the mouth or throat. Candida infections can occur in patients who have had abdominal surgery, organ transplants, HIV / AIDS, suppressed immune systems or people with feeding tubes. Yeast infections can effectively be treated with antifungal medications. I would recommend you discuss a yeast allergy further with your doctor.

Thanks for the information however, spelt is not allowed on celiac nutrition therapy which eliminates gluten. Research indicates it may be easier to digest, but it is closely related to wheat and should not be eaten by people with a gluten intolerance.

Spelt (uncooked and cooked) are in the USDA database. However, the gluten fraction of protein is not measured so I can't give you a comparison. Foods with any gluten including spelt should be eliminated by anyone with celiac disease.

I have sent you a document that lists manufacturers of gluten-free products available in the U.S., but I am not aware of what is available in Florida specifically. I emailed Disney regarding your request for gluten-free foods available at Disney World in Orlando Florida. Will forward email from Disney as soon as I receive it, but am unaware of your vacation dates in the U.S. Would suggest you ask to speak to a Disney World customer service person when you arrive and explain your needs. Also, would suggest you look in local pharmacy or grocery stores (special diet section) for gluten free foods in addition to bringing some non-perishable gluten free foods from your home in the U.K.

Just received a call from Guest Communications at Disney World in Orlando, Florida who offered the following information. There may not be many foods without gluten available at the counter service throughout the park as the foods in these stands are frozen, prepared. Instead, Shawn suggested your best service would be at full service restaurants. He spoke to executive chefs at their full service restaurants who said that while there was no special listing of menu items that are gluten-free, there are vegetable and fruit plates available. Ask to talk to the chef at any restaurant who will be thrilled to come out and speak to you about what you about what your son would eat on a gluten-free nutrition therapy. You may also contact the restaurant manager. Shawn suggested you contact the restaurant a day ahead of time and they could make gluten-free pancakes, waffles or bread for your son's breakfast. If you would like to bring some gluten-free foods into Disney World, just explain to guest relations when you enter that your son is on a gluten-free nutrition therapy. Shawn stated that Disney World would do whatever it takes to accommodate guests on special diets.

Shawn said that Disney World restaurants buy gluten-free flour at Chamberlains Natural Food Products in Orlando. Hope this information makes your visit to Disney World a lot more fun!

Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) may contain gluten. HVP has been used as a meat extender or formed into a product to imitate meat.

Special flour with the gluten removed (DP Baking Mix, DP Low Protein Wheat Starch), corn starch or rice flour can be used in place of regular flours. The flours and bread were developed by General Mills; Number one General Mills Boulevard; Golden Valley, Minnesota 55427. Also, some grocery stores carry a gluten-free bread.

Celiac disease (also called non-tropical sprue) is caused by a sensitivity to a protein called gluten which is found in most cereal grains (wheat, rye and barley), but not in corn and rice. Oats are OK as long as they are processed in a plant that doesn't also process wheat, rye or barley. Symptoms can start suddenly and there is no known cause for this sudden intolerance to gluten in previously healthy people. However, it is not an allergic reaction like folks have to other foods like eggs or lactose intolerance from milk products.

As to a cure, none is known at this time and researchers would have to discover what causes the symptoms to prevent the changes seen in the mucous lining of the intestines. These changes decrease absorption of nutrients resulting in diarrhea and malnutrition. Until then, I would highly recommend you follow a gluten free nutrition therapy. Some people tolerate some gluten and by now, you probably know what foods you can eat. Hopefully you are an avid label reader. Luckily since Jan 2006, foods containing wheat must be labeled as such.

Yes, some people with gluten intolerance can experience constipation, but this seems to involve very fewer people than experience diarrhea.

Diagnosis may also include an endoscopy (which you mention) where by the doctor inserts a flexible tube with a camera in the mouth to take a biopsy of the intestinal wall. Typically, the villi flatten out in the intestine of people with gluten intolerance. The villi are the absorptive surfaces for nutrients in the intestinal tract and are also responsible for resorbing fluid from waste products prior to excretion.

If you look at your hand with your fingers outspread, that is what your intestinal villi looks like. If you then close the spaces between your fingers so that they are touching, that is what hypertrophied villi with reduced absorptive surfaces looks like in celiac disease.

You are correct in that soybeans do not contain gluten. If hydrolyzed vegetable protein is listed in the ingredient label, without listing the vegetable source, which could be wheat, then HVP is not recommended for celiac nutrition therapy.

Individuals should contact their doctor if they are having any of the above symptoms rather than diagnosing themselves.

Celiac sprue results in a permanent intolerance to gluten, which is the structural protein component of wheat, barley and rye. Its symptoms are continuous diarrhea, cramping abdominal pain, weight loss and anemia. A doctor must be seen to diagnose celiac disease. Diagnosis may include symptoms, blood antigen testing and possibly an intestinal biopsy. The doctor may have tried your husband on a strict gluten-free nutrition therapy to see if his symptoms improved. Improvement of symptoms occurs within days and the mucous lining in the intestines may revert completely to normal within 6 to 9 months of a celiac nutrition therapy. A person with celiac disease should remain on a gluten-free meal plan for life.

A lot of foods contain gluten and some are not obvious. Bread, cake and baking mixes, pie crusts, gravy and seasoning mixes, pancakes, waffles, canned chili and soups, canned entrees and packaged rice mixes all contain some gluten. Even small amounts of regular flour such as the flour used to bread meat or fish could cause diarrhea. A person with celiac disease must carefully read all labels and look for hidden sources of gluten.