Author Archives: Harinder Pal Singh Lamba

If you have been recently diagnosed with celiac disease, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed and confused about what to do next. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that affects the small intestine, causing a range of symptoms including digestive issues, fatigue, and nutritional deficiencies. The only treatment for celiac disease is a strict gluten-free diet, which can be challenging to follow. Here are some tips and advice for those who have been recently diagnosed with celiac disease:

Get rid of gluten-containing foods: It’s essential to eliminate all gluten-containing foods from your diet. This includes wheat, barley, rye (American grain), and any foods made with these grains or their derivatives like Suji, Maida which are taken out from wheat flour. Check food labels carefully, and be aware that gluten can be found in unexpected places, such as soy sauce, salad dressings, and even medications.

Cook at home: Cooking at home is one of the best ways to ensure that your food is gluten-free. Invest in some good cookbooks and cooking equipment, such as a gluten-free toaster and separate cutting boards for gluten-free and gluten-containing foods. Buying a small grinding machine is a good addition. Follow GF bloggers on Instagram for more recipes. They are very innovative and lot of ideas can be captured from there.

Be vigilant when eating out: Eating out can be challenging for people with celiac disease. Always inform the restaurant staff of your dietary restrictions and ask about gluten-free options. Be aware that cross-contamination can occur in restaurants, so it’s important to choose restaurants that take gluten-free cooking seriously. Make the chef of your eating joint a friend and do comment/notify him before placing the order.

Stay positive: Living with celiac disease can be challenging, but it’s essential to stay positive and focus on the benefits of a gluten-free diet. Many people report feeling better physically and emotionally after adopting a gluten-free lifestyle.

Be patient with yourself: It can take time to adjust to a gluten-free diet and to learn how to navigate your new lifestyle. Be patient with yourself and don’t be too hard on yourself if you make mistakes or slip up from time to time.

Take care of your mental health: Celiac disease can be emotionally challenging, especially in the early stages of diagnosis. It’s important to prioritize your mental health by seeking support from a mental health professional, practising stress-reducing activities like meditation or yoga, and connecting with others who have celiac disease. Sharing your problems with your groups reduces stress and the better solutions are found.

Stay up-to-date with research: Celiac disease research is constantly evolving, and new treatments and therapies are being developed all the time. Stay up-to-date with the latest research by reading reputable medical journals and attending celiac disease conferences. Join many research and celiac support groups online like LinkedIn, WhatsApp as they help you on keeping updated.

Be aware of hidden sources of gluten: Gluten can be found in many processed foods, including soups, sauces, and seasonings. It can also be found in non-food products such as medications, vitamins, supplements, and personal care items like shampoo and lip balm. Be sure to check all product labels for hidden sources of gluten and ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist if you’re unsure about a particular product.

Choose trusted gluten-free brands: When choosing gluten-free products, it’s important to use trusted brands that specialize in gluten-free foods. Look for brands that manufacture their products in dedicated gluten-free facilities to avoid cross contamination. These facilities have strict protocols in place to ensure that their products are safe for people with celiac disease. Using trusted gluten-free brands can give you peace of mind that the products you’re consuming are safe and free from gluten. While it may be tempting to try new or unfamiliar brands, it’s important to read labels carefully and do your research before purchasing new products. Your registered dietitian can also provide recommendations for trusted gluten-free brands and products. Check with manufacturers whether they have qualified food specialists and dietitians in the staff. Do they test in-house for gluten. If yes, what testing equipment and qualified staff they have? What quality protocols they follow for checking additives, raw materials and spices etc.? and how often they get their samples checked from outside NABL accredited labs and are validated with in-house results.

Be always prepared: Always carry gluten free snacks and meals with you when you are traveling and going out. This will ensure that you will always have safe options available. It is better to be safe than sorry as no gluten free options some time while traveling, kills all the joy of travel. Keeping buffer is always the best option when your children are celiac.

In conclusion, celiac disease can be a challenging condition to manage, but with the right tools and support, it is possible to live a healthy and fulfilling life. Remember that you are not alone, and there are many resources available to help you on your journey. Stay informed, stay positive, and stay gluten-free!

Quality is not an adjective but a common noun in our factory as quality is ingrained in the ethos of every worker as well as staff. Trained on GHP/GMP of workers with hours of training by the Quality department, to keep a check on gluten in the products is an important step and can not be ignored especially when we are making products for Celiac Patients (to keep gluten less than 20 parts per million(20 mg per one kg is a challenge). From day one when Wheafree was conceived, the Quality Control lab was fully equipped with Elisa Plate Reader imported from the USA to check the gluten in additives, raw material and finished goods.

A Survey of all testing kits was done and finally R Biopharm Gluten testing kits from Germany, the best in sensitivity and which are used worldwide with consistent results were sourced. These imported kits are a little expensive but are reliable and trustworthy for results. The next thing undertaken by management was to train the qualified food technologists/ Microbiologists at NIFTEM to carry out the gluten testing by using the kits on Elisa machine. Every month four of our products are picked up and tested by our QC people and the results are verified and published on our website. Testing procedures and protocols are very exhaustive and done with complete care so that authentic results are published. We send samples outside to NABL accredited lab to validate our results.

We are the only company in India who believes strongly in maintaining quality and publishing results of Gluten Testing on public domain. Most of the gluten free manufacturers in India haven’t installed such sophisticated machinery and have trained and qualified manpower to handle such tests. Recently as goodwill gesture, Wheafree started testing one popular product selected by our consumers and results are published in our monthly newsletter. We have tested Kissan Sauce, Tops Mixed Fruit Jam and in the month of July, we tested Bikano Canned rasgullas. For result check our previous web newsletters editions.

Wheafree became the most trusted brand because it emphasises on quality at all front including protocols followed while buying grains, millets, legumes, other raw material, additives, seasonings and won the trust and confidence due to rigorous testing of gluten at their laboratory by qualified team.

Life for a Celiac patient is a little tough considering the person has to be on a gluten free diet for life. The choice becomes tougher if you are living in a country where labelling laws are not clear about allergens. People having Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity or Wheat allergy also have to be particular while buying the Gluten Free Products or while dining out in any restaurant. Countries like USA, Canada, UK, Australia and most of Europe are sensitive to the gravity of the requirement of Celiac or Gluten Intolerant Patients so the products lying on shelves of retail counters are well labelled. Even while dining out, either there is a gluten free menu or people serving there are aware of products on their menu which are & aren’t gluten free which makes life a lot easier.

Let’s have a look at what things one should look for while buying gluten free food products especially in Indian Markets.

1. Locate Products Labelled clearly as Gluten Free

Whenever you are surfing for Gluten Free Products online or in the retail stores, try to find the products which are marked as ‘Gluten Free’. As per FSSAI’s regulations regarding Gluten Free Labelling, products having gluten less than 20 ppm can be labelled as Gluten Free and the word “Gluten Free” should be prominently displayed near product name.

Strict food laws are in place for the manufacturers who label their products as Gluten Free. In case the declared Gluten Free Products on testing, are found to have gluten more than the prescribed limit of 20 ppm, then those are declared as unsafe foods and there are heavy fines/imprisonment in the law for such offenders.

2. For more assurance, look for dedicated Gluten Free Manufacturing

It’s normally seen that when someone goes to the market to buy gluten free food products, they are surprised to see the cost of the goods, which is 3 to 4 times costlier and as a result, they form an opinion that the manufacturer is making huge profits and thus forming a wrong perception about the whole gluten free business without analysing and going into the depth about WHY.

A celiac or gluten intolerant person has to be on a lifelong gluten free diet, thus the economics of buying costlier food products disturb the budget and is also demoralizing. (Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder and genetically disposed of, the patient has no role to play in acquiring this disease). But let us study why gluten frees are expensive food not only in India but across globally too and can their cost be brought to the same level as normal food.

The first and foremost reason for gluten free food to be expensive is that grains like wheat, barley and rye are replaced by naturally gluten free grains like rice, maize, quinoa, sorghum, millets and legumes. It is very important to note that it’s never one grain replacing one wheat grain to make gluten free food as it is not complete in itself like giving the same taste, aroma, texture, elastic properties of gluten grain.