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Living Gluten-Free as a Teenager

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 2 Comments

I have discussed traveling gluten-free for teens and school lunches for kids/teens. Now it is time to talk about life.  By life I mean day-to-day living – hanging out with friends, going to movies or the mall – teenager stuff. As your child grows, it is impossible to be in control of their every meal. It is for this reason that I started teaching my son, from when he was diagnosed, about what he can & can’t eat.  I have given him every tool possible to make safe food choices while he is away from home.

My son frequently spends the night at different friends’ houses. I try to feed him before sending him over to eliminate part of the need for food while he is there or away from home. Some parents call me or I will call them to see what they have planned.  It all really just depends on the time of day that my son will be with them and for how long he will be gone.  I can usually tell right away who gets it and who doesn’t. Yes, I could show up and sit down to teach a gluten-free diet class, but my son may run away if I were to attempt that.  My next best weapon is my son.  I teach him and prepare him.  I ask what they are doing & supply the necessary snacks.  If they are just hanging out at home I might just send along some cookies, baked goods, or popcorn (before braces).  I will also pack a Carnation Instant Breakfast – which only requires a glass of milk or a Think Thin bar. Small things, but they will definitely tide him over until I can get him home in the morning (which is really afternoon in the teen world).  My son is really good with reading labels & if he chooses not to call attention to himself, he just goes without.  He doesn’t starve.  If he is hungry, he always knows he can have a glass of milk or orange juice.  Eggs are another good “staple” that most people have in their kitchens.

If my son and his buddies head out the to movies or the mall, things can get a little more complicated, but I have learned to sit back & watch to see how he navigates on his own. My son is aware of what candy he can eat and what drinks he can have at the movie theater. There are so many choices at the theater, that finding something that is gluten-free has never been a problem for him.  He does not eat the popcorn (not only due to his braces, but it is too hard to verify the ingredients). When they go to the mall, there is a food court and Chick-fil-A is one of the places my son knows he can get something safe. My son even chose a salad the last time he was there!

I think there have really only been 1 or 2 times that we have had difficulty feeding my son while he was gone with his friends and that was when he went to a local amusement/water park.  Most of these places have strict rules in place about bringing food into their parks and searching for patrons upon entering.  I have copies made up of a letter from my son’s doctor with his diagnosis & the need for him to follow a strict gluten-free diet outlined in it.  I always send this along with my son when he goes to places like this. I just pack it right along in his lunch box or cooler that I pack his food in.  He has had several of these outings now with no trouble at all bringing the food in.

Coming up in May, my son will be taking a trip to Washington DC with his school.  I have already talked with the tour coordinators & they assure me that other gluten-free teens have successfully gone on this trip.  I will make sure to write up a report on how it all goes when my son returns.

Traveling Gluten-Free as a Teenager

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 2 Comments

Traveling gluten-free can be a little intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be.  My son mostly travels with us but has attended a couple of hockey tournaments out of town without us. He had to really keep track of his diet on his own.

When my son was first diagnosed with celiac disease, the first thing I taught him about eating gluten-free was: “When in doubt, go without”. Basically meaning, if you can’t verify the food you want to order or eat is gluten-free, don’t eat it. What do you do then? I make sure that my son always has food packed that is safe for him to eat. Even if it is a Snickers bar, which is not the most nutritious choice, it is gluten-free & can hold him over until he can get something safe.

Some of my go-to travel gluten-free food choices are:

  • Think Thin Bars –higher in protein & a good choice to hold you over
  • Carnation Instant Breakfast – all you need is a glass of milk (avoid the Chocolate Malt Flavor as it is not gluten-free)
  • Gluten-free cereal
  • Glutenfreeda Instant Oatmeal
  • Lara Bars
  • Pure Bars
  • Udi’s bread – doesn’t have to be refrigerated
  • Peanut Butter
  • Jelly (you can get smaller packets here)
  • Fresh fruit
  • Yogurt
  • Gluten-free crackers
  • Cheese
  • Nuts

Most hotels will put a small refrigerator in the hotel room if asked. I like to arrange this ahead of time so that there is one available. This way any food that needs to be kept cold, can be. I try to pack things that don’t need to be kept cold, but that isn’t always possible.

I always try to contact any restaurants that are new to us before traveling. If there aren’t any tried & true chains or recommended places close by, I like to talk to the manager myself to see if it would be possible for my son to dine there safely. His last resort, which he used last year, is to call me and have me talk to the server or manager over the cell phone. Don’t you just love technology? Most often, the people he travels with will ask where he can eat to make things easier. My son’s biggest hurdle has been speaking up. He doesn’t like to cause a scene or be different.

So, with a little effort, traveling and sticking to a gluten-free diet can be done without too much stress. I try to focus more on the purpose of the trip & not the food so much. If all of the food groups are not met & a bunch of junk is consumed – so be it. It is only for a short period of time & he can make up for the junk & resume eating a healthier gluten-free diet when he gets home.

Gluten-Free Children’s Arts and Crafts

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Just when you think you get your head wrapped around gluten-free foods and personal care products, and you think you have everything covered, there is a whole other category to think about…children’s arts and crafts, or adult arts and crafts for that matter. Even if you do not have children, it can be in products you would never imagine..markers, tape, stickers, glue, paints, ink pads, scrapbooking materials, and clay.  It is enough to make one’s head spin.

It may seem like a no-brainer to think that those items are safe, I mean, who is going to eat finger paint?  But the issue comes in cross-contamination.  What happens when those little hands have been playing with clay and then go to eat a snack, or you touch something that you are about to eat after touching something unsafe, in addition to the fact that some people are sensitive to gluten when touched?

In my case, our house is 100% gluten-free, even though it is just me who is gluten-free.  I find it easier to eliminate all possible traces and know that I can be worry-free in my own home. Then comes someone with a gift of playdough for my daughter, and the label clearly states it contains wheat. Thankfully their products are labeled, but in the beginning, I never would have thought to look. In my personal instance, I hated to take a present away from my daughter, so I let her play with her PLAY-DOH at the table on a newspaper.  When she was finished, she had to wash her hands, and I tossed the dough and cleaned the table. This was an exceptional experience and usually, I wouldn’t let her have PLAY-DOH brand dough at home.

Fortunately, today, there are many recipes out there to make the gluten-free and allergen-free dough at home, as well as some manufacturers of allergen-free dough, such as blue dominoes, which is also organic, American-made, lead-free, with no artificial colors, and certified by the Celiac Sprue Association.  Other brands of gluten-free doughs include Aroma and Colorations. The Celiac Sprue Association has also posted a recipe to make the dough, more economically at home:

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup rice flour
  • ½ cup cornstarch
  • ½ cup salt
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon cooking oil
  • Food coloring, if desired

Directions:

Mix ingredients. Cook and stir on low heat for 3 minutes or until it forms a ball. Cool completely before storing in a sealable plastic bag.

In addition to playdough and clay, we have to be sure to monitor all art and craft supplies, even tape.  Some common brands of safe products include:

  • Glue: Elmers, Ross
  • Tape/stickers: 3M brand including Scotch tape and Post-It Notes, RoseArt stickers, Mrs. Grossman’s stickers
  • Paint: Crayola*, Palmer (All), Elmers (all Elmer’s products are gluten-free, except for the finger paints), Ross (finger paints contain gluten)

Always remember to double-check all art and craft supplies for hidden gluten.  It may not be stated on the package, so it is always good to call if you are unsure.  There are many brands that will have gluten-free supplies that are not listed above, but many are not, so always confirm.

*All Crayola products are gluten-free except for the Crayola Dough.

New Study Recommends Celiac Children Get Bones Checked

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As more and more children continue to be diagnosed with Celiac Disease at a very young age, there seems to be more studies regarding how the disease affects these children’s health.

It looks like over the last few days the results of a new study was published which compared children with untreated Celiac Disease to children without the disease. Their findings showed that the children with Celiac are at a much greater risk of developing Osteopenia (a mild form of Osteoporosis) and that fruits and vegetables are good way to counteract these potential problems.

For your reference, here is some information regarding the study:

Background: The aim of this study was to determine whether children with celiac disease (CD) have deficits in spine (SP) and whole body (WB) bone mineral content (BMC) at time of diagnosis, and whether the deficits are related to altered growth and body composition. The secondary aim was to examine the effect of histological grade on BMC.

Patients and Methods: A retrospective study of children who had undergone a dual energy x-ray absorptiometry scan at the time of diagnosis with CD between October 1, 2003, and June 15, 2006, were compared with a healthy reference sample of similar age and race from the same geographic region in the United States. SP and WB BMC were expressed as sex-specific z scores relative to age and relative to height to assess differences in the CD group versus controls. Pearson correlation, t tests, and analysis of variance were performed to determine predictors of BMC.

Results: Forty-four children (mean age 10.6 ± 3.4 years; 77% female, 96% white) with CD were evaluated and compared with 338 healthy children. Children with CD were shorter than children of similar age and sex. SP and WB BMC for age z scores were significantly lower in the CD group compared with controls. When adjusted for height, significant deficits in WB BMC persisted in patients with CD. Low SP and WB BMC correlated with advanced histological grade in CD. Low body mass index correlated with low WB BMC in CD.

Conclusions: Newly diagnosed children with CD may benefit from screening for low bone mineral content. Patients with low body mass index and those with advanced histological damage (Marsh grade IIIc) particularly may be at risk for osteopenia.

Most Common Symptoms of Celiac Disease?

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Over the past few years, the medical community has finally come around to the fact that many people with Celiac Disease don’t have the common symptoms that doctors used to look for.

Recently The Savvy Celiac took a community survey of symptoms that lead to a diagnosis of Celiac Disease, and today they shared the survey results. The survey was actually broken down into two sections: children’s symptoms and adults’ symptoms.

Here are the results with the most common symptoms on top:

Children’s Symptoms with Celiac Disease

  • Diarrhea
  • Failure to Thrive
  • Distended Belly
  • Stomach Pain
  • Vomiting
  • Fatigue
  • Constipation

Adult Symptoms with Celiac Disease

  • Diarrhea
  • Fatigue
  • Stomach Pain
  • Anemia
  • Nausea
  • Asymptomatic
  • Weight Loss
  • Constipation

They are definitely interesting results, though they were taken from a very small sample (68 people), so it should be used for informational purposes only. Click here to read their post announcing the survey results.