Coeliac UK respond to Daily Mail article

Food intolerances versus fussy eaters is back in the news. Coeliac UK are contributing to the debate. In response to an article featured in The Daily Mail this week, the following letter has been sent in response.

RE: ‘Sorry but I am allergic to faddy foodies’ - Daily Mail 20th September 2007

Dear Andrew,

In Carol Sarler's article on food intolerances in the Daily Mail on 20th September, she wrongly states…  'Those who will begin an evening dissing your cooking by claiming allergy or intolerance (for the record: the first may kill you, the second won't)'… 

For the record, left untreated, coeliac disease - an autoimmune condition caused by intolerance to gluten, can lead to death.  Repeated exposure to gluten may lead to malnutrition, osteoporosis, bowel cancer and ultimately death. 

The only treatment is the lifelong avoidance of gluten, and as anyone with the disease will tell you, this often has a significant impact on their quality of life. Ensuring they keep to a strict, gluten-free diet, which means scrutinising ingredients to ensure no gluten is included, is a necessity and not a 'fad'. Gluten can be found in a wide range of foods and is often a hidden ingredient in anything from mayonnaise to soy sauce. For many people with coeliac disease, ingesting even the smallest amount of gluten can cause them to become unwell.

We would be grateful if you would clarify these points to your readers. Many of the members of Coeliac UK have to put up with with being told that they are just being 'faddy' or difficult, and articles such as this cause further confusion and misunderstanding of what is a serious disease.

We know that 1% of the UK population suffers from coeliac disease and therefore have to adhere to a strict gluten-free diet, which for them is as essential as taking daily medication and certainly not a whim.

Thank you.

For further details on coeliac disease please go to our web site www.coeliac.org.uk or call our helpline 0870 4448804.

Sarah Sleet
Chief Executive
Coeliac UK