gluten free familyA mum's blog about gluten-free living in Australia

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Hot on the heels of the new GoScan app we have another food industry mobile application that lets you scan barcodes for info on the gluten-free status of Australian products.

This one is called GlutenSwitch and it’s actually a new filter for the label scanning app FoodSwitch that was launched last year by Bupa and The George Institute of Global Health.

GlutenSwitch only rolled out a couple of weeks ago. When you use it to scan a product, the app indicates whether the product is gluten-free or contains gluten. If a product is not gluten free, it automatically provides suggestions for similar, but gluten-free options, when they are available.

I haven’t given it a try yet, but I thought I’d put it on the blog and so that you would have the opportunity to do so, so let us know how you go. Read the rest of this entry »

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Gluten-free shoppers finally have access to an iPhone app that let you scan a product barcode in the supermarket to find out if contains gluten.

The free app, dubbed GS1 GoScan, was launched a couple of week ago and is available for download from the iTunes store. The Coeliac Society was involved in the development along with a handful of other health organisations.

Once you download the GoScan app – plus a barcode reading app – you just scan the barcode with your phone during shopping. Alternatively, you can manually type in the bar code number, or do a text search based on a product description or brand – but that sounds like a lot more trouble. Read the rest of this entry »

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I’ve been tucking into gluten for a few weeks now. As discussed in a previous post, I’ve decided to get tested for coeliac disease (in line with the current medical advice) and to document the experience here.

So what have I found so far? I felt pretty bad at first (I’ll spare you the details) but interestingly, most symptoms have settled with time and no itchy skin to speak of yet. What hasn’t settled, though, is the place where the needle points when I jump on the scales. This is heading northwards with no sign of stopping.

Okay so all those extra mince pies and Christmas croissants may have something to do with it. But the speed at which I’ve piled on the pounds is alarming.

Until now I’ve scoffed at the recent gluten-free weight-loss craze. Read the rest of this entry »

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I’ve always considered myself gluten intolerant and like many in this camp, I diagnosed myself.

We self-diagnosers are the recipients of lots of finger wagging from well-meaning health professionals. According to current wisdom, if you suspect gluten is a problem for you, don’t give up the grain off your own bat. Instead approach your GP and ask to be tested for coeliac disease.

Of course this is great advice given the potential health risks, and with the benefit of hindsight, I wish I’d done this. But for many of us it’s just hasn’t been that simple. In my case, it wasn’t my gut that was bugging me. I suddenly developed a really itchy rash on my hands back in 2002. Then, a few years later, I stumbled upon the cure while doing an elimination diet with my son.

At the time, no GP –  and I’d been to see a few –  had ever suggested to me that diet might be the cause of this rash. Instead I’d been prescribed steroid creams, which had no effect. Even when I did mention my  cure to my GP, she looked dubious and certainly didn’t suggest a coeliac test.

So I’ve always assumed my gluten-triggered rash (which apparently has a name: dermatitis herpetiformis) was unrelated to the much more serious coeliac disease.

Then I got chatting to a doctor in a social situation recently and I told her about my amazing cure and she suggested I have a test. I was taken aback. In fact I suffered a minor identity crisis – was I actually an undiagnosed coeliac sufferer after all?

I decided to do a little Googling on dermatitis herpetiformis and discovered a few very small but interesting studies, the findings of which have surprised me:

Read the rest of this entry »

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Gluten Free Family loves to stay abreast of important breaking news and with this in mind we’d like to bring you up to speed on green banana flour, a promising new wheat flour substitute that could hit Australian shelves within a year.

Though we have yet to get our hands on this odd sounding stuff (which is basically dried ground bananas) international scientists have officially declared it yummy. Read the rest of this entry »

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Gluten free pizza - one of the major food groups for the gluten intolerant.

I know it’s controversial, but we’ve never been tested for coeliac disease. We gave up gluten following an elimination diet that involved removing lots of different things from our diet and then introducing them back in.

Guess what was causing the most trouble? When we quit the gluten, my son’s behavior improved and my eczema completely disappeared. Read the rest of this entry »

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It dawned on me recently that the typical Gluten Free Family reader is female — yet coeliac disease is not a gender-specific condition.

I decided it was time to try and figure out what was going on and it turns out that it’s no coincidence. Men are slipping through the cracks when it comes to getting their gluten problems diagnosed, according to an Australian gastroenterologist, Dr Bob Anderson. Read the rest of this entry »

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Most people listen with interest, sometimes even fascination, when I describe my adventures with gluten—unless they are doctors, in which case they just think I’m a loon.

There are exceptions and I now have a great doctor for my nine year old son, who has Attention Deficit Disorder. I can’t bring myself to say ADHD (the correct term for his condition) because he’s not hyperactive—unless he has gluten.

Last weekend this doctor drew my attention to ground breaking research published in highly regarded medical journal, The Lancet, in February which found a significant link between food intolerances and ADHD, finally! Read the rest of this entry »

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Most people don’t need to know their glucose syrup from their yeast extract—but we gluten avoiders tend to be a fairly fluent bunch when it comes to deciphering food labels.

Now a new iPhone app that can scan food labels could make gluten free grocery shopping expeditions easier. Read the rest of this entry »

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Gluten is making waves on the international tennis circuit.  First the world number two, Novak Djokovic declared he was intolerant to the stuff and now German player, Sabine Lisicki says her gluten-eating days are over.

We are not told if it was tummy trouble or itchy rashes that spurred the move—but Djokovic has attributed a gluten free diet to his improved form on the court. Lisicki, on the other hand, blamed glitches in her new gluten free regime to a recent on-court collapse.

She wouldn’t be the first gluten avoider to run into energy problems. But hope could soon be at hand. It looks like the world’s researchers are finally starting to make some headway! Here’s a quick update on the latest trials: Read the rest of this entry »

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