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Celiac disease is a rare condition that affects 0.4% of the U.S. population. But some people are diagnosed years after suffering from this condition: on average, Americans find out they suffer from this condition at age 45, even when they’ve had symptoms of this disease before, such as diarrhea or dermatitis herpetiformis.

Foods that Make You Free
According to the Celiac Disease Association, the only treatment to live a long and healthy life is to adhere to a “gluten-free” diet. To do this, it is imperative to get used to reading food labels. There are several products you might not even suspect they have gluten within their ingredients, but they do! Such is the case of soups, candies, soy sauce, among others. Therefore, physicians recommend that, when in doubt, it is better to abstain!

• Allowed foods: rice, corn, soybeans, potatoes, beans, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, amaranth and nut flours.
• Prohibited foods: wheat (and its derivatives), durum wheat, semolina, and Kamet.
• Foods that may contain gluten: bread, croutons, pasta, processed meats, broths or condensed soups, imitation bacon, breaded or marinated products, dressings, starches or flour, imitation seafood, and sauces.
• Prohibited ingredients (check the labels): brown rice syrup, caramel color, dextrin (usually corn), flour or cereal products, vegetable protein (hydrolyzed and textured), malt and malt vinegar, modified food starch, mono and diglycerides, meat seasonings, soy sauce, and vegetable gum.

Pay Attention When Cooking
Food preparation is also an essential part of the celiac diet. It is essential to prepare and cook meals on a “gluten-free” surface. Otherwise, gluten from previous meals may contaminate food and cause a reaction.

This happens often with roasters: if you use the same device to prepare regular white bread and then gluten-free toasts, the gluten will stay on the roaster and pass to the other bread! This also happens with dressings, and condiments; when frying foods, or using the same utensils for regular and gluten-free meals.