Coeliac Disease [Celiac Disease] is an intolerance to gluten, a protein found in grains. It is incurable and potentially dangerous but easily controlled with a gluten-free diet.
Or that's what your doctor will tell you!
Actually, as I'm finding out, gluten-free isn't as easy as it sounds. Until you start looking on the back of packets and reading up about it, you have no idea how many things have gluten in them. Fortunately, all packaged foods in the UK have to include their ingredients and that helps. Unfortunately, gluten can be present in things without it being clearly stated. Many companies will state that a product is Gluten Free, which makes things easier, but many others don't and you suddenly find yourself paranoid about the whole thing.
That's where I am right now; just coming to grips with my gluten intolerance and feeling a bit intolerant of dodgy labeling and waiters who haven't got a clue. I'm not sure that Coeliac web sites are supposed to be quite that honest but I've decided to put together a little place to make available the information I've found out about Coeliac Disease and to say a bit about how easy/hard it is to cope.
If you're looking for a medical encyclopedia-type site: don't stay here! Take a look at the Coeliac Links page, there are many great medical/educational sites around. If you're looking for a warm and fuzzy discussion of Coeliac Disease, you probably don't want to hang around either. Having been seriously ill with ME [CFS] for many years and now with gluten sensitivity on top of a stack of other food allergies, I'm not always in a warm and fuzzy state of mind. I make no apologies for that; this site is here for me to examine my reaction to being gluten intolerant as much as it's here to illustrate the information available concerning Coeliac Disease.
Please don't use this site as a way to diagnose your own condition. Much as I hate to admit it, you really do need to see a doctor for that sort of thing.
Webmaster's Note I created this site a few years ago when I was first diagnosed with Coeliac Disease. I have come to terms with it (what else can you do?) and may not feel now how I felt a few years back about some of the things mentioned on this site. I considered taking the site down but I still think it has some valid comments to make about dealing with the diagnosis and, certainly, about dealing with gluten intolerance itself.