This complicates things...

[angharad_gam]

A few weeks ago Erin decided she was going to become a vegetarian. A peculiar choice for a person whose staple food is toasted ham and cheese sandwiches, but there you go. 

And yesterday Andy was diagnosed with coeliac disease. This seems a little peculiar to us, as his only symptom was iron deficiency, and he probably wouldn't have noticed that except he kept being told he couldn't give blood. Since chronic iron deficiency is pretty unusual in men I prodded him into going to the doctor, they did a heap of tests, and lo and behold: coeliac disease. I suppose he might have other nutrient deficiencies that we haven't noticed because he has never been tested for them, but I was under the impression that coeliac patients had lots of gastro-intestinal symptoms, and he's had nothing like that. Anyway, Andy is currently in mourning for pies and beer. 

It's going to be interesting reworking our household diet to deal with these developments. The rest of us might actually get a lot healthier...

Comments

Must be tired ...

[davidcook]

I misread that Erin was going to become a veterinarian, and was confused how that related to her taste in sandwiches :)

(wonder if B12 is one of the other nutrients - our local clinic does fairly comprehensive health checks for over-40s, and a couple of mine found low B12, which apparently comes from the same food sources as iron (if I remember correctly). Fortunately it was fixed each time with a few top-up injections of B12, and it was stable at the last check-up ... )

Re: Must be tired ...

[angharad_gam]

Lol :-)

The main dietary source of B12 is indeed meat, but unlike iron it is absorbed early in the digestive process, often before food gets to the intestines. This is apparently why it's not uncommon for people to be a bit B12 deficient (I was diagnosed with a deficiency recently too) - too easy for the body to just rush through that part. And why you had to have injections not take tablets like most do for nutrient deficiencies. Ironically (pun intended), this means it's less likely to be an issue for coeliacs, as that disease damages the ability of the intestines to absorb food, not the upper parts of the GI tract.

[dirtygreatknife]

Wow, what made her decide to become a vegetarian?

One of my friends was diagnosed with coeliac, and she didn't have any of the symptoms either, only chronic iron deficiency. So Andy's not alone.

[angharad_gam]

She has a friend who was a vegetarian and just became a full on vegan, and I think she has been proselytising. But I think the motivation is primarily environmental.

[dirtygreatknife]

Ahh okay, that makes sense.

[dotcom1144.wordpress.com]

Might be worth getting all the kids tested for the coeliac thing because apparently it can run in families.

The vegetarian thing isn't so bad. I've pulled off being a vegetarian for over 20 years now and no deficiencies and I've only tested as low on iron once in all that time. Quorn is your friend if you're cooking meat and veggies for everyone else. Also, hommous is a complete protein and so are rice and beans

[angharad_gam]

Yeah, poor sods have two parents with auto-immune diseases now. But I don't think anyone else in Andy's family has it.

Being a vegetarian is fine if you actually like vegetables. But Erin hates beans in almost all forms (and any other legumes except peas really). Also dishes where foods are mixed together like soups, stir fries, stews. Makes things slightly tricky.