77485-115FOR years they have been branded as fussy eaters. Now it seems attitudes are changing and sufferers of coeliac disease are finally getting the respect they deserve.

The condition an intolerance to gluten affects thousands of people in the UK.

But only recently has the food industry woken up to the fact and it's possible to get gluten free items in some supermarkets.

For sufferers choosing food that contains no gluten can be a minefield. Gluten can be found in many common food types, including wheat, barley and rye.

Swindon coeliac Kim Jenkins , 46, who lives in Stratton St Margaret and works in social services, is helping to raise awareness of the condition as part of Coeliac Awareness week, which ends on Sunday.

She helps run the Swindon branch of Coeliac UK and was diagnosed with the condition in 2002 after experiencing unpleasant and worrying symptoms for a year.

"I'd been suffering from stomach pains and diarrhoea and had also been having panic attacks.

"I just unwell and tired all the time and became anaemic and lost weight.

"I had a number of different tests including an endoscopy and a scan of my gall bladder after they thought it might be gall stones.

"I was so surprised when I found out it was coeliac disease because I had never made a connection between how I was feeling and what I was eating.

"Even after a couple of days of cutting out gluten I already noticed a huge difference in my health.

"I started to feel well again for the first time in ages."

She says that life can be difficult for coeliacs particularly as there is so much ignorance of what the condition is.

"A lot of people think it's just a faddy thing and just a wheat allergy.

"But it's not quite that straight forward.

"You have to be quite strict on yourself when it comes to eating and as well as avoiding food that has gluten in it you have to be careful of cross contamination.

"This can happen if you use the same butter or jam as someone who eats normal bread."

Kim's group are holding a cookery demonstration with Juvela tomorrow at St Margaret's Hall, Stratton St Margaret, at 7pm.

Anyone who would like to find out more about joining the group should contact Kim on 01793 827520.

What is coeliac disease?

RESEARCH indicates that at least one in 100 people might be affected by the disease in the UK.

Coeliac disease is not an allergy it is caused by intolerance arising from an immune deficiency.

More women are diagnosed with coeliac disease than men.

It is a genetic disease and can be diagnosed at any time of life, most commonly at the age of 50.

Medically diagnosed coeliacs can get gluten free food on prescription.

Coeliacs may find it hard to join the police or armed forces and get insurance.

It is a genetic disease and can be diagnosed at any time in life, most commonly the age of diagnosis is 50.

Diana Milne