Sir, – Tony Corcoran (Letters, July 8th) notes that restaurant staff sometimes consider coeliacs to be simply “faddy eaters”. Unfortunately, this situation has arisen because there is a cohort of people that has chosen to eat a gluten-free diet for lifestyle rather than medical reasons.
Whether these should be described as faddy eaters is for others to decide.
The consequences of this trend has been negative for coeliacs, who have to scrupulously avoid gluten in foods to maintain good health.
Many restaurants have become casual about offering genuinely gluten-free options, as so many of those who request them do so for lifestyle reasons. As a consequence, any gluten “creeping” into dishes served to these people tends not to have any adverse consequences.
This is definitely not the case for coeliacs.
Even small amounts of gluten can cause significant adverse health issues for genuine coeliacs.
As well as improving the education of staff regarding the potentially serious consequences for coeliacs of consuming gluten-containing foods (as Mr Corcoran suggests), it might also be worthwhile for coeliacs to highlight their medical status when ordering gluten-free foods in restaurants.
Although in an ideal world this wouldn’t have to happen, the popularity of gluten-free diets for lifestyle rather than medical reasons necessitates it. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN KELLEHER,
Ballinteer,
Dublin 16.