If You Can’t Afford Gluten-Free Food, You Can’t Treat Celiac Disease

Food insecurity is a massive problem in the celiac disease community. Currently there is no treatment for celiac disease except for the gluten-free diet. Without access to gluten-free food, there is no treating this autoimmune disease. A recent study from Boston Children’s Hospital found that 24% of pediatric celiac patients experienced general food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic and that when asked specifically about gluten-free food, 27% of the patients screened positive for food insecurity. Another study found that one in six patients with celiac disease are food insecure. So, how can medical providers support patients with celiac disease who can’t afford gluten-free food? What are the best practices for clinic-based screening? What resources are available to actually help patients if they screen positive? We’ll discuss this and more on this episode of Raising Celiac. Thank you to the Global Autoimmune Institute for their generous support to make this podcast possible.