Gluten-free food The prospect of following a gluten-free diet can be daunting. Bread, pasta, pastry, cakes and biscuits all traditionally contain gluten and can be hard to omit from your diet. But it's easy to make gluten-free versions that taste just as good. Here's how.

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Why follow a gluten-free diet? Coeliac-friendly ingredients

Coeliacs and alcohol Eating out safely

Gluten-free recipes About Darina Allen and Rosemary Kearney

Around one in 100 people in the UK are estimated to have coeliac disease, a medically diagnosed, life-long condition that affects the gastrointestinal tract. The only way people with coeliac disease can control the symptoms, which range from vomiting and weight-loss to tiredness and breathlessness, is by cutting gluten out of their diet permanently.

Although this may at first seem drastic, it is important to reduce the risk of serious complications, such as osteoporosis - and there is still a wealth of wonderful food to be enjoyed. The biggest lifestyle change involves taking care when buying processed foods (even the slightest trace of gluten can make someone with coeliac disease ill).

Cookery writer and teacher Darina Allen has worked closely with fellow chef, Rosemary Kearney, who has coeliac disease, to develop great-tasting gluten-free recipes for everyday staples such as bread and pastry. BBC Food put your questions about coping with coeliac disease to Darina who responded with a wealth of practical tips and gluten-free recipes suitable for people with coeliac disease or anyone choosing to follow a wheat-free diet.

I've just been diagnosed with coeliac disease, but what does having coeliac disease actually mean?

Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease that results in a permanent intolerance to gluten. Gluten is the protein that is found in a number of grains including wheat, barley and rye. Some people with coeliac disease are also sensitive to oats.

What happens if I accidentally eat gluten?

The reason eating gluten makes people with coeliac disease ill has to do with the villi, which are finger-like projections in the small intestine. The villi increase the surface area of the intestine for the absorption of food and nutrients. In a normal person these stand on end, but in an undiagnosed coeliac they become flattened and thus reduce the surface area of the intestine. If a coeliac adheres to a strict gluten-free diet permanently, then the flattened villi will return to normal.

However, if the diet is broken, typical symptoms can include chronic tiredness, lethargy, headache, nausea, vomiting, bloating, cramps and diarrhoea. If the diet is consistently broken, even if there aren't any symptoms, there is still the risk of more serious conditions such as anaemia, osteoporosis, gut lymphoma (cancer) and problems surrounding fertility and pregnancy.

What if the difference between being a coeliac and being wheat-intolerant?

If someone suspects they are wheat-intolerant, they should discuss their symptoms with their GP. The GP can take a simple blood test to identify coeliac disease. The GP will then refer the person to a hospital specialist, a gastroenterologist, for a biopsy of the gut. By removing wheat from the diet before testing you could mask coeliac disease without treating it. Wheat intolerance is quite rare, is more likely to affect young children and may be a temporary problem, unlike coeliac disease which is permanent. Associated symptoms of wheat intolerance may include eczema and other skin irritations but it does not affect the immune system. Coeliac disease, on the other hand, is known as an autoimmune disease because the presence of gluten in a coeliac's diet causes an immune reaction.

If someone suspects they are suffering from wheat intolerance or coeliac disease, they must consult their doctor before they consider altering their diet. Under no circumstances should they attempt self-diagnosis.

What flours can I eat?

Naturally gluten-free cereals include rice flour, tapioca flour, potato flour, cornflour, cornmeal, soya flour, gram flour, teff flour and buckwheat flour. There are a number of others but these are the most widely available. One should ensure they are buying good quality brands, which have meticulous policies regarding cross-contamination. Coeliac UK produce a Food and Drink Directory that lists gluten-free flours without risk of contamination.

Can I eat oats?

There's a great deal of controversy as to whether oats are suitable for coeliacs. Some coeliacs may be able to tolerate a small quantity of pure oats while others may not. The difficulty is obtaining pure oats that are totally free from contamination by wheat either in the field or in the milling process. A coeliac's healthcare team should give individual advice about oats in their diet. Coeliac UK Food and Drink Directory lists pure uncontaminated oats.

I'm finding it very difficult to work out what foods I can and can't eat. Are there foods that I should avoid that don't obviously contain gluten?

All pre-packaged foods bought in the UK are covered by the current EU-wide food labelling legislation. This means that any deliberate ingredient included in a product that is derived from a gluten-containing cereal must appear on the ingredients list, regardless of the amount used.

Manufacturers can use the terms ‘wheat', ‘rye', ‘barley' or ‘gluten'; some will use both eg ‘wheat gluten'. This information will be found on the ingredients list and/or allergy advice box; it must be declared in the ingredients list, whereas the allergen advice box is only a recommendation. It is important that anyone following a gluten-free diet check both the ingredients list and allergy advice box.

Coeliacs, and anyone shopping or cooking for a coeliac, need to be extremely cautious and aware of the foods they are purchasing so that they can be certain that they are safe to eat. Coeliac UK provides a directory of gluten-free Food and Drink, but food manufacturers can change the ingredients in their products, so it's essential to update your directory monthly via Coeliac UK.