rowan, I think that's one of the hardest aspects of restrictive diets, the loss of textures. I miss crunchy.
My husband sometimes treats me with zuchinni (courgette) sliced into 3 - 4 inch lengths with a mandoline slicer, patted dry, lightly coated with a paper towel and olive oil, seasoned, then put in the dehydrator for 5 hours or more until crispy. So good...
As for celiac, most people don't have it, only 1 in 133. However, Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) is increasingly becoming more common. 6 in 100 is a conservative estimate.
I think the reason doctors ignore NCGS is because there's no test they can order for it. In the U.S., this condition is more typically self-diagnosed by eliminating gluten from the diet to see if symptoms lessen over a period of weeks or months, or with guidance and testing through a naturopath.
If at some point, you'd like to explore how gluten affects you, try going completely gluten free for for a period of time, which would mean eliminating wheat, rye, barley, and probably oats and soy too (due to cross contamination during harvest or storage).
If eating processed foods, just look for the gluten-free labeling. Hidden sources of gluten are oats, soy, beer, soy sauce, and many balsamic vinegars.
If you're gluten sensitive only, you might be able to enjoy gluten free bread, typically made with rice flour. Here in the U.S., Udi's and Glutino are good brands. These items often are found in gluten free frozen section of stores, but that's in the U.S., I don't know about the U.K. Gluten free breads vary greatly in taste, texture, and shelf life. If you give gluten free bread a try, I'd ask here which to try first. They also are more expensive.
This information is for your information only. I didn't take this possibility seriously until I saw a naturopath for diabetes. She suspected NCGS when she saw my medical history - (I also have a hypothyroid condition in addition to the diabetes and a pre-ulcerative colitis condition). Though doing lab work, she found that I was severely deficient in B-12, D, and iron. To confirm my suspected diagnosis of NCGS, I then had testing done with a lab here in the U.S. - (
https://www.enterolab.com/default.aspx ) - which confirmed I had NCGS.
For those of us who have multiple, chronic health conditions, it's challenging and likely best to make only one change at a time. Getting your blood glucose controlled is likely the best focus for you right now. When you're ready to try making another change, looking into the possibility of NCGS could be helpful.
