DIETICIANS at Dorset County Hospital will be going gluten-free in a bid to raise awareness about coeliac disease.
The team at the Dorchester hospital will be sticking to a gluten-free diet as part of Coeliac Awareness Week from May 16 to May 22.
Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues.
The immune reaction is triggered by gluten, a protein found in cereals such as wheat, rye and barley. Some coeliac sufferers are also sensitive to oats.
Dietician Lesley Harper said: “Really it’s just a chance to increase our awareness of what it’s like to live with coeliac disease because we see quite a few patients with it.
“It’s also to increase our awareness of the foods that have gluten in them because there are some foods many people don’t realise contain gluten.”
As well as ditching the gluten for a week, the dieticians are also joining forces with the Dorchester Coeliac Support Group for a special event at the hospital’s Damers Restaurant on Tuesday, May 17.
For more information about coeliac disease visit www.coeliac.org.uk
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