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Book Review: A to Z of Surviving the First Year of Motherhood

Being a Mommy is the best moment of a women’s life, but it comes with all the responsibilities along with emotional and physical changes. So, how to come up with all this roller coaster of the motherhood? The Book A to Z of Surviving the First Year of Motherhood by Poorvi Khare, has all the tips and tricks to enjoy the first year of motherhood and live with no guilt only love and happiness!!!

Poorvi Khare is a freelance writer and mom blogger. She is an avid reader who got hooked on books when very young and is now following her passion for writing. You can find out more about Poorvi on her blog at Being Mommy & More, where she writes about mom life and parenting. As the cover says, the book walks through the 26 alphabets of surviving the first year of motherhood. While going through the book it felt that I am reliving my early days of motherhood and felt, I should have got this amazing guide at that time. An amazing read!!! 

Pros:

  • The book has answers to all your baby basics: from breastfeeding, teething, baby sleep, diapers to first moments savers.
  •  Book is really a good friend to help you in reminding that you(a new mom) are not the one to fulfill everyone’s expectation, your baby is needs you.
  • It offers ideas to boost your inner self and inspires you to give yourself some Me-time!!
  • It helps a mom keep her sanity while still being the best to her new born, spouse and family.
  • It’s encourages you to have a community while raising the new born as its important to be updated with the outer world.
  • Mother’s instinct is the bond that binds you with your baby in a unique way.
  • It’s all about keeping your zest high, being happy, no shy in asking for help, love yourself, learn the quickies of motherhood, go for a vacation and be a mom to your little darling not at all a super mom to all in family !!

Cons:

The book hardly leaves any scope to highlight any cons but I would love to have seen some baby pictures to enhance the reading experience adding some vacation destination or some sanity saver tools images. Some points are repeated a much time, so feels overdosed but overall amazing read. Book cover could have been a little more catchy specially the text font. And a more details about the connecting to the Author, blog site or facebook page, would have been appreciated.

The poetry at the end is the best motivation to the new moms

“…..You will fail, you will succeed,

But Don’t Worry, You amazing Momma, you will thrive…And Survive”

At the bottom:

The book is a perfect outline on how to make your first year of motherhood peaceful and happy. It an illuminating guide to navigate through the early one year of your kid and your motherhood!! So mom what are you waiting for, grab your copy free @blogchatter

from https://www.theblogchatter.com/download/a-to-z-of-surviving-the-first-year-of-motherhood-by-poorvi-khare/

My parenting book is also there on enjoying life with my celiac child. You can download it @blogchatter from the link https://www.theblogchatter.com/download/parenting-tales-with-a-celiac-child-by-dr-jyoti-arora/

Cheers to all the Moms!!!

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Book Review: Raising Capable Children

I express my gratitude to the #blogchatter for considering me to review the book, Raising Capable Children by SakshiVarma. Sakshi is a full-time development finance professional, wife to a design entrepreneur and mom to three lovely boys. Between her work, travel and managing 3 boys, she loves to take time out for her newfound passion for blogging. She blogs at MOM AAA+ with a positive outlook.

Parenting has no obvious rules or techniques. It’s just the way parents feed their youngsters. In this world full of material abundance and multi-tasking, where children are getting exposed to more and more external influences, we parents want happy, disciplined, confident kids. How to accomplish this Fed? Here lies the answer.

BOOK COVER

Raising capable children by Sakshi Varma, is a ready reckoner for parents who want to raise confident kids with right values, good attitudes and skills. The cover of the Book steals the eye and would surely demand your attention. It appropriately shows the winner and the happy kids, which is what the real essence of the book is. The Book is divided into 3 categories: values, attitudes and skills with a total of 23 chapter along with a few authors caveats (a must read).

Pros:

  • Title of every chapter gives an insight into the contents and includes the tips to cultivate right values, good attitude and skills into child.
  • The author gives her best tips for understanding the kid and persevering them to excellence.
  • The Book gives a lot of insight into parenting and approaches to child rearing that will foster honesty, responsibility, knowledge, communication skills, versatility etc. into your toddler.
  • These strategies will help in your child’s mental and emotional development.
  • The book mainly focuses of a few core tips for understanding your child, celebrating uniqueness, positivity in life, enjoying the simple things in life, spending time with kids and most importantly how to offer gratitude to whatever you have in life and be satisfied.
  • These will help your child to foster the inner strength of empathy and successfully deal with the obstacles of life ahead.

Cons:

Sakshi herself writes that the Book could be a little preachy as it is less of a book and more of detailed easy to implement tips to follow in a daily routine. Author goes into the same topic every next page and it thus feels a much overstretched. There are no pictures as being a toolbelt, but some pictures could have been added to enhance the reading experience. There a few formatting issues which I am sure Sakshi will take care before forwarding it.

Top quotes from the Book:

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder”

“If you just communicate you can get by. But if you communicate skillfully, you can work miracles.”

“Humor is by far the most significant activity of the human brain”

“A penny saved is a penny earned”

Concluding Remarks:

The book Raising Capable Kids is a great debut effort by Sakshi and I would like to congratulate her for this promising start. It is enlightening for all the parents to help them understand their kids in order to raise the independent, confident, grateful, responsible and committed citizens who will be the future leaders of the world. The book is a part of #BlogchatterEbook carnival

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#blogchatterEbook carnival

 and can be downloaded for free only for a limited period, @ https://www.theblogchatter.com/download/raising-capable-children-by-sakshi-varma/

In this #blogchatterEbook carnival, you can also read my book on parenting a special child@ https://www.theblogchatter.com/download/parenting-tales-with-a-celiac-child-by-dr-jyoti-arora/

Reflections!!

January 2020, I started this blog Heartspeaksbyjd. I had a facebook page in the name of heartspeaks, where I used to pour in my feelings in the form of poetry. But when I found a connect with Manas Mukul and Rashi Roy, I had much confidence to start this blog. After my participation in the blog hop hosted by these two wonderful people, I was all boosted up to participate in the #blogchatterA2Z.

My theme for the Blogchatter A2Z was “Parenting Tales with A Celiac Child.” It just kicked off and I was happily engaged in writing all the post and getting all the valuable comments and likes. And finally it came to the completion of my A2Z series. My kids were a great motivation as everyday they used to come and ask so Mom what letter are you writing today!! and the thoughts of all my fellow bloggers helped me sail through this wonderful Journey. A Heartfelt thanks to #blogchatterA2Z and all the Fellow bloggers !!

Arushi , Anagha, Deepika, Jyoti, Jayanthi, Madhu, Noor, Poorvi, Sonia, Kikibee, Swarnali, Sandeep, Sitharaman , Purba, Gurjeet, Monika

And now its time for a New Begining. time to ride the road from a blogger to Author. Again an opportunity by blogchatter to publish an eBook with #blogchatterEBookcarnival. Keeping my fingers crossed!!

Thankyou #Blogchatter !!

Happy New Year

1st  January 2012, D was born and that was the Happiest New Year in our life. And after all the ups and down in our life, we wanted to give him a Surprise Birthday present. So we planned his 7th birthday in Prague, the magical city. This time our Bhaiya and Bhabhi joined us. Everything was done , we were just waiting for our visa. All three of us got the visa (my husband, my daughter and me), but D’s visa was on hold. And all the excitement was going down. Just 15 days left, but no information from the visa office. 10 days prior also no clue.. As we were to travel in the peak winters, we had to catch up with the winter shopping and of course GF stuff. But we had no option to wait and keeping the hopes high. And finally after 5 more days we got a call from the agent that the D’s passport has arrived!! In just 5 days we did all our winter shopping and boarded the flight to Prague.

We had booked our Apartment and the host was very helpful. She guided us the places and the malss for shopping. And the gluten free bakery that was near the apartment. There was an Indian supermarket near the apartment. There we got Haldiram’s ready to eat food that mentioned Gluten Free. As the pack mentioned certified Gluten Free and had the food safety mark, we found it safe to use. Prague is famous for its Cathedrals, shopping malls, local markets, old town square, Charles Bridge, and the Dancing Buildings and not to be missed are the new year Dinner Cruise. So we booked our new year and D’s Birthday Dinner on the Cruise. The new year cruise was pretty much expensive but that was the plan  The best was that the GF food was also available on then cruise. So we paid the full amount and were in full mood to enjoy the cruise at night.

All dressed up to the best we arrived at the cruise, beautifully decorated as the queen of river it was all set to sail.  And there was a long queue waiting to be on the prettiest night angel. And when it was our turn, as we entered with all our excitement, the manager said that they had no booking in our names. We all were shocked. We showed him the receipt, but he said the names are not in the list. We ran to the office and the person sitting there said “I’m SORRY”. There must be a technical issue. He said that he only made the booking but now its not showing, the company will return the money and we cannot board the cruise. discussing, talking, calling the mangers, nothing worked.. Disheartened, we all left.

Again we started looking for options, every place was a place to celebrate but we wanted GF ones as we wanted D to enjoy the most of it. And as it was New Year’s Eve, so all the places were already occupied.  After much efforts we got a table in InterContinental Prague. There was best of live music with a swing band. The theme was black and silver and it looked amazing, the kids were enjoying with balloons everywhere and they gave us the party props including that glittery hat. We enjoyed the delicious dinner with amazing taste. The chef understood the allergy and D enjoyed his meal too. Gf cake was not available but he enjoyed a GF pastry for his birthday!!! At 12, there were fireworks all around. We wished him his birthday under the blanket of colorful fireworks lighting up the night sky. The whole of Prague sounded like a war zone. The fireworks were launched everywhere. The whole city was lit up with spectacular fireworks all round.  After grabbing our dinner we headed up near the Charles Bridge to witness some more of the fireworks exploding above us.

Thus not as expected but more of fun and family D enjoyed his 7th Year birthday in Prague, the magical city!!!

This is my alphabet Y for “Happy New Year”, in #BlogchatterA2Z #AprilA2Z in Parenting Tales with A Celiac Child. Do share your experiences as it’s always incredibly beneficial to connect with others who share similar experiences.

Trip with school

It sounded scary!! When D said that he wants to go for a day trip with school. It was a trip to Kidzania. And he was very excited, but our family was in tension. From morning 7.00 till 5.00 in the evening. How will he manage?  We have already been to Kidzania so knew much about it but he wanted to enjoy with his friends there. When we went there, they had very strict rules and do not allow any food inside their premises. After requesting and informing telling them about the allergy they allowed us to carry our Gf Lunch box with us.

But with school it seemed difficult as they have many kids to handle. So the first step was to talk to the class teacher. She knew all the fact about D’s diet, so she herself gave me a call. She told me that every kid in the school is thrilled to go to Kidzania. And everyone want D to go with them. She asked me all the process that needs to be done so that the kid can go there with all his dietary precautions. I told her that the security there doesn’t allow any food item inside.  And she need to talk to the in charge there prior to the visit. The class teacher had a word with the Principal and then they discussed with the concerned person there. And after two days the class teacher revealed that things are sorted and they will allow only one child’s food inside. It was much relief. Thanks to the class teacher that she took all the pain and helped us.  And then finally we paid the trip charges.

The class teacher also disclosed us the food they will provide to the kids during the trip. It was a bread sandwich, rajma rice for afternoon with a tetra pack juice and an ice cream. As D doesn’t like his GF bread sandwich so I made his bread pizza and pasta for his breakfast.  He enjoyed his GF chips and juice on the way. I gave him Rajma chawal in an electric lunch box, which can be plugged-in and the food will be warm in minutes. I asked the teacher to get him his Magnum ice-cream, while rest of the kids were given an ice-cream cup. The teacher kept on updating us on the trip with lovely pictures of the kids enjoying their trip. And D was in full swing rejoicing with his friends. On their way back, all the kids were so tired that everyone slept in the bus only and  came back safely with beautiful memories.

All thanks to the wonderful teacher who supported us all the way to help D enjoy the school trip with his friends. There is always a way, we just need to find it!! With few precautions and support from everyone around our special kids can enjoy everything out in the world!!!  

This is my alphabet T for :Trip with School”, in #BlogchatterA2Z #AprilA2Z in Parenting Tales with A Celiac Child. Do share your experiences as it’s always incredibly beneficial to connect with others who share similar experiences.

Gluten Free X’mas Holiday

After months of planning and preparations, finally we were all set for Austria, a cultural highlight of Europe, for our X’mas holiday.

Necessities: Air tickets with gluten-free food menu selection on flight, Eurail Pass, Apartment with Kitchenette, One suitcase with all the kitchen utilities, Electric lunch box to make food warm, Prescriptions by Doctor to carry our food and Medicines, Adapter (for Europeans switches)

With all preparation done from our end we started our journey with our 7 years old celiac son. It was almost 20 hour flight so I carried “paneer and puri” for dinner, “ vegetable poha” for  breakfast and “kadhi rice”( as it does not get spoiled even after many hours ) with all the snacks including GF chips , biscuits. Chocolates, Candies. Last time, in our flight the meals did not come upto my kids taste, But this time was very fortunate, the Gluten Free Meal served was tasty.  It had chicken, rice, vegetables along with gluten free sweet muffin. In the snacks also they served gluten free sandwich that was awesome to taste.

We had a connecting flight from Frankfurt to Vienna, and while passing through the security check of Frankfurt our hand bag was caught. The security said “no liquid” and we had the “Kadhi” and cough syrup with us. So this was the time when the prescription from the Doctor helped us. And we could easily, though a little time consuming, cruise the security check.

As we stepped down our flight, it was Snowing!! There was a white snow sheet everywhere.

Vienna: It was Christmas time, the city was bursting with Beauty. We had the Eurail pass, we got it activated and it was now easy for us to reach our apartment in Vienna. Our apartment was just walking distance from the train station. We reached the apartment, got fresh, covered ourselves from head to toe as it was freezing cold outside and went to the Christmas Market. This typical market has made “culinary temptation” an art form. Though Vienna is a celiac heaven, in the market there was nothing Gluten free, so we went to the Restaurant in Pizzeria Scarabocchio for our Gluten free meal. Our first order was a simple GF Margarita Pizza. To clear our single doubt about cross contamination when asked the waiter there, he laughed and said don’t you worry about!! They know each and everything about allergies and are very particular about everything. It was a big relax and then we could enjoy many food there including GF chicken , Spaghetti, pasta, rice with vegetable curry, Ice creams, cakes and mousses. At Café Mozart, the best was the chocolate mousse served. And non Gf food was great too. There was this famous Christkindlmarkt on the Rathausplatz (the square in front of town hall). It was packed with its hidden displays, nativity scenes, lighted trees, and illuminated ice skating trails and the park had amazingly beautiful decorations. The Europeans are much more aware and understand the difficulties of allergic people. The supermarket (BILLA), we had all the things labelled and we could find many GF chips, biscuits, and the complete range of schar products.

Salzburg: Salzburg was our next destination, were we reserved our next apartment. The train journey between Vienna and Salzburg takes about 2.5 hours. The first was to explore the old town of Sazburg. Salzburg has the best Christmas market in Austria with the beautiful setting, the delicious food, and the absolutely gorgeous Christmas stalls, it was an unforgettable place, every corner of the city was decorated including smallest of the market. People in our apartment had decorated the lobby area and it had all the sweets and treats with a Christmas tree lightened to its best.

At our Apartment

Innsbruck: The average train journey between Salzburg and Innsbruck is about 2 hours. Where we headed directly to the fantastic Nordkette. There  we reached by a cable car that had 3 stops to get to the very top. There are great views and food and drink options at all three stops. And D enjoyed the outside Guranteed GF food while we (my daughter and Me) just had coffee, the vegetarians only option up there. but the breathtaking 360° view was so much worth it. An altitude of 6,250 ft it was so relaxing, with nature at its very best. After that we  enjoyed all that glitters at Swarovski Crystal World.

Hallstatt: Exciting holiday among mountains and lakes along with a lot of nature Hallstatt is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. We reached Hallstatt by train and then took an extraordinary ride on Lake Hallstatt on the ferry. And it was so picturesque. The village Hallstatt is such an unbelievably spectacular place. Hallstatt is a small village and people are less aware, so D was a little disheartened (as he has been getting his food everywhere we went), but we always had his food with us… the walk up to the salt mine cannot be described in words.. the best of the everything, Nature at its best of best!!

Kitzteinhorn: The Kitzsteinhorn Glacier is one of Zell am See’s must-do attractions, A cable car whizzes up to top-station Gipfelwelt 3000 mts. We got clicked at the Top of Salzburg mountain-viewing platform at 9,842 feet (3,000 meters), relished the word class GF non veg food along with panoramic vantage points and not Forgetting the my home made DAL MAKHNI that we enjoyed at the top !!

All the places (Salzburg,Vienna, Kitzsteinhorn, Innsbruck) we visited had many Gf options but we preferred cooking our own food in our apartment. We packed it in the lunch box and kept it on heating in trains and the places where ever we went. All the restaurant people would easily warm the food in microwave also when told about the allergy. All the people are so aware of the allergies and everything available is non vegetarian , it was me and my daughter eating D’s veg food in the lunch box. Europe is great for Gluten Free food, though finding vegetarian was a tough task. So my son D relished more outside food than us.

There really is nothing quite like a White Christmas in Austria. Cities are dressed to impress with twinkling fairy lights and giant Christmas trees with tempting aromas of roasting chestnuts and gingerbread, and snowy landscapes along with Gluten Free Delicacies!!!

A perfect Gluten Free X’mas Holiday!!

This is my alphabet X for “Gluten Free X’mas Holiday”, in #BlogchatterA2Z #AprilA2Z in Parenting Tales with A Celiac Child. Do share your experiences as it’s always incredibly beneficial to connect with others who share similar experiences.

What are the Symptoms of Celiac Disease

Celiac Disease is an auto immune disease in which the immune system ends up damaging the lining of the small intestine, which is what causes many of the most common symptoms. The symptoms of celiac disease can vary widely. In many cases but not always, the disorder is marked by gastro-intestinal symptoms: Diarrhoea, Abdominal bloating or distension, Abdominal pain, Nausea, Vomiting.Some general symptoms may also be present in individuals with celiac disease like Loss of weight and energy, Loss of appetite, Iron deficiency with anaemia, Osteoporosis, Fertility disorders or miscarriage, Vitamin and/or mineral deficiencies. Digestive symptoms are more common in infants and children. Children with celiac disease usually have a slight build, are weepy and very sensitive. Adults are less likely to have digestive symptoms, with only one-third experiencing diarrhea.

Diarrhea: Celiac disease leads to damage to the lining of the small intestine that triggers digestive symptoms such as diarrhea. Many people have loose, watery stools as the first symptom of celiac disease, though this symptom is similiar in other conditions and cannot be used to diagnose celiac disease whike in combination with other symptoms, however, chronic diarrhea is much relevant.

Constipation: On the other side diarrhea is constipation, another common symptom of celiac disease. When a person with celiac disease consumes gluten, the body starts an autoimmune attack, treating gluten as foreign invaders. In attacking this, the immune cells cause damage to the villi in the small intestine that help in absorbing nutrients from food passing through the digestive tract.

Gas or Bloating: In addition to diarrhea and constipation, other digestive symptoms are gas and bloating. The autoimmune activity which damages the small intestine causes inflammation that result in bloating, along with other digestive issues. Another common symptom of undiagnosed celiac disease is frequent gas.

Changes in Weight: In the early stages of celiac disease when malnutrition becomes a factor, it is not uncommon for patients to drop a lot of weight or to have trouble keeping weight on. This is also a common symptom in children with undiagnosed celiac disease.

Chronic Fatigue: Another common symptom of celiac disease is decreased energy levels or fatigue. Many factors contribute to the fatigue. Numeruno, damage to the lining of the small intestine prevents the body from absorbing nutrients. Second, it leads to iron-deficiency i.e. anemia and may cause chronic fatigue.

Iron Deficiency Anemia: Celiac disease leads to the malabsorption of nutrients, due to its attack on the small intestine . It causes the deficiency of a main nutrient i.e. iron. Iron is required to produce hemoglobin, which is used for making the red blood cells. Iron-deficiency also called anemia causes symptoms including weakness, fatigue, chest pain, and dizziness.

these are the general symptoms that are widespread when it comes to celiac disease, there are many other to consider. Some more symptoms may include short heightedness, tooth decay, canker sores, and even infertility.

Once treatment with strict gluten-free diet is started, the intestine and the villi heals and absorption of nutrients gets better which leads to improvement in the symptoms. And you start getting a healthier lifestyle. So just stick to the GF diet and

Stay Safe, Stay Healthy.

This is my alphabet W for “What are the symptoms of Celiac Disease”, in #BlogchatterA2Z #AprilA2Z in Parenting Tales with A Celiac Child. Do share your experiences as it’s always incredibly beneficial to connect with others who share similar experiences.

Villi: The Victim

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease characterized by an allergic reaction to a particular protein, gluten. For those who suffer from this condition, the consumption of gluten eventually causes damage to the small intestine, the main organ responsible for the absorption of nutrients. This often results in nutritional deficiencies, in addition to many inconveniences and complications. Small intestine is somewhere around 20-23 feet in length. The entire small intestinal tube is covered in villi. Intestinal villi are tiny, finger-like projections made up of cells. Villi are really tiny—each one is no more than about 1.6 millimeters long and may be as short as 0.5 millimeters long. The movement of the intestines turns the broken food into chyme and then the villi really get to work!  The villi’s job is to help your already broken down food absorb into your blood stream; to provide you with energy and the vitamins and nutrients your body needs to properly operate and stay healthy. The villi aid in absorption by increasing the surface area of the intestine and contain specialized cells which transport different types of nutrients into the blood. The main job of your villi, is to produce enzymes that make your food absorbable and guide it to your blood stream where it can really do your body good.

In celiac disease, consumption of the protein gluten triggers your immune system to attack your intestinal villi and wear them down (a process called villous atrophy). Many people with celiac disease have vitamin and mineral deficiencies when they’re first diagnosed because their intestinal villi are damaged. D had severe villious atrophy and the calcium and vitamin D was very low.   If you don’t have functioning intestinal villi, you can become malnourished or even starve, regardless of how much food you eat, because your body simply isn’t able to absorb and make use of that food. Damaged villi results in poor absorption, not being able to properly break down chyme to usable vitamins and nutrients, inflammation, and malnutrition. Besides all of this, you are more likely to have a wide range of symptoms as well as a host of other health issues caused by malnutrition.

 Good news is that the villi are not permanently damaged in celiac disease. In fact, the cells in the intestinal wall regenerate every 72 hours as long as they are not being exposed to gluten. The amount of time it takes for the villi to heal, however, depends on the person, how long they have had celiac disease, and the amount of damage to the villi. For most people, the intestine is expected to recover over a period of weeks to months on a strict gluten-free diet. For others, it may take years for the villi to fully recover.  The only known treatment for celiac disease is a strict gluten-free diet and carefully following the gluten-free diet is the best and only way to take care of our bodies and our long-term health.

Save your villi, go gluten free!

This is my alphabet V for “Villi: The Victim”, in #BlogchatterA2Z #AprilA2Z in Parenting Tales with A Celiac Child. Do share your experiences as it’s always incredibly beneficial to connect with others who share similar experiences.

Understanding Wheat Allergy and Celiac Disease

  Gluten is a family of storage proteins, formally known as prolamins that are naturally found in certain cereal grains, such as wheat, barley, and rye. Glutenins and gliadins are the prolamins in wheat, secalins are in rye, and hordeins are in barley. Gluten offers a variety of functional culinary benefits and is responsible for the soft, chewy texture that is characteristic of many gluten-containing, grain-based foods. Gluten is a protein found mainly in wheat, barley, oats and rye. When heated, gluten proteins form an elastic network that can stretch and trap gas, allowing for optimal leavening or rising and maintenance of moisture in breads, pasta, and other similar products. Because of these unique physical properties, gluten is also frequently used as an additive to improve texture and promote moisture retention in a variety of processed foods. Gluten doesn’t get along with every digestive system. Some people have wheat intolerance syndrome. That’s one of three conditions that gluten can trigger:

Celiac disease: A disorder in which gluten causes your immune system to attack your small intestine; over time, the attacks can damage the lining of your intestine.

Wheat allergy: Your immune system fights gluten (gliadin and glutenins in wheat) like a virus or bacteria; if you eat it, you may have trouble breathing, a skin reaction, or problems digesting.

If you’re sensitive to gluten(Wheat Allergy) you may experience symptoms similar to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) such as brain fog, gas, diarrhea, and constipation as well as and skin conditions such as rashes when eating gluten-containing foods. Since food sensitivities often produce delayed reactions rather than sudden immune responses, signs of gluten sensitivity can take as long as 36 hours to show up. Unlike a food sensitivity, those with celiac disease will have a full-blown immune reaction when they come in contact with gluten. This can result in sudden cramping and diarrhea, several days of severe digestive symptoms, vomiting, fatigue, irritability and over time, extreme weight loss

Anyone with a wheat allergy should avoid products that contain wheat (gliadin and glutenins). For those who have a celiac, eating products that have even the smallest traces of gluten (whole gluten family)  can trigger an IgE allergic reaction within minutes, which is accompanied by sneezing, itching, swelling, and in severe cases, anaphylaxis . Digestive symptoms can also occur and may last for days.

Celiac disease is caused by an abnormal immune reaction to gluten in the small intestine. Blood tests are frequently used to identify patients with high likelihood of having celiac disease. To confirm a diagnosis of celiac disease, a biopsy of the small intestine is obtained by a GI specialist. If a patient with celiac disease eliminates gluten from the diet, the small intestine will start to heal and overall health improves. Medication is not normally required. A celiac disease is lifelong. There is no vaccine or medication available till now.

In contrast, a wheat allergy is an overreaction of the immune system specifically to wheat protein. When a person with wheat allergy ingests wheat protein, it can trigger an allergic reaction that may result in a range of symptoms such as skin rash, itching, swelling, trouble breathing, wheezing, and loss of consciousness. Patients with wheat allergy must strictly avoid wheat, and must have quick access to epinephrine in event of an allergic emergency. Wheat allergy is most common in children. Many children outgrow wheat allergy in early childhood. Many patients with wheat allergy can consume other grains.

The bottom line is gluten is a protein found in many grains and processed foods, which can cause serious immune responses and allergic reactions in some people, and continues to be a growing food sensitivity. A wheat-free diet removes wheat, which is a common food allergy, but still includes other grains and foods that contain gluten. While people with celiac disease cannot eat any food containing gluten, which is also found in other grains such as barley, rye, and sometimes oats.

This is my alphabet U for “Understanding Wheat Allergy and Celiac Disease”, in #BlogchatterA2Z #AprilA2Z in Parenting Tales with A Celiac Child. Do share your experiences as it’s always incredibly beneficial to connect with others who share similar experiences.

Papa’s Parenting

Dr. Jyoti Arora

It’s not just me who takes care of D’s food requirements, his Papa gives his best too. I am a vegetarian but D’s Papa K, dies for non-vegetarian food. I don’t make non veg at home. Earlier for K, Non-Veg was ordered from outside. But now as D also wants to have non veg, we have to make it home.

So now it’s his Papa’s turn to go to the Kitchen. He gets the chicken, marinates it, and prepares the dish the next day. And I don’t go to the kitchen that time. It’s all on him. The butter chicken prepared is taste full as D savors it a lot. And he enjoys it for at least 2 days with his favorite Naans(Indian bread). Not just him, but my daughter and my niece also relishes that. Every time she come comes, she asks, “K papa apne chicken banaya hai…

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