The Doc Replies

Our expert answers your medical questions

I’ve been diagnosed with coeliac disease. What exactly is it and what is the treatment?

Coeliac disease results from sensitivity to gluten, which is a component of wheat, barley and rye, and anything made from any of those. It is a type of autoimmune condition.

For some reason the body decides gluten is harmful and makes antibodies against it. That leads to problems in the lining of the small intestine which may stop food from being absorbed properly.

Adults might get problems from not absorbing iron properly, or they might have low vitamin D, weight loss, mouth ulcers and symptoms like abdominal pain and wind.

A GP can do a blood test but you must have gluten in the diet for six weeks beforehand to avoid a false negative result. If the test is positive you will usually have an endoscopy test, which looks at the stomach and upper part of the gut.

The treatment is a strict, gluten free diet. You have to stick to it completely. You shouldn’t ever eat gluten again because the symptoms are likely to come back and you can

increase the risk of complications.

Can clothes and towels spread germs?

Yes, germs can spread on towels and bed linen shared by more than one person, or by handling dirty laundry, and they can spread between things being washed.

If you have an infection, try to wash linen at a high temperature, 60 degrees or over.

What is the glycaemic index?

My GP referred to it during a consultation but I have no idea what it is.

The glycaemic index (GI) is for food with carbohydrate in it and it shows how quickly the food eaten by itself will affect the blood sugar.

High-GI food is broken down quickly so you get a high blood sugar reading, and low-GI food is broken down more slowly.

High-GI food would be something like sugar, sugary drinks, white rice and white bread.

Low-GI food includes fruit and vegetables, pulses and whole grains.

But you shouldn’t just go by the GI index, for example things with fat are relatively low – fat and protein slow down the absorption of carbohydrate, but that does not mean they are healthy. For example crisps have a lower GI than potatoes.

The Doc Replies The Sunday Post, Speirs View, 50 High Craighall Road, Glasgow G4 9UD or email us at doc@sundaypost.com