Newsnight report on the cost to the NHS of gluten-free prescriptions

From the CoeliacUK page: http://www.coeliac.org.uk/news/newsnight-report-on-the-cost-to-the-nhs-of-gluten-free-prescriptions

Very bad form on behalf of the BBC who claim that they offer viewers unbiased information where possible. However, they denied an alternative point of view on the issue of offering Coeliac suffers staple foods through the NHS.

If you made a choice to smoke and now want to quit, you can get help from the NHS which can cost millions for the taxpayer. And this is not a one-hundred percent guarantee you will quit. If you are unfortunate enough to have an autoimmune disease where even being near bread or pasta makes you ill and you cannot afford to pay the huge mark-up for niche goods just to have a staple diet? Well, you are a leech to the system according to the views put forward on Newsnight.

As a full-time University student, who at current has two jobs, I still struggle to maintain a balanced diet. The bread on sale in supermarkets for Coeliac's is just plain awful. Each one I have tried has the same texture as a stale English muffin and tastes just the same. I am not being picky about my bread either. My girlfriend, when we first started talking about my diet many months ago, could not understand why I didn't buy the Gluten-Free bread at the supermarket. No amount of discussion could make her see so I went out and bought some bread so we could have it with our soup. One bite into her piece and all was clear. And if you want to make rolls for you lunch you have to pay £2.50 or more just for four.

A claim was put forward in the show that Coeliac suffers should simply not eat food with gluten in it. This is just plain ignorance. That is an extremely difficult thing to do. And you will get caught out. For example I used to have Bisto gravy on my roast chicken and potatoes on Sundays as Bisto did not contain wheat. Then one day I had the same meal I have had for two-three years and I was ill. I checked the back of my new Bisto and was mortified to see that wheat was now an ingredient. The only gluten-free gravy in the supermarket is one made by Knorr but you'll be very lucky to even spy it on the shelves in your supermarket. Bisto Best does not contain wheat as an ingredient but is made in a factory line that handles wheat. For some Coeliac suffers this is fine but I cannot walk into a Greggs to buy a bottled drink without getting a headache.

I have contacted the BBC and the Newsnight team, as have other Coeliacs. So, if anybody even gleams at this blog, do not take heed of what was said on Newsnight. It was poor journalism which turned unwarranted negative attention towards a group of people who struggle to even maintain what others would call a normal life.