Review – The G Free Diet by Elisabeth Hasselbeck

A Celiac Disease Survival Guide for Gluten-Free Living

Jul 23, 2009

Following a gluten-free diet is necessary for anyone suffering from celiac disease, but finding gluten-free products and recipes isn't always easy.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck knows that living gluten-free means more than simply finding wheat-free recipes. The co-host of ABC’s The View lived for years with a range of debilitating symptoms before discovering by accident that she had celiac disease.

The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide (Centre Street, 2009) by Elisabeth Hasselbeck is a comprehensive yet personal discussion of celiac disease including the symptoms, diagnosis, complications and how to create a gluten free lifestyle.

The G-Free Diet

After years of unexplained symptoms, Elisabeth Hasselbeck to feel healthier than she had in years after 39 days spent in the Australian wilderness while filming Survivor: Outback. Further investigations and research led Hasselbeck to a diagnosis of celiac disease, a chronic hereditary autoimmune disease triggered by gluten.

The G-Free Diet offers those living with celiac disease a range of tools to help minimise their exposure to gluten in their food and beauty products. It includes tips on eating out, preparing gluten-free shopping lists, G-free home cooking and explaining the disease to others.

An appendix lists numerous website links for sites and brands that offer gluten-free products including condiments, pasta, breads, cereal, cookies, vitamins and ice-creams. There are also links to celiac support organisations. There are only limited gluten-free recipes listed in the book, with Hasselbeck including G-free adaptations of four of her family’s traditional Italian dishes.

What is Celiac Disease?

Celiac (coeliac) disease is a chronic autoimmune disease triggered by gluten, a protein found in a range of grains including wheat, rye and barley. It can also be present in food products such as coffee, chocolate, marinades, sauces, condiments, cereals, fried foods and deli meats and in some lipsticks and other cosmetics, hairspray, medications and postage-stamp adhesive.

Untreated celiac disease can lead to a number of major and minor health complications. According to the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Program, there are 256 symptoms and health conditions associated with the disease.

The wide range of symptoms makes celiac disease difficult to diagnose and there is no specific drug available to treat the disease. To reduce symptoms, it is necessary for sufferers to remove gluten from their diet and environment.

Practical Tips for Living Gluten Free

The G-Free Diet offers readers a glimpse into the everyday life of someone living with celiac disease. Hasselbeck’s account of her journey of diagnosis and treatment is very personal and engaging, making this book ideal for celiac disease suffers to give to family members and friends to better explain their condition.

For those with celiac disease, Hasselbeck offers a range of everyday tips including how to live G-free when sharing a home and kitchen with others who are eating foods containing gluten. She also gives advice on how to best avoid gluten outside the home when eating out or socialising with friends and includes information on helping children to adapt to a gluten free lifestyle.

The book includes a range of celiac facts including lists of celiac friendly foods, foods to avoid, gluten-free cosmetic products and medical information on the disease, it’s symptoms and complications, how to discuss a diagnosis of celiac disease with your doctor, and the serious health consequences of continuing to consume gluten after being diagnosed with celiac disease.

Sources are given throughout the text for many of the facts, but there is unfortunately no comprehensive bibliography.

Living with Celiac Disease

The G-Free Diet is a practical and encouraging guide for both those with celiac disease and their friends and family. While the products and websites are predominantly for US brands, the majority of the practical advice and tips could be applied by those with celiac disease in any country.

The book is extremely readable, offering an engaging balance of information, advice, practical tips and personal story to both entertain and educate readers. The style is very encouraging, reassuring sufferers that they are not alone and offering them the kind of practical tips that they can easily apply to their everyday life to help minimise the impact of the disease.

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