The Anonymous Widower

Call To Scrap Gluten-Free Food Prescriptions

This article on the BBC’s web site, talks about a call in a learned journal for gluten-free prescriptions to be stopped on the NHS.

I have had gluten-free prescriptions in the past, but quite frankly, living where I do now, to take them would be a waste of my time and the NHS’s money.

So what specific gluten-free foods do I buy?

1. A few ginger cakes from Waitrose, as I find they help my dry throat. I can’t make cakes any more and to be fair, I haven’t got any cake tins.

2. I usually have one loaf of Genius bread a week, which I can buy from any number of outlets locally, like Waitrose, Sainsbury or the Co-op.

3. I’m not much of a biscuit person, but I probably eat one pack a fortnight. I actually prefer genius toast with Benecol and jam.

4.  As you see from this blog, I do buy the odd ready-meal like the venison from Marks and Spencer. But these are the standard product.

5. I buy some of the EatNatural gluten-free breakfast cereal. I get through about a packet a week.

6.  I do buy a specialist gluten-free beer called Celia over the Internet.

If I take out the beers, which are £2.10 each, I probably spend under ten pounds a week on specific gluten-free food. Although of course, I do spend quite a bit more on quality fish, meat, vegetables and fruit.

If I  had to get gluten free food on prescription, it would mean going to the surgery and back.  Probably I’d walk, which would be good for me, but I have better things to do with my time. I’d then have to go to the pharmacy to collect it.

So for people like me, this would be no inconvenience at all.

Obviously, for those on a very limited income, it might be more of a problem.

But the real key to a successful gluten-free diet is to eat lots of natural foods like meat, fish, fruit and vegetables.  None of these cost more if you are a coeliac, as they’re all naturally gluten free.

The expensive gluten-free items to buy are bread, biscuits, cakes, sandwiches and beer. But it could be argued that most people eat too much of these anyway.

If gluten-free food was stopped on the NHS, the only people who would complain, would be the chattering classes, who are probably allergic to nuclear power, HS2, fracking, the Supersewer, the Congestion Charge and using public transport.  Many though, like me, will probably have their lunches in upmarket cafes like Carluccio’s.

I would apply the money saved in the NHS, by using it to subsidise the cost of quality gluten-free bread, pasta and perhaps some cakes and biscuits.  So for example a gluten-free loaf would then cost very much the same as a quality gluten-rich one.

That way all coeliacs would benefit.

It would also create jobs.  Just think of the quality sandwich shop, where the owner makes his own sandwiches to order.  So you want gluten-free bread? – No problem!

We don’t have a coeliac health problem over diet in this country.  We have a health problem over diet.  So let’s solve them all together with a proper integrated policy to get everybody eating well.

You won’t get everyone to eat better, but at least you’ll get some avoiding the problems of a bad diet.

February 14, 2013 - Posted by AnonW | Food, Health | Beer, Bread, Coeliac/Gluten-Free, NHS, Obesity