The Ministry of Health (MOH) continues providing gluten-free diet to wheat allergy patients at its hospitals in regions and provinces, in implementation of the royal directives to secure basic gluten-free food products for gluten allergy (celiac) patients. MOH called on all celiac patients, in hospitals, outpatient clinics or home care, who have no access to gluten-free diet, to visit MOH's hospitals authorized to dispense the products as a first stage, in the Kingdom's regions and provinces.
Click here for more information about the hospitals which distribute gluten-free products.
MOH explained that gluten (wheat) allergy affects both adults and children and can develop at any age. It is medically known as "celiac" disease resulting from eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, oats and maize, which negatively affects digestion and absorption of these products containing gluten, and thus body loses vitamins, minerals and calories, leading ultimately to malnutrition despite adequacy of dietary intake. It pointed out that eating gluten-free food products is the primary treatment for this category. If patients don’t follow a gluten-free diet they may have complications such as wasting, malnutrition, cancer and death – May Allah forbid.
It is noteworthy that the Wheat Allergy Program of the Nutrition General Department is currently working to produce and design an electronic health awareness application for smart devices entitled "My Health without Celiac". The free of charge app aims to enhance prevention, dietary and therapeutic guidance for celiac patients, to raise the awareness of the patient using the app on the type, quantity and quality of a healthy diet appropriate to his health condition, to boost his knowledge of his gluten-free food and ways to obtain it as well as to contribute to protecting him against malnutrition diseases and other nutrient-related diseases.