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| Montclair University Student Helps Chilton Memorial Create Gluten-Free Menu For Patients With Celiac Disease |
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110809146
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Montclair State University student and Chilton Memorial Hospital Dietetics Assistant Alina De Almeida, of Kinnelon, displays a gluten-free meal that she helped create for patients with Celiac Disease. It includes salad, meatloaf with gravy, white rice, mixed vegetables, fruit salad and cookies. Chilton Memorial’s Dietetics Department aims to distribute the gluten-free menu by early December. |
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Imagine not being able to eat bread, pasta, cookies and other delicious foods that we often take for granted. For the three million Americans who suffer from celiac disease, avoiding these items is a daily struggle.
Those who have celiac disease cannot eat anything containing a protein called “gluten,” which is found in wheat, barley and rye. Gluten causes the inability to absorb nutrients through the small intestines. This eventually could lead to malnourishment, infertility, osteoporosis, neurological disorders, thyroid disease, and cancer. The only treatment for celiac disease is a 100 percent gluten-free diet.
For those who suffer from celiac disease, the Dietetics Department at Chilton Memorial Hospital has reassuring news: A new, gluten-free menu will soon be available for patients. It all began when Kinnelon resident Alina De Almeida, a dietetic assistant at Chilton Memorial and a student at Montclair State University, wanted to make a difference in the lives of patients with celiac disease. “I noticed that there was a pattern of patients coming into the hospital with intolerance to gluten,” Alina said. “It was difficult to put together an entrée for breakfast, lunch and dinner because it seemed as if every entrée contained a trace of gluten in it.”
Alina began working with Dietetics Supervisor Teresa Guide on creating menu ideas. “First, we made gluten-free gravy by thickening it with cornstarch,” Teresa said. “Then, we created a gluten-free stuffing. It went so well, a female patient wrote a heart-felt letter to us. This led to gluten-free manicotti, pot roast, salad, meatballs, pasta salad, sandwiches on gluten-free bread and many other suitable items including desserts such as cookies and rice cakes.”
The Dietetics Department aims to distribute the gluten-free menu by early December. It will include educational material and recipes. “The gluten-free menu for those with celiac disease exemplifies Chilton’s mission of educating the patient as well fulfilling their needs,” said Dietetics Director Leilani Viney. “The patients will be encouraged to take the information inside the menu home with them. We want to let them know that the care we deliver doesn’t end when they leave the building.”
According to Alina, the gluten-free meals have been a huge success, even before printing the menu. "The patients were really happy with their entrees. They loved them so much, they were asking for the recipes,” she said.
For more information about celiac disease, visit the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness’ web site at www.celiaccentral.org.
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