Some Help Realy Needed!

[tipsy]

My parents are in town for the next month and my mother suffers with Coeliac disease and is allergic to both wheat and gluten.

Does any body know where I can buy food products that cater for this condition? Last time they were here we stayed in BKK and Villa supermarket had a section devoted to just these products.

Any help or advise appreciated as her trip kind to CM kind of depends on me finding a source for this

Many thanks

[wjmark]

My parents are in town for the next month and my mother suffers with Coeliac disease and is allergic to both wheat and gluten.

Does any body know where I can buy food products that cater for this condition? Last time they were here we stayed in BKK and Villa supermarket had a section devoted to just these products.

Any help or advise appreciated as her trip kind to CM kind of depends on me finding a source for this

Many thanks

Without being snarky (well, without TRYING to be snarky), why not have them eat rice? Cut out bread, pasta, cakes etc, and eat rice for their carbs. So instead of looking for places that "cater to this condition" why not just eat foods that don't promote 'this condition'?

There are so many foods that are suitable, that to be honest, I cannot understand why her trip to CM depends on you finding a "source for this". Most foods do not have gluten - just don't eat the ones that do.

Wikapedia says :

the disease is caused by a reaction to wheat proteins." Oats are also off the menu, they say. Also, "Other cereals, such as maize (corn), quinoa, millet, sorghum, chia seed, and rice are safe for patients to consume. Non-cereal carbohydrate-rich foods such as potatoes and bananas do not contain gluten and do not trigger symptoms.

Wikapedia also notes:

Several grains and starch sources are considered acceptable for a gluten-free diet. The most frequently used are maize, potatoes, rice, and tapioca (derived from cassava). Other grains and starch sources generally considered suitable for gluten-free diets include amaranth, arrowroot, millet, montina, lupine, quinoa, sorghum (jowar), sweet potato, taro, teff, chia seed, and yam. Various types of bean, soybean, and nut flours are sometimes used in gluten-free products to add protein and dietary fiber. In spite of its name, buckwheat is not related to wheat; pure buckwheat is considered acceptable for a gluten-free diet, although many commercial buckwheat products are actually mixtures of wheat and buckwheat flours, and thus not acceptable. Gram flour, derived from chickpeas, is also gluten-free.

Hemp seed is a gluten free source of energy with digestible edestin protein, a good balance of essential fatty acids, dietary fiber, as well as vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin E, Iron, Zinc, Copper and Magnesium.

So, unless I am mistaken, most Thai food would be safe? Except of course deep-fried and breaded foods (fried chicken, spring rolls, etc etc).

And most Thai food doesn't use soy sauce (which usually has wheat products in it), so I don't understand why your mum couldn't easily spend time here. Unless MSG is a problem - then she really is in trouble!

Issan food would also be safe, wouldn't it? Gai Yan (bbq Chicken), Som Tam (papaya salad), Soop No-Mai (bamboo shoot salad), Kao Neaow (sticky rice) etc., etc., etc...

Anyways, good luck. There are so many foods in the world that don't use wheat, that I don't really understand the problem...

[zorro1]

Good answer,I have the same problem and one the main reasons I enjoy living here. Avoid Irish pub style Thai though they sometimes try to westernize it and I have been caught out after eating pad Thai.

[tipsy]

Quite aware that there are a lot of Thai dishes that can be eaten and that is what she has been doing, my question is does any body know where to find the ceoliac products not how to avoid wheat and gluten.

Each night we go out for dinner so it isn't a problem as she will find something on the menu that she knows will be safe but asking the staff if a dish she hasn't tried before is safe is very difficult as none understand what i'm asking.

During the day when she would like a snack it would just be a whole lot easier if we could find some bread or other ceoliac safe products that I can store at home for here when needed. Rice crackers get a bit boring.

Your right, its not a huge deal but she would be a lot happier here to find foods as she is thinking about possibly staying for a few months now. If I suffered from this condition I would take the same approach as Zorro1 but she really worries about it and would make her trip a lot more enjoyable in CM if I could put her mind at ease.

Thanks

[zorro1]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Gluten-free-Bread-t167680.html

Follow this link, and if she can bring a bread maker with GLUTEN FREE settings, she can enjoy fresh bread every day. That's about it unfortunately and the rice crackers are way overpriced here and boooooring

Best if she brings a dozen packs of mix from home again the mix is expensive here. When in oz I buy around 20 packs half price

I live in BKK so have access to several villa stores, apart from bread they have G/F cake mix and the only other Item I found was G/F BBQ sauce at $10 a bottle , no thanks

Edited February 15, 2009 by zorro1

[tipsy]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Gluten-free-Bread-t167680.html

Follow this link, and if she can bring a bread maker with GLUTEN FREE settings, she can enjoy fresh bread every day. That's about it unfortunately and the rice crackers are way overpriced here and boooooring

Best if she brings a dozen packs of mix from home again the mix is expensive here. When in oz I buy around 20 packs half price

I live in BKK so have access to several villa stores, apart from bread they have G/F cake mix and the only other Item I found was G/F BBQ sauce at $10 a bottle , no thanks

Thanks Zorro, they are already here so the bread mix isn't an option. I should have put a lot more research into this before she arrived, I just assumed that a large city like CM would have a shop that stored gluten free products.

But you know what that say about assumption..............

[hannabee]

Though most Thai food is safe, soy sauce is something to look out for and soy sauce is in quite a few Thai dishes, more than you would think. Maybe just ask for things to be made without soy sauce, I think that is the safest bet. Rimping has some gluten free cereals, look for Panda Puffs or Gorrilla Munch if your interested they are pricey though. Good luck!

[DRTroy]

Try Kasem's Stores. One in Warrorot Market and one on Nimmanhaemin Rd. I know they were experimenting with these products. Also I think I saw some in Tops and Rimping supermarkets.

[jfchandler]

Thanks to a tip from TV member Polecat, I've now found "Gluten-Free Heaven" in BKK....

Read this related post and accompanying photos....