Advice from A Pediatric Celiac Dietitian

Hi friends,

I have such a treat for you today - below is an interview with a pediatric celiac dietitian from the celiac clinic at Children’s Mercy Hospital. Maria Ahmu has so much experience working with children and families who have celiac disease and like many of us she also has the disease in her own family. I loved chatting with Maria and I hope you enjoy her insight!

Happy reading,

Rachel

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Here’s the Interview with Maria!

Hi Maria, who are you and where are you from?

I am originally from the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas. I am a registered dietitian and moved to the Kansas City area in 1999 to work in clinical pediatric nutrition. I have worked in several different clinical areas over the years. In 2021, one of our staff was retiring, and her position in GI Celiac Clinic was opening. I was intrigued to learn more about celiac disease. Three of my siblings have celiac. They were all diagnosed as adults, ages 40 and older. Since 2021, my niece has also been diagnosed. As they all live in other states, I didn’t have a front row seat to their lifestyle changes. However, I have learned so much since becoming a team member here.

What advice do you give to families with children newly diagnosed with celiac disease? The diagnosis and dietary changes needed to manage it can be so overwhelming.

Learning to cook and becoming confident in the kitchen is one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself. It is a move to take the best care of yourself and those you love. It gives so much more control over your health back to you when you are preparing your own meals.

Recognize that there are A LOT of nuances to gluten free baking, even for those who are very experienced in the kitchen. Be patient with the learning process and be willing to try again. You will get there!

Gluten free cooking and baking classes have the potential to drastically improve not just the transition and maintenance of the gluten free diet, but also one’s outlook on life in general.

When we are in control of what we eat, we have much less risk of a gluten exposure. This means that we feel better, which empowers us in so many other ways.

The research on home cooking vs eating out is convincing – we eat healthier, more fruits and vegetables, less sodium, less fat, more appropriate calorie intake levels, more fiber.

We also save money and tend to eat as a family more often. This is another area that research validates.

Families experience not just nutritional benefits, but also interpersonal relationship benefits. Cooking at home is a big job and requires planning and commitment, but the payoff is immeasurable.

I like to recommend that even teens at least take a knife skills class. Learning to use a chef’s knife greatly increases the likelihood that one will eat fruits and vegetables and will cook. It is a great skill to have when moving away from home for the first time. The first year of college, for example, can be much easier with a few basic cooking skills. 

What do you see families struggle with Maria? The heavy hitters.

1. Cost of GF foods, especially prepared foods. Learning to cook at home can dramatically help to ameliorate these costs.

2. Sense of loss of favorite foods. Again, learning to cook at home can overcome this one as well. I love the look of pride on a teen’s face when they tell me they know how to make “the best” brownies.

3. Sadness at not being able to participate with everyone else in activities that include food. While some this may come up from time to time, I encourage families to find a way to fully participate.

Some of these struggles affect younger children (or their parents) differently than older teens.

I’m a big supporter of cooking/baking at home obviously but sometimes you want to go out. What tips do you give for dining out?

Teach young children how to advocate for themselves – to inquire if food that is offered to them has gluten in it.

Teach them to explain to their server at a restaurant what their needs are without reservation or embarrassment.

Make a plan for road trips and sports travel. Help teens’ coaches understand that your teen’s needs are.

When eating out, know before you get there what your options are going to be. This can avoid the difficult situation where everyone gets out of the car and into the restaurant, hungry and smelling the food, and then you realize that there is nothing at all that is gluten free. That is not an easy situation to navigate.

Explain to the server what your needs are, and if they make a mistake, embrace it as a teaching moment and give them the opportunity to make it right.

Thank you so much Maria - it’s great to have support from professionals like you!