A father has revealed he deliberately forced himself to eat gluten products even though he had been diagnosed with coeliac disease as he needed the money to feed his children instead. Andrew Bloodworth, 42, who lives in Stamford in Lincolnshire, told i he only discovered he had coeliac disease a few days after his 40th birthday when he suddenly passed out and had to be taken to hospital by ambulance. Tests revealed he had coeliac disease – a serious autoimmune condition triggered by eating gluten – but Mr Bloodworth said the high cost of gluten-free foods led him to eat products containing gluten even though he knew it would make him ill as he needed to be able to afford to feed his children.
This come as new research from charity Coeliac UK shows people with coeliac disease are paying up to 35 per cent more for their weekly food shop. Their findings also reveal that seven in 10 people with coeliac disease find shopping gluten-free “adversely affects their quality of life” due to the cost and availability of the products – and 4 per cent admitted they are actively eating gluten despite health risks due to cost concerns. Mr Bloodworth, who has seven children, including three who live with him at home – two daughters aged 12 and seven and an eight-year-old son – told i he couldn’t justify paying for expensive gluten-free food when it took such a huge amount of the food budget and his children’s needs were greater.
“I just couldn’t justify spending £3 on a.
