A guide for the newly diagnosed
The first
30 days.
Begin with good care.
Make room for ordinary life.
A diagnosis brings new questions to familiar places: your kitchen, the family table, your parish. This is a place to begin, with a few things to understand and a few conversations worth having.
The first month is a beginning. You can learn a new way of caring for your health while keeping the meals, relationships, and rhythms that make life your own.
Start with your care team.
After a confirmed celiac diagnosis, treatment begins with a lifelong gluten-free diet. Ask your doctor for a referral to a registered dietitian experienced in celiac disease. Together, you can plan balanced meals and make sense of the changes ahead.
Before your next appointment, keep a short note of your questions. Ask about follow-up visits, any tests you need, and how your recovery will be monitored. Your doctor can assess nutritional deficiencies and recommend supplements if needed.
Medical guidance: NIDDK on treating celiac disease
Keep meals familiar.
Many everyday foods are naturally gluten-free: fruit, vegetables, rice, potatoes, and plain meat or fish. Begin with a handful of meals you enjoy, using ingredients you have checked. A familiar breakfast and a dependable lunch can make the week easier.
Read labels for wheat, barley, rye, and ingredients made from them, including barley malt. Look for gluten-free labeling on packaged foods. If an ingredient is unclear, check with the manufacturer. Discuss oats with your dietitian; if you include them, choose oats labeled gluten-free.
Food guidance: NIDDK on eating with celiac disease
A closer look at reading labelsGive food a clear place.
Wash your pans and utensils, keep your own butter and spreads if the house eats bread, and cook the way you always have. You do not need a second toaster or a separate set of cutting boards.
At someone else’s table, speak with the host beforehand; offer to bring a dish when that helps. At a restaurant, explain that you have celiac disease and ask about both ingredients and preparation.
Practical guidance: NIDDK on preventing cross-contact
Understand cross-contactKeep your place in parish life.
Speak with your pastor before Mass about receiving Communion. A low-gluten host must meet the Church’s requirements, and your clinician can help assess whether it is suitable for you. Separate preparation and handling help prevent gluten cross-contact.
If you cannot receive a host, you may receive the Precious Blood alone. You receive the whole Christ under either species. Receive from the chalice at Communion. Where the chalice is not usually offered, ask your pastor whether it can be offered to you.
Church guidance: The US bishops on celiac disease and Communion
A conversation before Sunday.
Our parish card puts the request into a few simple words. Read it, print it, or use it to begin a conversation.
Open the printable parish cardBeyond the first month
Let good care continue.
Keep the follow-up arranged with your clinician. If symptoms persist or return, speak with your doctor or dietitian so they can help identify the cause. Improvement and healing take time; follow-up care is part of treatment.
Keep a little space for the rest of life, too: a meal with someone you love, a walk, Sunday Mass. You are learning how to care for yourself within the life you already belong to.