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Sep 29Liked by Christina Heiser

Can you develop a bit on how you have found Italy to be pretty celiac friendly ?

I have been avoiding going to Italy since I stoped eating gluten for obvious reasons.. (pizzas, pastas, lasagnas..) I would be so glad to hear of your experience and be able to go again ;)

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Hi Alexandra! Thanks for reaching out. Italy has an incredibly high awareness of celiac disease and screens all children for celiac disease. In my opinion, it's the number one destination in the world to go to if you have celiac disease because they have such a high awareness! Because food is such a big part of the culture, they want everyone to be able to enjoy all of the delicious pizza, pasta, and bread, so they've developed the best gluten-free versions of these foods for their celiac citizens. Many restaurants have gluten-free menu items and you can find gluten-free items at the big grocery stores too.

Additionally, there are restaurants certified by the Italian Celiac Association (AIC) to meet specific standards in their kitchen when it comes to preparing gluten-free menu items so that they're celiac-safe. I recommend downloading the AIC app ahead of a trip so you can find restaurants in the cities you'd like to travel to. You can learn more about the organization here: https://eat-gluten-free.celiac.org/gf-services/italian-celiac-association/

You can also see my restaurant recommendations for various cities in Italy here: https://celiacselfcare.christinaheiser.com/p/gluten-free-travel-guide

Hope you get to go!

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