A Gluten Free Podcast is a show where Benjamin Hampton explores all things coeliac and gluten free! He I shares his own journey with coeliac disease and gluten free living and talks to people doing inspiring things in the coeliac and gluten free community.

Ben started A Gluten Free Podcast because he didn’t want people to feel alone like he felt upon diagnosis at the end of 2020 with so many physical and mental health issues. Ben shares " After our family caught a gastro bug my symptoms truly appeared but I believe now looking back I could have been undiagnosed as a child. There are actually too many symptoms to name when they started but most notably dropping around 10 kgs without trying, mouth ulcers, excruciating stomach pain, mood swings, anxiety, depression and debilitating joint pain, I was sent for every test they could do: multiple full blood counts, MRI, CT, ultrasounds with all results returning normal apart slight markers on my liver. I honestly thought I was going mad and so did everyone around me. Our friend who was diagnosed in 2019 urged me to ask my doctor to test for coeliac disease. Lo and behold the results were literally off the charts, I was sent for an endoscopy and got diagnosed 3 days before Christmas, 2020" he says.

To celebrate Coeliac Awareness Week Ben interviewed Associate Professor Kirsten Coppell from the Medical Advisory Panel about her experience of having three family members with coeliac disease and working as a public health physician. Kirsten has undertaken research at the Department of Medicine, University of Otago since 2003. Her research focus includes not only diabetes, diabetes-related conditions, and the prevention of diabetes, but also coeliac disease. She initiated and led the 2012 New Zealand Coeliac Health Survey with Coealic NZ.  Listen to the podcast here.