AFL star opens up about life-changing diagnosis

AS someone who had taken pride in eating anything and everything, coming to terms with a forced diet overhaul was tough, writes North Melbourne’s Ben Brown.

IT began with feeling a bit crook in the guts after eating.

The symptoms weren’t overly debilitating; I just felt a little off after meals.

I managed to convince myself that it was normal. After all, as a professional AFL player for North Melbourne, we’d been taught to be hyper-aware of the way our bodies behave.

I wondered if I was a victim of this state of over-alertness. Or worse, maybe I was making it up.

Eventually, fed up with not feeling quite right, I entered the office of our club dietitian, Jona, for advice.

At the time, he suggested I should have a gastroscopy to search for stomach ulcers. It wasn’t until later on that he explained that he had an inkling I may have coeliac disease. Turns out I had both.

The good news was that cutting gluten out of my diet would clear up the ulcers quickly. And although coeliac disease is incurable, a gluten-free diet would also lessen my symptoms and get my stomach health back on track.

No more gluten, ever! That was the prescription from Ilana, my gastroenterologist.

That was a pretty big deal for someone who had taken pride in eating anything and everything without complaint. I had to get used to asking questions, researching ingredients and becoming someone who was harder to cater for.

Adjusting his diet came easier than Ben thought.

But those difficulties paled in comparison to the long term effects of continuing to eat gluten, which included a heightened risk of developing gastrointestinal cancers, liver disease and infertility, among other issues.

The decision was easy. It looked like the health food aisle at the supermarket was now MY aisle.

While I’ve made a pretty big deal of the diagnosis here, I’ve actually found the transition to a gluten-free lifestyle hasn’t been as dramatic as I first expected.

Having strong support around me helped a great deal.

My partner, Hester, was quick to sift through our fridge and pantry, throwing out or giving away each product with gluten or traces of gluten.

Our diets, while restrictive, are healthy and balanced. Hester is vegan with a fructose sensitivity, and I’m now pescetarian and coeliac.

We have found new favourite restaurants and adapted old recipes to suit our needs. Our diets force us to experiment and get creative at times, but this is not necessarily a bad thing.

My iron levels have returned to normal, my stomach ulcers have cleared and I experience much less sickness after eating since my diagnosis.

Ben and Hester arriving at 2017 Brownlow. (Pic: Scott Barbour/Getty)

I also have no doubt that the positive effects of changing my diet have influenced my ability to perform at a higher level professionally.

Importantly, my diagnosis led to the further diagnoses of my father and two of my brothers.

Coeliac disease has strong genetic links — which meant that as soon as I was diagnosed, my family went straight in for a blood test to determine whether they too were affected.

While it has been an adjustment for them also, it is comforting to know that my diagnosis may have played a part in leading to my immediate family living healthier, and perhaps longer, lives.

Throughout this period of change in my life, I have not only leant on my family and friends, but on the advice and direction of my doctors and the resources available from The Coeliac Society of Victoria and Tasmania.

While one in 70 Australians have coeliac disease, four in five remain undiagnosed.

Now that I make up part of the percentage of coeliacs fortunate enough to know, I am passionate about ensuring that we increase our diagnosis rate, so that more Australians can live happily and healthily.

A trip to the doctor or a simple blood test could be all it takes to make a massive difference in your life — it certainly has in mine.

Ben Brown will be attending the Gluten Free Expo in Melbourne on October 7-8. Visit www.glutenfreeexpo.com.au