A HAMPSHIRE based culinary champion is spearheading a campaign to raise awareness of a life-changing disease.

If left untreated, coeliac disease can lead to a number of serious complications later in life, including osteoporosis, infertility and neurological conditions.

But now, MasterChef champion Jane Devonshire has been named as the charity ambassador for Coeliac UK,

She will head-up the national charity’s 2020 campaign to find thousands of children living with undiagnosed coeliac disease.

Winner of the popular cooking show in 2016, Jane’s youngest son Ben was diagnosed with the disease when he was just two years old.

It is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system damages the lining of the small bowel when gluten, a protein which is found in wheat, barley and rye is eaten.

There is no cure and no medication with the only treatment a strict gluten-free diet for life.

Symptoms of undiagnosed coeliac disease in children include diarrhoea, faltering growth or unexpected weight loss, dental enamel defects and bloating.

Jane, who lives in Four Marks near Alton said: “I was absolutely thrilled to be asked to be an ambassador.

“Raising awareness of coeliac disease especially for children is a cause close to my heart.

“I’ve seen first-hand the difference that early diagnosis can make and I want to help the charity reach more parents and carers who might be struggling and searching, sometimes for many years, to find answers to their child’s ill health.”

Coeliac UK is the national charity for people who need to live without gluten, whether due to coeliac disease or another medical condition requiring a gluten-free diet.

According to the charity1 in 100 people in the UK is estimated to have coeliac disease but of these, only 30% are diagnosed, meaning there are nearly half a million people in the UK with undiagnosed coeliac disease.

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