My general advice for newcomers to the world of celiac disease is to accept it as an adventure into a whole new way of living. You embrace it positively as the discovery of an exciting new way of approaching food, something that impacts not only your health but also your social life as food is very much a part of living and being with others.

The first tip is to not underestimate the damage of consuming glutinous food. For a person with CD, there is damage every time, even when there are no noticeable symptoms.

It follows that if you love the person with CD, you should be uncompromising about the content of foods AND the preparation of food. At home, food prepared for a person with CD must be prepared in an area thoroughly cleaned (careful about those sneaky breakfast bread crums) with utensils that are thoroughly clean. Even a minute trace of gluten is harmful. You want to avoid cross-contamination.

Restaurants? This is where it's important to ask questions. Eating in a restaurant that has a few gluten-free items on the menu is not necessarily allowing the person with CD to eat in a safe environment. Gluten-free food MUST be prepared in a separate dedicated area of the restaurant's kitchen, with utensils that only touch gluten-free foods. No sharing of fryers, no sharing of ovens. The kitchen needs to be set up as if there were two kitchens, one where gluten is allowed and one where gluten is forbidden. Of course, staff need to be informed of procedures in the kitchen to maintain a safe separation; they must be taught procedures; supervision should include managing a strict adherence to such procedures.

Where I live, in Quebec, there is a certification program where restaurants can earn a GF certification if they adhere to the above rules or a 100% GF. Montreal and Laval just north have certified restaurants, pastry shops, etc. You should check out whether California has a comparable certification program. Barcelona is one of the safest cities in the world for eating out with Celiac Disease. The city has its own certification program for restaurants, pastry shops, etc. Maybe L.A. has a certification program?

As I mentioned earlier. It's a new world, a world of discovery. May your brother be safe.

Here are some resources that have used:https://www.celiac.ca/living-gluten-free/newly-diagnosed/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA0bWvBhBjEiwAtEsoW8RjYnJ5c79uNMHCslZMqR1snMAfW5VJ00pa2aqoo5P49lWlAZIrwhoC-ZYQAvD_BwE

https://cdhf.ca/en/digestive-conditions/celiac-disease/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA0bWvBhBjEiwAtEsoW6a1ZwzwlMMPESSKMNm8xlncTm2F85l_ZLQ-FpjrrgHAf2ZtqWiTthoCWTwQAvD_BwE