National Celiac Disease Awareness Day - Today September 13th

The Senate has designated, today, September 13, 2012, as “National Celiac Disease Awareness Day” in hopes that people will become more informed and aware of celiac disease in the United States. 

Celiac Disease Facts:  

• Celiac disease affects approximately 1 in every 130 people in the United States, for a total of 3,000,000 people. 

• The majority of people with celiac disease are undiagnosed. 

• Celiac disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder that is classified as both an autoimmune condition and a genetic condition. 

Click to read more ...

Youth For Understanding Seeks Gluten-Free And Allergy-Friendly Host Families For Foreign Exchange Students

The organization Youth for Understanding (YFU) is looking for gluten-free and allergy-friendly host families for foreign exchange students.

YFU offers young people following a gluten-free or allergen-free diet the adventure of a lifetime—the opportunity to explore other countries and cultures, master new languages, and discover themselves. Their goal is to help transform young people by instilling passion for life-long learning, along with the skills and knowledge to thrive and contribute amidst cultural diversity. They provide young people between the ages of 15 and 22 a variety of intensive exchange opportunities. The program believes that this full immersion is the most effective means of international education, which will be increasingly relevant for generations to come.

Click to read more ...

Find Me Gluten-Free App

Find Me Gluten FreeMark Cuban preparing to eat a Naked Pizza, a leading national pizza chain known for its focus on natural ingredients and gluten-free crust. The Gluten-Free market is currently a 3 billion dollar industry and it's predicted to grow to a 5.5 billion dollar by 2015.  Mark Cuban is a technology investor, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and shark on the ABC TV Show, “Shark Tank,” and he must believe the gluten-free market is an industry headed toward growth, too. Mark Cuban has just invested in Find Me Gluten Free, the very popular gluten-free restaurant search and review app for iPhone and Android. 

Find Me Gluten Free is a terrific, free app that helps share photos, ratings, and reviews with other gluten free diners.  

They also have a Find Me Gluten Free facebook page where many who are following a gluten-free diet have been happy to post about how this app has helped them find gluten-free restaurants they may not have previously known had gluten-free options.

Click to read more ...

1 in 141 - Prevalence of People with Celiac Disease in the United States

For a growing percentage of the population eating gluten can cause serious health problems.  Gluten can be found in foods containing wheat, rye, barley and sometimes oats (which do not naturally contain any offending gluten but are often contaminated by wheat during harvesting and processing).     

Eating food that contains gluten for someone who is gluten intolerant or has celiac disease, even a tiny amount the size of one grain of rice, causes an immune system reaction. The body views the gluten as a toxin or a poison.  It then releases antibodies to attack the gluten, attacking itself in the process. And in doing so also  damages and destroys the villi, the tiny microscopic finger-like projections in the small intestines that absorb nutrients and pass them into the bloodstream. When the villi become damaged, they become inflamed and flatten, making it more difficult or almost impossible for the body to absorb nutrients and pass them into the bloodstream.

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted a study to estimate the prevalence

Click to read more ...

Can Beer Be Made with Barley and Still Be Gluten-Free?

The other morning I heard about a new gluten-free beer that recently hit the market. It’s produced by Widmer Brothers and is called "Omission” and is made in two varieties: Pale Ale and Lager. 

At first glance I thought this might be a great possibility for celiacs and those on a gluten free diet who do not have a sensitivity to yeast and can enjoy a nice cold brew every now and then. Many gluten free beers just don’t seem to have that great beer taste so many remember. And I know many are seeking a beer that tasted like those cold drafts they may have remembered from their pre-"gluten-free" days.

But as I started to read more about this beer I began to have some doubts.  Sure many who reviewed the beer were saying they liked the taste.  And as one reviewer from www.drinkupcolombus.com remarked: And holy ---- does it taste good. That is not the comment you’re likely to hear from most who review gluten-free beer. 

But the description clearly states, "made with barley".  I must be a bit out of

Click to read more ...