"Second Opinion" Informational TV Show Talks Celiac

This program showed up on the TiVo yesterday. (We have a keyword wishlist for "Celiac" or "gluten". Occasionally a random program will show up.) This is a great overview of the difficulty doctors face in diagnosing Celiac disease. It also is a great introduction to the medical description of the disease.

If you missed it, you're in luck. The entire episode is available online! There are also a number of additional resources on their website. I highly recommend the program for everyone.





The most shocking take away for me was when one of the doctors said that in medical school they were told that Celiac disease was 1 in a million. Wow. Of course, now we hear that it is more like 1 in 133. Some say the ration may be closer to 1 in four.

Another great take away. The same doctor said that the gluten free diet makes everyone feel better. Wow. If that word gets out, we'll have not worries about the gluten free market shrinking.

Photo of the Day

drippy (by miller prosser)

Wheat Gluten is Not Food

Here's my new philosophy: wheat gluten is not food.

There are a lot of things in this world that I could eat, but shouldn't: plastic, mercury, dirt. I'm not allergic to these things, but they are bad for me. They happen also to be bad for everyone. Just add wheat, barley, and rye to that list. These things are not food. We as a species should never have begun eating them. Our bodies do not process their proteins very well. There are many other grains that we can eat. Our early ancestors never figured out that wheat was causing them sickness (who knows maybe it wasn't). Now we know that wheat gluten causes sickness, possibly even in people who do not have an allergy or autoimmune deficiency related to it.

So, I think of wheat gluten as dirt. Somehow that makes it easier (emotionally or psychologically) to avoid items made with wheat. Wonder Bread is made with dirt. Domino's pizza is made with dirt. Gross.

Friday's Feature Music -- Wilco

From Wikipedia:

"Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois.
The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedyand bassist John Stirratt remaining from the original incarnation. Since early 2004, the other current members are guitarist Nels Cline, multi-instrumentalists Pat Sansone and Mikael Jorgensen, and drummerGlenn Kotche. Wilco has released seven studio albums, a live double album, and three collaborations: two with Billy Bragg, and one with The Minus 5."

Wilco - Outtasite
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Wilco - Box Full Of Letters
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Discography
A collection of performances -- free streaming
Lyrics Archive

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Learning How to Die, by Greg Kot

Photo of the Day

photo by Miller Prosser

Gluten Freely Website

Check it out: http://www.glutenfreely.com/

Part online store for gluten free products, part resource, part blog (or aggregate of a few other gluten free blogs), part General Mills marketing tool.

Oh, coupons and recipes too.

Kim and Scott's Gluten Free Pretzel

From Jane Anderson at About.com we learn that Kim & Scott's Pretzels are offering a gluten free soft pretzel. Unfortunately, this is another one of those products that is produced in a facility that also produces gluten containing products. On the one hand, they seem to be highly aware of allergy sensitivities. On the other hand, they don't say that their gluten free pretzels have been tested.

Will I try them? Yes.

(Kim and Scott's on Twitter)

Made in a facility that...ARGGH!

One of the most frustrating statements to see on the packaging of a gluten free item is, "Made in a facility that processes foods containing wheat." This statement is extremely vague. The customer has absolutely no idea what to expect from the product. I tend to avoid these products, but I'll occasionally break my own rule and eat them. The symptoms of Celiac disease are sometimes impossible to connect to a specific food and so it is almost impossible to "test" these items on yourself. 


We desperately need federal guidelines for the food and drug industry. Right now we're out in the Wild West of the gluten free market. What does "gluten free" mean on a product that was made in a facility that handles wheat? I assume this means that the product is made with ingredients that do not contain gluten. Does this qualify the product as "gluten free"? It shouldn't! Gluten free should mean that the final product has been tested to contain less than 20ppm of gluten (or even better, less than 15ppm or 10ppm).


For that matter, what does a restaurant mean when they say they offer a gluten free menu? At present, it simply means that they think they can offer meals that do not contain gluten. But what does the restaurant mean by this? It is rarely clear unless you ask the chef. There has been a recent spike in interest in the gluten free diet, but not because the Celiac population has exploded. Rather, this spike has been related to an increase in the perception that the gluten free diet is somehow healthier. If the restaurant thinks you are one of these voluntary gluten free diners, are they going to make sure that your meal is absolutely gluten free? I worry about this every time I eat out. It seems likely that the server or manager sees me as one of the wave of new dieters and not as a person with Celiac disease. I tend to trust restaurants that are run by people who have Celiac disease in their family (like Da Luciano's) or where I know that the chef is professionally trained and sensitive to the plight of those with food allergies (like White Chocolate Grill; on Twitter).


We really need to define standards for gluten free food. I can't see any way to achieve this without federal regulation.

Slawturday, by the way

Slawturday was a huge success. I followed roughly the guidelines provided by Triumph Dining. I used onion, radish, broccoli, celery, carrot, apple, golden raisin, and dark raisin. The dressing was a bit too mustardy at first, but I kept mixing until I was satisfied.

You can't really tell from the picture, but the yield was immense. The left overs have been very tasty.