Mary Klinnert, PhD at National Jewish Health

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Mary Klinnert, PhD at National Jewish Health. Mary is an expert in child psychology and has numerous previous research studies on the effects of asthma on mental health.  She started her career mostly focusing on asthma, but in recent years, has turned much of her attention to the psychological aspects of living with life threatening food allergies.

While meeting with Mary, she briefed me on a study she is conducting on the psychological aspects of food allergies and how this study differs from the majority of previous studies that mostly focus on quality of life issues related to living with food allergies.  The hope of Mary and the rest of the team is to get to the root of what is happening to families that sometimes contributes to deeper Read More »

You receive an invitation in the mail to a good friend’s wedding.  This is something you have been looking forward to for awhile, but now that you have been diagnosed with Celiac disease, you notice that accompanying your excitement is some unwelcomed anxiety about being able to eat at the wedding. 

You already know the cake is a no-go, as are the dinner rolls that will undoubtedly be served.  But what about the Read More »

The phone rings…it’s my friend calling to see if I would like to come over to dinner.  Little does she know that I have just been diagnosed with Celiac disease and I’m now nervous about eating at other people’s homes… 

I’m still learning what to eat and how to read labels.  I feel my heart beat increase, and my palms start to sweat.  “What is this weird feeling,” I ask myself.  I feel like I’m going to panic…and all over a social invitation.  “What’s wrong with me, this shouldn’t be a big deal.  It never was before, I’ve always just done what I wanted.”  Oh yeah, I remind myself, it’s because I don’t know if I will be able to eat if I go over.  Maybe I just shouldn’t Read More »

Interesting experience over this past weekend.  I went to a restaurant that offers gluten free pizza and buns and inquired with the bartender if they had gluten free beer. 

He proceeded to inform me that there is no such thing as gf beer because gf beer isn’t REAL beer and was a bit jerky about the whole thing.  He informed me that he brews his own beer, so he knows what real beer is. 

I was quite offended at this response, as I was ordering gluten free beer out of necessity, not out of Read More »

As we approach Thanksgiving, I encourage you to spend a little time each day reflecting on what you are thankful for. 

It’s easy to get caught up in our life challenges and to start focusing on unfairness and negativity.  We often discount the positive and over analyze and give importance to the negative.  Even when struggling with life’s challenges, if we can Read More »

Once you’ve been diagnosed with Celiac disease or gluten intolerance, it is easy to become wrapped up in fear and anxiety about food.  This is absolutely normal as now there is an apparent “evil” out there just waiting to get ya. 

However, reality is it’s been getting you on a regular basis prior to being diagnosed or figuring it out on your own.  While the symptoms definitely suck, and for some people, can be debilitating at times, you Read More »