Chipotle Mexican Grill is a fast food chain with over 2,000 locations in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and France. The company specializes in tacos and burritos and has released a mission statement called Food with Integrity, which highlights its efforts in using naturally-grown ingredients, and serves more naturally raised meat than any other restaurant chain.

The only gluten-containing food on Chipotle’s menu is their flour tortilla, but according to Chipotle’s website, “If you avoid gluten, don’t eat our flour tortillas. If you are highly sensitive to gluten and would like us to change our gloves, just let us know at the start of your order. You should be aware items containing corn, including corn tortillas (chips, soft corn, and crispy corn tortillas) and corn salsa, may have a small amount of gluten from potentially co-mingling with gluten-containing grains in the field.” Read More »

Novak Djokovic is a dominating force on the world tennis stage, having won 11 Grand Slam titles, 26 Masters and five world tour titles. Now he is playing in the 2016 US Open and ranked No. 1.

But in 2009, Djokovic thought his career was over, almost before it began. Plagued by fatigue, breathing difficulties and stomach spasms, Djokovic could barely get through a match.

A nutritionist, Dr. Igor Cetojevic, noticed his poor play and tested him for food sensitivities. Gluten, dairy, and tomatoes came up positive and Djokovic changed his diet to avoid those foods. Within two weeks, he started feeling better and more energetic. He grew leaner, stronger and the wins started piling up.  Read More »

Hey there! I have a super important message for you about inflammation.

We all know inflammation is bad. Advertisements for medicines on the TV talk about it all the time, blaming it for everything from heart disease to arthritis.

Inflammation is bad. It is so bad that we include decreasing inflammation as a part of treating every condition in our Gluten Free Works Health Guide.

But, what is inflammation and how do we stop it? Read More »

My mother, Cleo Libonati, RN, BSN was giving a presentation to medical school students at a major medical school in Philadelphia. The topic was “Identifying and Correcting Nutrient Deficiencies in Celiac Disease.”

A student approached her after the presentation. She was a tall, athletic looking woman with short blond hair. She introduced herself as Amanda and told Cleo she was afraid she might have to drop out of medical school. She said she was a West Point graduate, but no one could diagnose her.

She said she had constant gastrointestinal problems and fatigue. She couldn’t concentrate. Something was terribly wrong. She could feel it. Read More »

The Go Gluten-Free study assessed the affects of a gluten-free diet on digestive health and fatigue in healthy people, without celiac disease. This was the largest study of its kind in the United Kingdom. Participants ate a gluten-free diet for three weeks and then went back to their regular diet.

The independent research was performed by Rowett Institution of Nutrition and Health at Aberdeen University. The results refute the claims made by many that the gluten-free diet is deficient in nutrients or in some way “bad” for people without celiac disease. In fact, these participants ate better, felt better and experienced decreased cholesterol levels, decreased salt, increased energy levels, clearer thinking and increased fiber contents of their meals.

Do you recognize this circular hair loss pattern? It is called alopecia areata. According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, “no FDA approved treatment or cure exists yet.”

No cure, eh? It is amazing how many times I hear this “no cure” declaration when I KNOW people who have been cured of the condition in question, in this case, alopecia areata. Maybe they mean no DRUG exists that cures it.

I was recently shopping at a department store to pick up some new exercise shorts when the security guard walked past me.

Read More »

When I was in kindergarten, I had to take speech lessons. Oh, I could talk, and I did nonstop to anyone who would listen. The problem was that nobody could understand a lot of the things I had to say. When I spoke, I heard “s.” Other people heard “sschhshs.” Kids at school would ask my name. I would say, “John.” They would ask, “Sean? Joe?” My friends would tell them my name.

I remember once, my speech therapist, a kindly older woman, remarked that I had geographic tongue. She stuck her tongue out to show me hers. It looked like the photo here. Gross!

This is actually what my tongue looks like from time to time. Actually, this is a photo of my tongue from several years ago. Yes, it is painful.

Doctors told me they didn’t know why it looked that way. For all of my childhood, I thought that was just the way I was.

Well, the cause is Read More »

I was sitting in the waiting room at the Honda dealer last Friday and a middle aged woman next to me mentioned she had celiac disease after hearing me turn down a complimentary pastry. We got to talking and it turns out she was diagnosed 17 years ago.

She started asking questions once she found out what I do. She said she cooks 100% gluten-free, but is sometimes anemic and used to get vitamin B12 injections which made her feel great. I asked how often she ate out. Twice per week.

I asked to see her fingernails. They looked like the image here, spoon shaped and upturned.

Looking up her nail symptoms on our Gluten Free Works Health Guide on my phone, I told her it was koilonychia, from iron deficiency. She said they had always looked that way as far back as she could remember.

Neither her gastroenterologist, nor her endocrinologist picked up on it. After telling me she was on Prevacid and Gaviscon, I told her why her hair was thin and how the acid reflux drugs she had been taking were impairing her nutrient absorption. She thought she had high acid.

I told her my opinion based on her history and symptoms was low acid. Her doctors knew none of this, but it was all in the Health Guide. Doctors don’t know and Google is unreliable. The Gluten Free Works Health Guide will help you. It can be as simple as looking at your nails.