Celiac disease

Celiac awareness month is observed in either October or May in the United States, depending on which celiac disease organization you talk with, but there is only one National Celiac Awareness Day! Read More »

When my husband and I lived in California, there was a place that we really loved to dine at named Dharma’s.

Yes, it lived up to the name…

Cooky owner, rockstar looking workers, New Age decor…

Yet it was a wonderful place to eat out at. In fact, if you were in my town, it was an absolute must – everyone knew that.

This restaurant, beautifully was full of all sorts of healthy, organic, vegan, and gluten free clean eats. It was known for its colossal sized breakfast, lunch, and dinner options to try that crossed all cultural bounds – Indian cuisine, Asian, Mexican, Italian, American – you name it.

That was indeed our default go-to restaurant.

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ScienceDaily (July 22, 2010) — Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists have identified the three protein fragments that make gluten — the main protein in wheat, rye and barley — toxic to people with coeliac disease.

Professor Bob Anderson from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, has identified the three protein fragments that make gluten -- the main protein in wheat, rye and barley -- toxic to people with celiac disease. (Credit: Czesia Markiewicz, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute)

Their discovery opens the way for a new generation of diagnostics, treatments, prevention strategies and food tests for the millions of people worldwide with coeliac disease.

When people with coeliac disease eat products containing gluten their body’s immune response is switched on and the lining of the small intestine is damaged, hampering their ability to absorb nutrients. The disease is currently treated by permanently removing gluten from the patient’s diet.

Dr Bob Anderson, head of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute’s coeliac disease research laboratory, said it had been 60 years since gluten was discovered to be the environmental cause of coeliac disease.

“In the years since, the holy grail in coeliac disease research has been to identify the toxic peptide components of gluten; and that’s what we’ve done,” Dr Anderson said.

The research, done in collaboration with Dr Jason Tye-Din, Dr James Dromey, Dr Stuart Mannering, Dr Jessica Stewart and Dr Tim Beissbarth from the institute as well as Professor Jamie Rossjohn at Monash University and Professor Jim McCluskey at the University of Melbourne, is published in the journalScience Translational Medicine.

Dr. Bob Anderson & John Libonati at an NFCA-sponsored event April 30, 2009 in Philadelphia, USA where Dr. Anderson described his research and vaccine.

The study was started by Professor Anderson nine years ago and has involved researchers in Australia and the UK as well as more than 200 coeliac disease patients.

The patients, recruited through the Coeliac Society of Victoria and the Coeliac Clinic at John Radcliffe Hospital, UK, ate bread, rye muffins or boiled barley. Six days later, blood samples were taken to measure the strength of the patients’ immune responses to 2700 different gluten fragments. The responses identified 90 fragments as causing some level of immune reaction, but three gluten fragments (peptides) were revealed as being particularly toxic.

“These three components account for the majority of the immune response to gluten that is observed in people with coeliac disease,” Dr Anderson said. Read More »

Yesterday was the start of Passover. Although I am a catholic girl, and quite honestly know next to nothing about this Jewish holiday, I do know one thing. This is the time of year where you can often find matzo stocked on the shelves of supermarkets.

In elementary school we would always learn about the various traditions of each holiday, and I always looked forward to when my mom would bring home matzo for my brother and me. We would eat it plain, with butter, or my mom’s personal favorite with Read More »

The frequency of intestinal overgrowth by candida albicans is increased in people with celiac disease. In fact, infection by this common organism, also called C. albicans or candida, appears to be a trigger in the onset of celiac disease.1 Candida is yeast, a budding type of fungus, capable of fermenting carbohydrates. Albicans identifies this particular yeast from many others.

Candida albicans usually maintains a tiny appearance in our intestinal tract unless conditions change to favor its growth. It can thrive and invade if the intestinal lining becomes inflamed or damaged, the composition of normal flora becomes disrupted, immune defenses become diminished or malnutrition reduces our health. Candida albicans infection is characterized by superficial, irregular white patches with a red base. Invasion of the bloodstream is possible and would be life-threatening. Read More »

Gluten Free Homemade Challah Bread

This is a quote that a lot of people are hearing these days. What happens after your doctor says these words? Here is a synopsis of my journey; if any of this sounds familiar, give it some serious thought…there may be a very simple answer.

I first heard these words while I was barely concious, in a bed at Methodist Hospital in Houston. I had become so weak and debilitated by my undiagnosed and untreated celiac disease that my life was in danger. The symptoms over twenty years included gastrointestinal problems, fibromyalgia, irritability, bone pain and more. The good news was that I finally found out what was wrong with me; the better news was finding out that the disease is completely manageable through dietary changes alone.–no medications, no surgeries, none of that stuff. Just don’t eat grains that contain the gluten protein, mainly wheat, barley and rye. That sounded really good to me.

Not so fast. While still in the hospital, I was really still very sick, and not really able to process the information. After a couple of days (in which I was already improving), it dawned on me that Read More »

When I was little I loved American Girl dolls. It seems like yesterday that I was picking out my first doll, after my “Twin Doll” sadly lost her head four times. I can remember my mom suggesting I get Samantha because she was the one that looked closest to me. However, the doll I chose was Molly because she had glasses just like me. I loved that doll, I read all the books which went along with her; even dressed up as Molly for Halloween one year.

One year we threw a birthday party for Molly. My mom being the creative person she is went all out! We made homemade headbands; an idea from one of my American Girl Magazines and ate dishes of food that Molly would have enjoy during the era in which she lived. It’s one of those childhood memories I won’t forget.

Over break I received eggs from Pete & Gerry’s Organic Eggs; a company I met at this year’s summer Food Fete. My brother laughed when he asked what was in the package and I excitedly responded Read More »

Did you know you can be fat, yet malnourished? In this video, I explain two ways malabsorption and nutrient deficiencies actually make you fat.

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Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body. About 99% of this essential nutrient is contained in bones and teeth with the rest being in blood and other tissues. Calcium is needed for strong bones and teeth and for nerve conduction, muscle contraction, heart muscle function, blood pressure regulation, glycogen to glucose conversion, initiation of blood clotting, many hormone actions, many enzyme activities and making acetylcholine, an important chemical for nerve transmission. Calcium plays a part in the prevention of colon cancer.

Most importantly, calcium opposes phosphorus as a buffer to maintain the acid-alkaline balance of the blood and is critical for milk production in the nursing of infants.

Calcium absorption in the small intestine is complex and has specific requirements.  Read More »

Selenium is a trace mineral required for good health. We should not be complacent about the small amount of this essential nutrient needed because not having enough of it has serious consequences.

Selenium is required for antioxidant protection, DNA repair, thyroid hormone activation, immune system enhancement, production of prostaglandins, muscle function and protection against cancer. Read More »