Tag Archives: Health

Photo credit: Celiac Disease Awareness Month

May is National Celiac Disease Awareness Month, so it seems appropriate to share some medical facts about this autoimmune disease that just might shock you.

These facts come from Dr. Tom O’Bryan who is is a nationally recognized speaker and workshop leader specializing in gluten sensitivity and celiac disease.  Dr. O’Bryan’s specialty is in teaching the many manifestations of gluten sensitivity and celiac disease as they occur inside and outside of the Read More »

I was looking back at old drafts of posts that I’ve written over the years but never published, and I found this rant on the 1200 calorie weight loss myth. Since it’s the last day of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week  and the first day of National Nutrition Month, I figured it would be a good time to share it. (Editor’s note: Originally published March 1, 2014)

Not a week goes by that I don’t see a client who truly believes she/he needs to be following a 1200 calories diet to lose weight or be healthy. It seems to be the #1 nutrition myth.

Despite what the intertubes may say, a 1200 cal diet is not considered standard professional weight loss advice. Honest.There is, of course, plenty of bad advice and/or controversy out there, because that sells. There’s also a whole lot of standard nutrition advice that I heartily disagree with, but that’s another post. Take a  look at Read More »

This has been a post/letter which has been a work in progress for two years. For the past two years, I have had the new years resolution to send a letter to the 22 doctors who I had seen throughout the five years of misdiagnosis. After finally receiving a great report from my GI yesterday, it was time to put the finishing touches on this piece. It is something I felt I needed to do.

Not only to gain closure for myself, but as a way to spread awareness about gluten-sensitivity. The doctors need to know what the other side of the rainbow looks like, after what was a treacherous and long storm.  Read More »

In this video, Marie Fang shares her tips for losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight while eating gluten free!

This is the article I wrote on Health and Wellness for the Autism Community Magazine. 

I recently heard Rebecca Onie speak on TedTalk about the current healthcare system in the US. She poses the questions: “What if our health care system kept us healthy? What if waiting rooms were a place to improve daily healthcare? What if doctors could/would prescribe/facilitate diet and lifestyle change and improve health?” The work the patient needs to do is not done after the prescription is Read More »

On December 13, I posted a question on the Glutenfreeworks Facebook page to ask people who had adopted a gluten-free diet if they no longer needed medications they had been taking. The response was incredible. Dozens of people described how they no longer needed drugs, some of which they had been taking for years or decades.

Here is my post and their responses…

“I gave a presentation to a group and mentioned a friend who had been on Zantac for 20 years. I went on to say that once she went gluten-free the acid reflux disappeared. A woman in the audience stood up and said the same thing happened to her – she had been on it since she was 10 (I’m guessing she was in her mid to late 30s.).

My question for you is what medication (of any kind) were you on, before you went gluten-free, that you no longer need to take and how long did it take before you did not need it anymore?”

I have had the opportunity to connect with Dr. Stephen Wangen, the founder of the IBS Treatment Center in Seattle, WA.  Awhile back, at a CSA (Celiac Sprue Association) meeting I had the pleasure of helping Dr. Wangen with his book signing.  He had flown in to Denver to speak on his books, Healthier Without Wheat and Irritable Bowel Syndrome Solution. There was a full audience of folks, just like you and I, who were able to ask personal questions and learn more about living with Celiac Disease, gluten intolerance, as well as exploring other areas such as food allergies.

Since that time, Dr. Wangen and I have had the chance to talk about what the IBS Treatment Center does to help people really understand their bodies and how food can be affecting them.  He explores the possibilities of Celiac Disease, gluten intolerance and food allergies and helps people to develop a healthier lifestyle tailored to their specific needs.  At the same time, Dr. Wangen has observed the emotional affects these conditions can have on people and understands that not feeling well emotionally has an affect on how people take care of their physical well being.  What makes his practice so fantastic is the positive nature.  Dr. Wangen helps people view the changes by looking at the benfits and the gains and focusing on what people can have, rather than on what they can’t.  Here is what Dr. Wangen had to say when I asked him about his own experiences. Read More »

In  Part 1 of this article about nutrient deficiencies in the gluten-free population, I posed four critiques and questions that I promised to answer in today’s part 2. Without further ado, here we go…

Critique #1 questioned the small sample size of the research. I can’t do anything about that, and there’s not much to be said about it, so let’s move on.

Next, I think it’s easiest to address critique #3: How did nutrient deficiencies in the gluten-free population compare to Americans as a whole? To answer that question, I pulled data regarding nationwide averages from the USDA’s Community Nutrition Mapping Project. If I amend yesterday’s table that showed the percent of the gluten-free population who are deficient in given nutrients, and add to it a column for the national averages, this is what you find:

These numbers change the perspective a bit, I think. It’s not simply that the gluten-free population is nutrient deficient. When you compare us to the national averages, it gets slightly more complex. In some cases, such as folate, riboflavin, thiamin, and iron, we’re two or more times as deficient (as a group) than the nation. However, in other cases, such as B12, B6, and calcium, we still have greater rates Read More »