Tag Archives: Gluten Sensitivity

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 »

I was recently reading a press release from Nature’s Path Organic about two of their new cereals. The press release made a familiar argument: the cereals “provide gluten avoiders with whole grains… unlike many gluten-free cereals which forfeit nutritional benefits…” The implication is that many gluten-free cereals (and other gluten-free processed foods, by extension) are more highly processed in order to improve taste and texture. But they do so by sacrificing nutritional quality.

There is some truth to this logic. Foods made from whole grains are inherently healthier than heavily processed foods, and I’ll use our good old enemy – wheat – to demonstrate. I compared whole grain wheat flour (less processed) with white, unenriched wheat flour (more processed) across a range of nutrient measures. Not surprisingly, the wheat underwent a profound loss in Read More »

Finally it seems that athletes have become savvy to the benefits of a gluten free diet.  As the general population has started to become more aware of the prevalence of gluten sensitivities and Celiac Disease, there has been a noted increase in the number of athletes turning to the gluten free lifestyle in an attempt to maximize their training and find greater success in their respective sports.

Among the most notable athletes making the gluten free switch are Raul Ibanez of the Philadelphia Phillies, Cedric Benson of the Cincinnati Bengals, and tennis player Novak Djokovic, the 2011 winner of Wimbledon who went on an unprecedented 43-match win streak.  Most significant about their decision to go gluten free is the marked improvement in all three athletes after the switch. Read More »

[Editor’s Note: Reprinted from 7 09 08 – and still very important.]

Author: Fvasconcellos Source: Wikimedia Commons

The news release below is timely because anti-gliadin antibody blood tests are losing ground while the reality of gluten sensitivity looms far larger than is now appreciated by many doctors!  These blood tests are absolutely necessary to investigate health problems caused by gluten itself, yet they are being dismissed by doctors who look only to diagnosing celiac disease.

Positive anti-gliadin antibody tests show undigested gluten peptides in the bloodstream.  This abnormal finding tells the story that gluten has passed through the tight barrier defenses of the small intestinal lining into the body where it can wreak havoc, with or without celiac disease.  Gluten is a food protein in wheat, barley, rye and oats. Read More »

Kathleen (not her real name) came to counseling because of anxiety. After an intake, we identified several areas in her life that sounded like they were contributing to her difficulties. We started working with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a system that looks at the thought sequence you use, and where a distorted belief can be corrected and thereby relieve suffering.

After teaching her a series of formulas, she was able to apply the principles herself when not in the office with me. This is a very effective psychotherapy intervention, that is so useful that many insurance companies paying for counseling expect to see it as part of a treatment plan. But, it did not seem to offer Kathleen the relief I was expecting. So, we continued looking elsewhere in her life for the source and solution of her anxiety. If it wasn’t her thinking causing it, perhaps it was situational. Read More »

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body, providing an indication of just how important this nutrient is for the body.

Magnesium keeps us moving, thinking and behaving normally. Magnesium is a cofactor for more than 300 enzymes involved in the metabolism of food components and many products such as protein synthesis. It balances calcium in the body to maintain normal muscle and nerve function and works in concert with calcium to keep bones strong. It keeps heart rhythm steady and supports a healthy immune system. Magnesium is required for parathyroid hormone secretion, helps regulate blood sugar levels and promotes normal blood pressure.1

Studies show that magnesium deficiency is common in those with celiac disease. Read More »

Mixes From The Heartland is making mealtimes healthy, easy and normal for gluten-free families across the country. Now people can save when shopping by joining their new Gluten Free Buying Club.

Teri Whisenhunt, the owner of Mixes From The Heartland and a celiac herself, says her goal is to provide people high quality, affordable gluten-free foods. With the Gluten Free Buying Club, Mixes From The Heartland is doing just that – providing members with the largest selection of approved (under 5 parts per million of gluten) quality mixes and ingredients at affordable prices. And their shipping prices are among the best in the industry – just $10 for orders under $100 and free on orders over $100. Read More »

With less than a week to go, don’t miss the Chicago-area gluten-free event of the year. The event is going to take place this coming weekend, April 17-18 at the Wyndham Hotel in Lisle. Tickets to Saturday’s classes are already sold out, but there are still a few tickets left for Sunday’s classes.

Everyone is welcome to attend the vendor fair each day, tickets for the vendor fair are available at the door.

For more information, visit here and here.

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Author Information: Anne Steib, Chicago, IL
Anne Steib
Click here to email Anne.
http://www.examiner.com/x-13312-Chicago-GlutenFree-Food-Examiner http://twitter.com/gfchicago

(Editor’s Note: Click here to see Part One)

OUR BIOLOGICALLY INAPPROPRIATE DIET

In a previous article, I discussed the role that wheat plays as an industrial adhesive (e.g. paints, paper mache’, and book binding-glue) in order to illustrate the point that it may not be such a good thing for us to eat. The problem is implicit in the word gluten, which literally means “glue” in Latin and in words like pastry and pasta, which derives from wheatpaste, the original concoction of wheat flour and water which made such good plaster in ancient times. What gives gluten its adhesive and difficult-to-digest qualities are the high levels of disulfide bonds it contains. These same sulfur-to-sulfur bonds are found in hair and vulcanized rubber products, which we all know are difficult to decompose and are responsible for the sulfurous odor they give off when burned.

There will be 676 million metric tons of wheat produced this year alone, making it the primary cereal of temperate regions and third most prolific cereal grass on the planet. Read More »