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Gluten-Free Nutty Buckwheat Pancakes

They have a pleasing aroma, brown color, and a hearty bite. Buckwheat is famously healthy, strengthening blood vessels and supplying essential vitamins and minerals. Note: buckwheat is not a grain or a member of the… 

Toxic Trio Identified as the Basis of Celiac Disease

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.

Two Simple Ideas for Preventing Colon Cancer

Colon cancer starts with colon polyps. Polyps are growths in the inner lining of your colon walls. They are formed when the inner lining is irritated or attacked by fecal matter toxins. When you have colon polyps, you dramatically increase your risk of getting colon cancer.

To prevent getting colon cancer you need to prevent getting polyps. If you have polyps then you need to prevent them from becoming cancerous.

Here are some ideas that you can use in preventing colon cancer whether you have or do not have polyps.

Osteoporosis and Pilates

As baby boomers segue from child-rearing to retirement, they find themselves bombarded by the media with information about osteoporosis. It makes sense, considering that more than 44 million American men and women age 50 and older have osteoporosis or its precursor, osteopenia. So between news articles about calcium and vitamin D, Sally Field promoting the drug Boniva on TV commercials and the now-ubiquitous term “weight-bearing exercise,” we are all hearing a great deal about this epidemic.

Yet controversy abounds, with new findings questioning the benefits of calcium as well as the risks versus benefits of osteoporosis medications. The conflicting information is enough to overwhelm even the most media-savvy consumer. But the one continuously advocated method of addressing the condition is exercise. Not only does exercise help to maintain and build strong bones, but it can improve balance and reflexes and thereby prevent falls, the most dangerous threat to those with fragile bones. According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, 60 percent of those who fracture a hip still cannot walk independently a year later. Clearly, the goal should be to stay strong, agile and upright.

Gluten free snacks news: Larabar introduces new flavors

Larabars are simple, quick bars that are great to grab for any on-the-go lifestyle.  Larabars are made from unsweetened fruit, nuts and spices.  It doesn’t get any simpler than that.  They are gluten-free, vegan, kosher and non-gmo. 

This spring Larabar introduced 4 new flavors to their line: Carrot Cake, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough & Chocolate Chip Brownie.  The ingredients in each are as follows:

A great informative Harvard Health Publication on gluten

Hey guys! I just found a great health email I think all those interested in the particulars of health and current research would be really interested in. 

Harvard Health Publications

In particular, there is a great, informative and interesting article on the rise of gluten sensitivities and Celiac disease. You might have to sign up for the email newsletter to see it, but I think it’s worth it. 

The article goes into detail on various elements concerning gluten digestive issues such as; understanding what happens within the body in regards to gluten absorption, common and uncommon symptoms, testing to diagnose Celiac, and the “Super Six”, explained further in the quote below: 

Join the Enjoyables Gluten Free Ambassador Program

Enjoy Life Foods is launching a Brand Ambassador Program and is looking for people who love their products to become part of an elite, go-to group, educating other like-minded people who seek great-tasting, allergy-friendly, nutritious food to become an Enjoyable.

Enjoy Life

As an official Enjoyable, you will get to:

  • Help other people who are looking for delicious, safe, gluten-free and allergy-friendly foods

Lactose Intolerance: What Is It And How Is It Diagnosed?

Lactose, commonly known as “milk sugar”, may not be digested well if you are either born with absent or low levels of the enzyme lactase or if your intestine has been injured resulting in absent or low levels of lactase. Lactose is a disaccharide or two sugars linked. It is a combination of the two sugars, glucose and galactose. If intestines lack or are deficient in lactase you will not adequately digest lactose and you will experience gas, bloating, abdominal cramps and diarrhea shortly after eating something containing lactose.

The lactase enzyme is on the surface of the intestine cells where it is very vulnerable to intestinal injury. Some people are born with absent or low levels of lactase, therefore have congenital alactasia or hypolactasia. Between 80-100% of people of Asian, Native American, or African ancestry are lactose intolerant for this reason compared to only 15% of those of Northern European ancestry.

Understanding and Treating Zinc Deficiency in Celiac Disease

The mineral zinc is classified as an essential nutrient due to the vital functions it performs in our bodies.  It is found in almost every cell of the body with highest concentrations in the liver, pancreas, kidney, bone, and muscle. High concentrations occur in the brain, middle ear, eye, prostate gland, sperm, skin, hair, and nails. This micronutrient is essential for the activity of approximately 100 enzymes. Enzymes promote biochemical reactions in the body.

Zinc supports a healthy immune system. It is needed for wound healing and DNA synthesis. It helps maintain our sense of taste and smell and is involved in energy metabolism, hemoglobin production, carbon dioxide transport, prostaglandin function, synthesis of collagen, protein synthesis, and vitamin A metabolism. Zinc is important for male fertility. It supports normal growth and development during pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence.

Gluten-free summer corn and tomato pasta recipe

I am always on the lookout for delicious ways to combine fresh summer vegetables, from the garden, into a tasty meal.  This recipe is taken from Rachael Ray’s Everyday magazine, with changes made to make it gluten-free.  It is quick, easy and delicious and takes about the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta.