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BioLineRx Announces Publication of Pre-clinical Results Demonstrating Efficacy of BL-7010, an Oral Treatment for Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity

Kelly Clayton Gluten Free Works

Just last week BioLineRx, a biopharmaceutical development company announced successful pre-clinical testing of a potentially revolutionary treatment for celiac disease.  This new treatment may help celiac disease patients reduce their gluten toxins to create an overall healthy body for all celiac disease patients.

Jerusalem, Israel – February 21, 2012 – BioLineRx (NASDAQ: BLRX; TASE: BLRX), a biopharmaceutical development company, announced the publication of pre-clinical results demonstrating that BL-7010, an orally available treatment for celiac disease, reduces gluten toxicity (the negative effect of gluten on the patient’s body). The research was published in the February edition of Gastroenterology.

The findings indicate that BL-7010 (previously called P(HEMA-co-SS)) reduces digestion of wheat gluten, thereby decreasing its

Do You Think Your Life Would Have Been Different If You Had Known About Gluten at an Early Age???

John Libonati Gluten Free Works

We asked people on on the Glutenfreeworks Twitter account how they felt about whether finding out earlier about their gluten sensitivity or celiac disease would have affected their lives.

Here is what they said.

Do you think your life would have been different if you had known about gluten at an early age???

 

@Glutenfreeworks incredibly. My senior year of high school probably wouldn’t be going so poorly if I had….

Thanksgiving Gluten-free Stuffing Recipe, Gobble Gobble…

Case Lynn Gluten Free Works

Aleias Gluten Free Stuffing
They make great stuffing!

I can’t believe that it is almost Thanksgiving! Where has this year gone to, or this month further more lol The fall is flying by, and I must say I’m loving it since I love the holidays. This is the first year that I will not be participating in the traditional Thanksgiving meal with family, as my Mother and I will be venturing to NYC for the week!

I did though, however, prepare for this and the Christmas holiday meals by recreating my absolute favorite side dish. I thought my holidays would be ruined when I went gluten free and thought I’d never eat my Mother’s stuffing again! I’m pretty crafty, so I of course I found a way to avoid a major meltdown at the dinner table.

I knew a meltdown was certain to happen if I had to watch others eat stuffing in front of me, dun dun dun….so I found a gluten free stuffing mix and recreated Mom’s recipe, and it tastes exactly the same!

Nutrient Deficiencies Symptom Chart: Know Where You Stand So You Can Control Your Health

Nutrient Deficiencies Symptom Chart: Know Where You Stand So You Can Control Your Health

nutrient deficiency symptoms
Know the Symptoms of Nutrient Deficiencies so You Can Be Healthy!

The impact of nutritional deficiencies on health should be common knowledge among the medical professional community. All doctors, nurses and other medical professionals should be able to quickly and accurately identify and diagnose functional nutritional deficiencies in patients and correct those deficiencies. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Medical teaching institutions do not focus on nutrition, so many medical professionals are not equipped to recognize the signs of nutritional deficiencies until the patient is extremely sick. In most cases, the patient is able to function, just not at his or her potential. He or she may have weight issues, skin, hair or digestive problems, anxiety or difficulty concentrating. This is called a functional nutrient deficiency.

Dr. Stephen Wangen of the IBS Treatment Center in Seattle: An Inside Look

Gluten Free Works Author Jennifer Leeson

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.

I’m deficient, You’re deficient, We’re all deficient? (Part 2)

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:

 

Nutrient GF Deficiency Nationwide Deficiency
fiber 74% 92%
calcium 82% 69%
thiamin 59% 19%
riboflavin 25% 11%
B6 35% 26%
folate 85% 40%
B12 29% 20%
iron 41% 11%

 

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

I’m deficient, You’re deficient, We’re all deficient? (Part 1)

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

Gluten Free Spells Success for Big Time Athletes

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.

antibody and antigen gluten sensitivity

Investigation of Gluten Sensitivity Requires Anti-Gliadin Antibody Testing

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

antibody and antigen gluten sensitivity
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.

Magnesium Deficiency in Celiac Disease – Common and Dangerous

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.