Got a corn-allergic kid? How about educating him or her with an online game show?

The University of Illinois Extension has a game called the “Great Corn Adventure“ hosted by Zea Mays. It is part of a collection of educational games for kids.

Lovely Ms. Mays takes the viewer on a tour of the corn world, starting with the Native Americans in the valley of Tehuacan in Pueblo Mexico in 5000 b.c. (more…)

When you’re on a restricted diet, you’ve got built in limits. For those of us who are gluten-free, alternative flours are an expensive fact of life.

I’ve tried both store bought and homemade flour mixes. I like quinoa flour, brown rice flour, and almond meal for various purposes.

But there’s another flour I really like for baking that you might not find at your local health food store: coconut flour. (more…)

What do you do when you have a corn allergy and you want something sweet to eat? After keeping careful watch and reading labels for a year, I have come to the conclusion that our only best bet is to make our own ‘on the go’ snacks from scratch. And drinks? Just forget about them. As a matter of fact, I challenge anyone in America to read the ingredient listings on every snack product in their favorite vending machine. It would not surprise me if every item had some association with corn, however odd or far removed as it may seem. Heck, even the water bottles are more than likely made from a corn byproduct! I digress. I really want to focus my attention on America’s romance with sugar, corn sugar to be specific, its prevalence in our lives, and a little history about how we became so addicted to the sweet stuff that grows in abundance over our midlands, and now even clutters the landscape surrounding the rocky mountain region. (more…)

The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center will hold its next Annual Benefit on April 16, 2008. Tickets are on sale now for $150 a piece. The evening includes gourmet gluten-free dishes from more than a dozen of the nation’s best chefs and restaurants! Sponsored by Enjoy Life Foods, Whole Foods, William Blair and Company, Alvine Pharmaceuticals, Rice Works, and Bard’s Tale Beer. (more…)

Folks that are not allergic or intolerant to corn haven’t got a clue as to why or how this grain is such a time-consuming nuisance for its avoiders. The growing minority of people afflicted and those that care for them are painfully aware every time they go to the store in search of a liquid soap, bottle of shampoo, piece of fresh fruit, bag of potato chips, or powder for their baby’s bum. We have our own mantra. We hum it while we shop, a Bruce Springsteen tune with our own lyrics:

Corn. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing….. I’ll say it again…..

But in the eyes of the rest of the world the answer is EVERYTHING, according to Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis’s new documentary (more…)

Organics are a part of our daily food shopping choices. Living Yoga studio in Naperville, IL, is presenting first in a series session on genetically modified foods with Jill Teller, Pilates instructor and Nutrition Specialist, at 2:00-3:30 pm Sunday, March 9, 2008.

Learn how to properly choose organic food and which organic foods are more beneficial to consume versus non-organics. Did you know that the European Union has banned genetically modified foods but the U.S. allows them in our food supply? (more…)

Dr. Rodney Ford, a pediatric gastroenterologist from Christ Church New Zealand, has launched two public service videos that explain very simply how Gluten can affect the brain and the gut. Dr. Ford is the author of several books about what he has termed, “the gluten syndrome”. Dr. Ford urges people who suffer from reoccurring bouts of illness yet test negative for celiac disease to go ahead and try the gluten free diet anyway. The first video is geared toward children and adults alike and makes a very understandable and simple explanation of how gut and brain symptoms are connected in the person who suffers from gluten intolerance, or the gluten syndrome. (more…)

Gluten is the term we use to describe the mixture of proteins, including gliadins, that are found in wheat grains, barley, and rye. Gluten, quite simply, means ‘glue’. And the term is appropriate because it is that glue-like quality found in these grains that make them ideal ingredients in our baked and prepackaged goods. The sticky quality of gluten has given it value in non-edible markets such as the production of paper and fabric glue. It is also used as cattle feed and as an initial ingredient in the manufacturing process of monosodium glutamate (MSG).

Most of us have a remote understanding of celiac’s disease, the seemingly rare autoimmune disorder of the small intestine that causes damage to the intestinal villi, thus triggering a whole host of health problems, nutritional deficiencies, and possible colon cancer if left untreated. (more…)

We all know that celiac disease is a problem of the small intestine, but most of us are probably unaware that it could actually be the root cause of a whole host of neurological problems from brain fog, to tingling and numbness sensations in your extremities, to developmental delays and learning disorders, autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, movement disorders like ataxia, and even psychological issues from irritability or depression to schizophrenia. (more…)

On the heels of Jenny McCarthy’s new book, Louder Than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism, and several different national television appearances with celebrities such as Oprah and Larry King, ABC’s Good Morning America gives us a closer look at the Gluten-free/ Casein-free diet and its potential benefits, not just for children suffering from Autism, but for any child suffering from developmental delays. Watch the interview on October 15, 2007: Can a New Diet Help Autistic Kids?

If you are considering a gluten and casein free diet for your child, visit our forum for more information and recipe ideas.