I’ve been reading a lot lately about vitamin D. It all started with a long and informative ongoing chat on my celiac forum support group. I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned through the group and also my own research in the hopes that it could be a bit beneficial for folks implementing a dairy free or low dairy diet for their child’s neurological, immunological, or digestive disorders. (more…)

Jax Peters Lowell, author.

The 2008 Gluten Free Expo in Oak Brook, Illinois hosted a Celiac kids’ Cup Cake Club party and book reading with author Jax Peters Lowell. The event took place on Saturday afternoon and included more than 30 eager participants, young and old.

I took my three boys. We arrived early, so my eldest, recently diagnosed with Celiac, hunkered down immediately with his newly autographed copy and began reading it on his own  while we waited for the party to start. He was riveted. He identified so clearly with little Izzie O’Brien and her struggle to find her way from chronic tummy aches to a return to good health, her struggles to belong and feel normal at school and at home were his own. (more…)

The next Annual Blood Screening at the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center will take place on Saturday, October 18.  If you or a loved one suspects you may have this disease and you are in the Chicago area, call to make a reservation at: 773-702-7593. The center typically screens up to 400 people each year and uses the most reliable testing available to detect Celiac Disease.

PRE-REGISTRATION is required and begins August 15th. Participants must be on a gluten diet prior to testing.

(more…)

Fall is around the corner, and if you are like me, you are scurrying around trying at the last minute to get supplies, clothes, registration, books, and shoes for your kids. The last thing on most parents’ minds is the lunch box. That is, of course, unless their child has Celiac, or dangerous food allergies. In such cases we parents have a whole set of additional concerns that go above and beyond whether or not our child finishes the sandwich we packed. Here are a few cute ideas I’ve recently run across for brown bagging it in the cafeteria at school: (more…)

One Sunday while attending mass at Chicago’s Old St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, we’ve discovered that faith-based communities are increasingly becoming health-aware. Low-gluten Communion hosts, suitable for most Celiacs, are now available at Old St. Pat’s at all Masses as an alternative for those who cannot receive regular Communion host due to health reasons. One just has to inform the Mass coordinator before Mass begins and at Communion identify himself or herself to the presider as the person to receive the low-gluten host.

Apparently, this option is a viable solution to a long-standing problem, at least in the Catholic Church. Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University, wrote about this issue (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…)

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…)

The University of Chicago is hosting their annual free Celiac disease blood screening on Saturday, October 6, 2007.

PRE-REGISTRATION is required and begins August 15th.

If you or a loved one suspects you may have this disease and you are in the Chicago area, call to make a reservation at: 773-702-7593. The center typically screens up to 400 people each year and uses the most reliable testing available to detect Celiac Disease. (more…)