In an exposé released today, staff writer for the Chicago Tribune, Sam Roe, reports that the Wellshire Kids Product line is tainted with unsafe amounts of gluten. The newspaper tested several products and found gluten in Gluten Free Chicken Corn Dogs, which tested at 116 ppm and 2,200 ppm, and Gluten Free Beef Corn Dogs which tested at 191 ppm and 1,200 ppm, and Gluten Free Chicken Bites which tested at 204 parts per million and 260 ppm.  According to Roe,

“Wellshire Farms provided the Tribune with its own testing results, conducted in the spring. Their results showed that the chicken bites tested at 200 ppm, chicken corn dogs 150 ppm, and beef corn dogs 120 ppm.”

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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.

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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…)

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…)