"Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce" gets gluten free wrong in latest episode

photo credit: Shauna Silva via Bravo

"Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce" is my favorite new show of the year. It's hilarious and has some of the best women actresses that Hollywood has to offer. Last night's episode, however, left me a tad disappointed.

In the episode, "Lyla" was being visited by a woman from social services. They sat down to dinner with "Lyla's" mother and children to eat sushi. "Lyla" passed the woman from social services a couple of sushi rolls and the woman declined, stating that she's Celiac and cannot have gluten. She also says that rice has gluten in it. "Lyla's" mother comments on how hard her lifestyle must be.
In another scene, "Lyla" offers the lady from social services some Sake. She declines, stating that there is gluten in that as well.

Folks, there is no gluten in rice or Sake. These items are gluten free and fine for Celiacs. The only time rice is not okay for Celiacs is when wheat-based soy sauce, or any gluten containing items, are added to the dish.

I'm not writing this to b*tch and moan about another "jab" at our community. I'm writing to comment on the misinformation this episode provided. I know that the scene didn't mean any harm. However, I get asked a lot if certain items are gluten free.
Below, I have provided a list of items that are NATURALLY gluten free:

Many Celiac bloggers do comment whenever TV shows and/or movies mention Celiac Disease and/or gluten free, most of these comments are negative. I hope that my blog post isn't perceived as negative. It is merely a correction and a re-education of what is and isn't gluten free.
Yes, a lot of things have gluten in it, but the above list of foods are naturally gluten free, including rice and Sake.

So load up on rice and enjoy some Sake!

PS- Please don't let this discourage you from watching this show. It's amazing!

Leggo my eggo! Kellogg's eggos go Gluten Free!

photo credit: Kellogg's

BIG news for my Celiac Warriors!

Kellogg's has unveiled their gluten free Eggo waffle line. The item has begun showing up in stores around the country, much to the gluten free community's excitement.

There is not much written about eggos going gluten free, but I wanted to share the news with you anyway.

I happen to have grown up eating eggo waffles (in my pre-Celiac diagnosis days). Seeing my childhood breakfast staple go gluten free is just amazing. I can't be the only one excited about this! LOL!

Here are the ingredients found in this new product:
Water, Rice Flour, Whole Oat Flour, Eggs, Sugar, Soybean And Palm Oil, Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Contains 2% Or Less of Artificial Flavor, Xanthan Gum, Salt, Soy Lecithin, Whey. Vitamin And Minerals: Calcium Carbonate, Reduced Iron, Niacinamide, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride), Vitamin B1 (Thiamin Hydrochloride), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B12.

I have not tried this product, due to the fact that I have not seen it in the stores in my area. I will write a review once I have tested this item.

*PS- I did notice the whole oat flour ingredient. If you're a highly sensitive Celiac, proceed with caution.*

RECALL ALERT: Ian’s Panko Breadcrumbs from Stop & Shop

photo credit: emaxhealth

Those of you with Celiac Disease or a wheat/gluten allergy will want to pay attention to this post.

Stop & Shop is recalling Ian's All-Natural Italian Style Panko Bread Crumbs due to labeling issues that could lead to a 'glutened' reaction.

While the bread crumbs are labeled 'gluten free,' wheat is listed in the ingredients.

If you purchased a 9oz bag of this item, it is recommended that you ask for a refund and dispose of the product.
The UPC code that is being recalled is: 74951277220.
There are several expiration dates that are included in this recall:
31May15
11Oct15
17Oct15

As we all know, any Celiac that accidentally ingests wheat will rapidly develop 'glutened' symptoms.
Of course, if you begin to suffer these symptoms, contact your doctor immediately.
The company has recommended that you throw away the recalled package and ask for a refund.

This is the reason why we Celiacs need to read our labels. We need to pay attention to the ingredients. Not all gluten free items are completely gluten free (even though they, by law, need to test below 20ppm in order to have the label 'gluten free.'
Even though Ian's is a popular gluten free brand, it isn't a 100% gluten free brand. They do make products that contain wheat/gluten.

Folks, PLEASE READ YOUR LABELS AND INGREDIENTS (even if it is labeled gluten free).

Food Review: Freschetta GF Four Cheese Medley Pizza

photo credit: Celiac Warrior (Me!)

Hey Celiac Warriors!

A few weeks ago, I saw a commercial for Freschetta pizza. I was laying on my couch and playing a game on my phone while the commercial aired. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw "Gluten Free" on one of the pizzas advertised. I decided to make a note of the new item and look for it when I go food shopping.
During my grocery shopping trip, I saw the gluten free Freschetta pizza. They had two kinds of pizza: Four Cheese Medley and Pepperoni. I picked up the Four Cheese Medley and finished up my shopping trip.

Tonight, I decided to try out this pizza.
For a gluten free frozen pizza, it was pretty good! It was crispy, cheesy, and the sauce was very good.

Usually, frozen pizzas end up tasting rather tasteless, but this one had really nice flavors. You could taste (and smell) all the various cheeses that were on the pizza.

The pizza is a small/medium size. It has four servings and it's less than 400 calories a serving. You have to cook it in the oven at 450 degrees. It only takes 12-16 minutes to cook.
If you like crispy pizza crust, I highly recommend you bake your pizza on a pizza/bread stone.

For those of you worried about whether or not it is safe for us Celiacs, let me put your worries to rest: it is perfectly safe for us. The Celiac Sprue Association gives this new gem its seal of approval...and so do I.

If you're looking to have a pizza night, and you want something new, you HAVE to grab the new GF Freschetta pizza. The price isn't bad. You can find this frozen pizza at most grocery stores. It will be with all the non-GF pizzas, but you will be able to find it pretty easily. It says 'Gluten Free' in big bold letters.

Allergy Warning: This pizza does contain dairy. If you're a Celiac who is sensitive to dairy, I highly recommend taking a lactaid before enjoying this pizza.

Anyways, thank you Freschetta for making a gluten free option for us Celiacs! We appreciate it! Much love!

Jennifer Lawrence calls the gluten free diet, "The cool new eating disorder."

photo credit: boxyblogs

Actress Jennifer Lawrence has come under fire for calling the gluten free diet the "cool new eating disorder." She made this statement in the November issue of Vanity Fair.

The gluten free community is now speaking out against the actress. Cynthia Kupper,the executive director for the Gluten Intolerance group, made a statement to FOX411:

"When I think of an eating disorder, I think anorexia, bulimia or strange eating patterns. Jennifer’s comments make me angry."

Kupper has Celiac Disease and also stated that there are 2 digestive disorders that cause gluten intolerance: Celiac Disease and Dermatitis Herpetiformis. She stated that these are "well-acknowledged and documented medical conditions."

People on social media have been fuming at the actress's comment about the gluten free diet. People have told her to stick to acting because she doesn't know anything about eating healthy. Major fans of the actress are disappointed in her nonsense.

My opinion:
Since I cannot cuss on this specific blog, I'm going to try and word my opinion carefully.
I was among the millions of people who liked Jennifer Lawrence movies. My favorite one is "Silver Linings Playbook." She was amazing in that.
However, as a Celiac, I am deeply offended by her comments. The gluten free diet is NOT an eating disorder. It is our only treatment. It is our prescription that we need to take for the rest of our lives. We have no choice. We eat gluten free foods in order to stay alive. I watched my grandmother deteriorate from having Celiac disease during a time when there was no gluten free food available in the area. When the only store within a 200 mile radius closed, she was SOL. She went back to eating food containing gluten. She was skin and bones. When she died in 2007, she weighed 60 pounds! She shrunk half a foot during the 1980s and 1990s. I was one of her caregivers in the 1990s, and I was only a teenager! It killed me to watch my grandmother go through hell because of this disease.
I inherited this disease from her. Since my diagnosis, her being gone has been exponentially rough on me. We share this unfortunate bond, and she is the only one in my family that could have understood how hard it can be to be gluten free for life.

I hope that Jennifer Lawrence educates herself on what Celiac disease, DH, etc are all about. Many folks are prescribed the gluten free diet because it alleviates many uncomfortable (and life-threatening) symptoms.
If it weren't for the gluten free diet being so popular right now, we wouldn't have much at our disposal. Granted, most of the baked goods are chock full of carbs, sugar, and fat, but at least we have that option for a sweet treat. Gluten free food from the 1990s, 1980s, and before then: that food was God awful! I remember trying one of my grandmother's muffins, made completely from scratch. I thought I was eating cardboard. It was horrendous. But, I knew that those muffins were keeping her alive (and helping her put on weight. She was doctor-ordered to put on weight. She never could. She did get up to near 100 while being gluten free. She was still skin and bones then. You can imagine what she looked like before she died).

Celiac disease, DH, and other illnesses are nothing to joke about. They mean business. I still suffer symptoms every once in a while. I have some complications from the disease. Gluten free food has alleviated most of my symptoms. I remember the months leading up to my diagnosis. I was very very sick.

Just like there is no cure for cancer, there is no cure for Celiac disease. The gluten free diet is our lifesaver. It is NOT an eating disorder!!

Scientist creating "gluten-friendly wheat;" says it will be revolutionary.

photo credit: pri (dot) org

A scientist in Italy is creating gluten-friendly wheat by lowering the amount of gluten protein in pasta and bread.
Carmen Lamacchia wets the wheat grains with water, puts the grains in the microwave, which lowers the amount of ppm in wheat. After years of research, she has been able to lower the amount of gluten to 80ppm, which is 10 times less than normal wheat. (Us Celiacs can only tolerate 20ppm or lower)

We all know the drill about gluten. It is that protein that creates the soft and chewy texture of bread and other kinds of dough.
In recent years, we've been hearing how unhealthy gluten in, and Lamacchia is stating that the news is false.

Lamacchia does have a concern about us Celiacs. She understands how bad gluten is for our intestines and immune system, but her discoveries will change all of that.
She states that the toxic part of gluten will be hidden. The enzyme in our intestine won't recognize the gluten protein and will not cause us harm. She has patented her discovery as "gluten friendly."

A Celiac researcher in MA is impressed with the findings, but he is not convinced that the 80ppm will fly with Celiacs.

"They want zero. I mean, zero is something not attainable in biology. We had to really fight and fight hard with the celiac community here in the United States — and it took nine years of debates — to convince the celiac community in the United States that 20 parts per million, it’s OK, because the immune system doesn’t see it.”

Lamacchia stands behind her research. She said that the immune system in Celiacs will not recognize the gluten protein. She states that 20 or 80ppms will not matter if the quality of gluten has changed, and she believes it has:

“We did [an] experiment on t-cells [white cells from the immune system] coming from the intestine of celiac patients. And on those cells, we tested extract from the modified flour. These cells didn’t produce the inflammatory cytokine."

In layman's terms: the immune system did not respond to the gluten.

My opinion:
While her research is impressive in theory, I find it to be an oxymoron. Gluten-friendly wheat? I mean, wheat is our kryptonite. You can't make it safe, no matter how hard you try. Also, any experiment has its risks. If she has successfully modified the gluten, what are the drawbacks? What will happen to our system when we consume the modified gluten? Will it increase our chances for cancer, or auto-immune diseases connected to Celiac Disease?

I do appreciate Lamacchia's hard work. However, I worry about potential risks. I would definitely like to know more about her research. As someone who has Celiac Disease, I don't trust anything unless I do research and have hard evidence that it is safe. I'm like that in every aspect of my life. I need concrete evidence that something works or doesn't work.

I agree with Lamacchia's stance of gluten not being unhealthy. It isn't unhealthy, unless you have Celiac Disease or a gluten/wheat allergy/intolerance.
Gluten is perfectly fine and healthy for the general population.

Celiacs: What do you think about this revolutionary research? If she has been able to modify the amount of gluten in wheat, would you try it?

Event Alert: Celiac Blood Screening in Chicago. Pre-Register NOW!

photo credit: Examiner via The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center

Greetings again, folks! I just wanted to let everyone know that the University of Chicago is holding a FREE Celiac Disease blood screening. You can pre-register now by going to the University of Chicago's Celiac Disease Center. Pre-registration ends this coming Monday 10/6/2014.

The FREE screening will be held on 10/11/2014 from 9am to 1pm. There will be a Q&A with experts at 10:30am. The screening is FREE, but you MUST pre-register in order to take advantage of this event.

Celiac Disease affects 1 in 100 people here in the United States. Testing for it early can save you years of hell. If someone in your family has Celiac Disease, please get tested for the gene. This disease has been known to be deadly if left undetected. There are also some scary complications to not getting diagnosed early: Osteoporosis, infertility, and many different types of cancers.

If you are in the Chicago area, PLEASE pre-register for this event. It could save you years of hell and it could even save your life.

You can pre-register HERE.