Me Being a Celiac – Page 2 – Gluten Free Finds

Strict Gluten Free Eaters Beware… Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano

Biaggi’s has an extensive gluten free menu and touts their GF offerings. As of this posting, this screenshot appears right on their home page.

Gluten-Free Dishes
A gluten-restricted diet doesn’t have to make your dining choices difficult. At Biaggi’s, we recognize the challenges of dietary restrictions and created a complete Gluten-Free menu to give gluten-intolerant guests a variety of meal options. Our gluten-free dishes infuse all of the flavor, care and quality you expect from Biaggi’s!

Two words stick out to me… “care” and “quality”. Yeah…

This past Friday we went out to dinner with some friends. They wanted to know if we had other options (than the two restaurants I can eat at). I knew Biaggi’s (a midwestern-ish Italian restaurant) had a gluten free menu although I had heard and read mixed reviews about the celiac-friendliness of their menu. I gave them a call to see what was up. The resulting conversation ranks right up there as one of the most disturbing such conversations I’ve had.

The manager’s attitude seemed to be taken straight from the Jimmy Kimmel “school of dismissiveness of gluten issues”. A few nuggets *no separate prep area, *no separate utensils, *”this is an Italian restaurant, your food is going to have some gluten in it”, *”we’ve had no one complain of getting sick” – GFF commentary… “yeah right” and maybe most jaw dropping for me… *”the pasta is boiled in the same water we use for regular pasta”

Quotes are paraphrases but capture the essence of what I was told.

Let me be clear, I do not expect every restaurant to be able to accommodate my food needs. But I do expect to be treated with respect and when I read “care” and “quality” used in conjunction with a gluten free menu, I expect it to be true.

The menu does have a couple more disclaimers…

You may wish to call ahead for reservations and inform the host that you will need to order from the Gluten-Free Menu. Please inform the staff serving your table that your food needs to be wheat, oat, rye and barley-free.

Commentary… Seems good and reasonable to me. Call ahead so they can take necessary steps to provide for you. Yes! Glad I called ahead to figure out they really just don’t care.

This menu is provided by Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano as a service to our guests. Biaggi’s assumes no responsibility for its use and any resulting liability or consequential damages are denied. Guests are encouraged to consider the information provided to their own satisfaction in light of individual needs and requirements.

Commentary… Standard cover your liability verbiage. Biaggi’s… if you’re going to do this and at the same time use the words “care” and “quality” and have horrible training, customer service and respect for people. Just stop it. Remove care and quality and add another statement that says people with medically necessary gluten free diets stay away.

Shame on you Biaggi’s for jumping on the gluten free bandwagon at the expense of the health of others. There’s no good reason why you can do a much better job at this.

This is going to be staff dependent, maybe your local Biaggi’s is super gluten conscience and celiac friendly. Unfortunately, mine is not.

Update: I did receive a follow up email on this. It was a mixed bag in my book. I was told that some of the information I received was wrong but I also felt the person backed away from claiming their kitchen is fully celiac-safe.

A portion of the response I received…

I have reviewed your original letter, my response, and the website you attached with my Chef Partner. He and I agree that our practices and procedures produce the most Gluten Free (mistakes excepted) meals that we can in our cooking environment. We put the satisfaction of all our guests as our top priority and make every attempt to meet each and everyone’s needs. We realize, however, that there are somethings that we cannot do. Not for lack of effort or concern, it is that it is outside the parameters of business situation.

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If you miss Saison Beers, Check Out… Citizen Cider [Gluten Free] Wit’s Up Cider

On our most recent trip to Chicago [See: Gluten Free in Chicago! – A Celiac’s Visitor Guide] we stopped by a Binny’s [local liquor store chain] to see if they carried any new GF beers. They did not. They did have Glutenberg and I picked up a couple four packs of that.

While we were there, we stumbled across a Citizen Cider tasting. They had some really delicious naturally gluten free hard apple ciders. Our two favorites were their Cascade Dry Hopped and their Wit’s Up Cider.

The Wit’s Up was particularly interesting because they use a wild Saison yeast. The net result is something very similar to the Saison beer style, which, to my knowledge, is not available from any gluten free brewery.

Citizen Cider is out of Vermont and the furthest east they get is Chicago. If in an area where they’re available and you miss Saisons from your gluten filled days, Wit’s Up is totally worth a try.

Citizen Cider | Wit’s Up

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Nima: 40% Of “Gluten Free” Foods Tested Outside the Home… NOT Gluten Free

I pre-ordered the Nima Sensor. If you’re not familiar the Nima Sensor is an on the go gluten detection device. A pea sized sample and a couple of minutes tell you if the sample contains gluten.

I have not received my Nima Sensor yet. Delivery has been delayed on at least two occasions. That’s been a bit frustrating for me, but I understand it. But still… Nima… Send me my sensor! Update: my Nima shipped the day after this post went live. Yay!

Ok, enough venting, back to the subject at hand. While skulking around Nima’s website for clues as to when I’ll actually get my sensor, I came across an article that says in part…

In our early data from pre-order customers on the Nima app, we have seen that 40 percent of foods tested outside of the home that were supposed to be gluten-free have come back positive for gluten

One of the cool things about Nima is you can share your test results and view test results of other users. The fact that an estimated 40% of supposedly gluten free food outside the home actually contains gluten is frustrating to me, but not surprising. It’s been my experience that restaurant staff are, generally speaking, either poorly trained or just do not care. It’s my hope that real time feedback will be a force for good when it comes to eating out gluten free.

Related: Gluten Content Tests

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Are Starbucks Sous Vide Egg Bites Gluten Free?

On January 10, 2017 Starbucks released new Sous Vide Egg Bites at some US locations. At launch, two versions were available “Egg White and Roasted Pepper” and “Bacon and Gruyere”.

As of this posting, both of these are billed as “wheat free”.

A motto article on these says, in part… “A representative for Starbucks said that the bites were inspired by gluten free customers who would peel the bread off of their sandwiches.”

I live in a relatively small town. We have two Starbucks locations. I speak to staff at both regularly and both locations know I have Celiac Disease and must eat and drink completely gluten free. People at both locations gave me a heads up that these were on the way and told me they were gluten free. Multiple staff at each location said the same thing. I’ve also read as much from others on social media.

Are they gluten free?

Nutritional Information on Starbucks Website. The nutritional information (see link below) for both versions says…

“We cannot guarantee that any of our products are free from allergens (including dairy, eggs, soy, tree nuts, wheat and others) as we use shared equipment to store, prepare and serve them.”

There is no indication in online nutrition information to suggest that these are GF. No gluten free claims.

Inspection of the box these arrive in. While at my local Starbucks, I asked to look at the box these come in and, again… no gluten free claims.

Starbucks Customer Care. I emailed Starbucks Customer Care with the question of are Starbucks Sous Vide Egg Bites gluten free?

First Response: The first response was, in part… “The delicious new sous vide egg bites are wheat free. I hope you are able to try them soon.”

Second Response: I replied back stating that wheat free does not equal gluten free and asked the same question again. The second response was… a list of ingredients for both versions. Of course GF status is impossible figure out from the ingredients as “natural flavors” is listed multiple times. That response also came with the standard “We cannot guarantee…” language. If these are made with gluten free ingredients… Starbucks certainly isn’t jumping at the chance to tell anyone.

Third Response: After pointing out that it’s impossible to tell if these are gluten free from the ingredients the response I received, in part… “The Sous Vide Egg Bites are not listed as gluten-free. We urge our customers with dietary concerns to proceed with caution as we cannot guarantee that any of our products, including the items that are prepared with gluten, are free from allergens (including dairy, eggs, soy, tree nuts, wheat and others) as we use shared equipment to store, prepare and serve them.”

Third time’s the charm, I guess.

Preparation and Cross Contamination. Beyond ingredients, GF preparation is an issue. A manager suggested that they would use clean tongs and use fresh paper to warm them on. As a Celiac, I would not be comfortable with that. It would still be baked in a chock-full-of-gluten oven.

Conclusion. This all leads me to the conclusion that Starbucks Sous Vide Egg Bites are not gluten free.

Starbucks continues to be generally unwelcoming to people that must eat gluten free for medical reasons. It’s my understanding that official guidance from Starbucks suggests that we eat no site prepared food or drink items from a Starbucks location. Things like almond milk, caramel syrup and more that could easily be sourced gluten free are not.

Let me be clear, I do not expect Starbucks to have on site dedicated GF facilities at each location.

What I would like to see is Starbucks… 1. Source GF ingredients – milks, syrups, sauces whenever possible – and it’s possible for many things, 2. Clearly communicate gluten content via nutritional information and 3. Offer a few truly gluten free menu items. Gluten free sandwiches could arrive in sealed toaster capable bags. Gluten free pastries could arrived sealed and remain sealed until sold.

I’ve heard and read rumblings of additional gluten free offerings in the works, including certified gluten free sandwich options. Not sure if there is any truth to those, but I hope they are accurate.

To Starbucks… If you all need to know a little more about gluten intolerance and Celiac Disease, walk out the front of your headquarters and take a right. A block and a half down you’ll find Ghostfish Brewing Company (See: Hello Seattle… Gluten Free Trip Report). Have a pint of GF beer and talk with the Brewmaster about the effects of Celiac Disease. Read your emails and online customer feedback. Celiac disease and other gluten related health issues are serious and life altering. You have a huge market presence and could be a market leader in this area.

News Release – New Starbucks Sous Vide Egg Bites | Nutritional Information – Egg White & Red Pepper – Bacon & Gruyere

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Chick-fil-A – A Step Backwards When It Comes to Gluten Free

Chik-fil-A was one of my pre Celiac diagnosis favorite fast food restaurants. Maybe my all time favorite. I mourned the loss of being able to eat freely at CFA after being diagnosed.

After diagnosis, I was happy to learn that I had at least a couple options at Chik-fil-A including the waffle fries, grilled nuggets and a few sides. Recently, looking around Chick-fil-A’s website, I noticed a few changes.

1. Chick-fil-A no longer officially mentions which menu items contain gluten. Their allergen matrix (linked below) lists only wheat, not specifically gluten.

2. When I emailed Chick-fil-A about a list of gluten free menu items, I received the following response…

Because food allergies or intolerances can be very serious or even life threatening, Chick-fil-A believes equipping customers with ingredient information is the best way we can help. You and your physician can then make an informed decision whether any particular menu item is safe for your particular allergy or intolerance. Again, we encourage you to read through the ingredient statements we provide so you can make an informed decision. Ingredient and allergen information can be found at www.chick-fil-a.com.

Well… not so much as gluten isn’t listed in the allergen matrix. Maybe a case of a hastily sent canned response, but still, not real helpful.

3. This page… http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Food/Allergen-Gluten-Diabetic – which once contained gluten specific information is gone. It redirects to an unrelated page.

4. A list of gluten free menu items, dated March 20,2014 is still available. I received a copy when I asked customer service a second time. Compare verbiage on that with previous information…

img_cfa

Here is a screenshot of the top portion of the 2014 document. In part it reads “Please note that we do not have a gluten free prep area in our kitchens” compare to a previous version…

img_cfagl

Here is a screenshot of the top part of this page (http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Food/Allergen-Gluten-Diabetic) – now removed for CFA’s site – from 2013. In part it says… “While we don’t have a gluten free prep area for these items, our procedures have been written to avoid cross contamination”

The more recent statement says nothing about procedures to avoid cross contamination.

5. As of this posting, a search for the term gluten on Chick-fil-A’s site yields three results – one talks about Chick-fil-A’s grilled entree lineup, another talks about kid’s meals and the final talks about organic juice boxes.

Instead of getting better at gluten free, in my opinion, Chick-fil-A seems to be getting worse. Considering their relatively simple menu and their focus on customer service, this is a big disappointment to me.

I know some people with gluten related conditions rely on CFA especially when traveling.

Chick-fil-A… Please work to make your gluten free offerings, procedures and communications better.

Update: Chick-fil-A: New Gluten Free Bun + What’s Gluten Free at Chick-fil-A

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New GF Thing I Actually Like… Simple Mills Farmhouse Cheddar Snack Crackers!

Farmhouse Cheddar Almond Flour Snack Crackers by Simple Mills

Made with a blend of almond flour, sunflower seeds and flax seeds. Only simple, whole food ingredients. Certified Gluten-Free and Non-GMO Project Verified. Paleo-Friendly, Grain Free, Soy Free.

I stumbled across Simple Mills recently (first their delicious pancake and waffle mix) and have been impressed with everything I’ve tried. The ingredient lists for the products I’ve tried have done right by their name… simple. A handful of simple ingredients.

These crackers are… delicious. They are reminiscent of Cheez-its, but of course, gluten free and much simpler, healthier ingredients.

If you’re looking for a gluten free cheddar snack crackers, I can wholeheartedly recommend these.

Simple Mills Farmhouse Cheddar Almond Flour Snack Crackers

Also: Gluten Free Things I Actually Like

Always check ingredients to confirm gluten free status. If in doubt, contact the manufacturer with questions.

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Backlash Against the Gluten Free Diet

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Caution: Rant Ahead…

I just read an article in Yahoo Beauty [probably the root of the problem] of all places on eating gluten free. I hesitate to even link to it, but here it is… Here’s the real reason your friend’s ‘gluten-free’ diet is probably making them feel better

First of all, the article is inaccurate at at least one major point… suggesting that gluten sensitivity is “probably not true.” The people behind Yahoo Beauty may want to talk to the fine folks at Columbia University… Gluten sensitivity may be caused by immune response, study finds

Of course, I have celiac disease so no one with a couple of brain cells to rub together would suggest that I eat anything other than gluten free. What this is about is ganging up on a group of people that participate in a perceived annoying behavior (eating gluten free) for the purpose of driving internet traffic. The problem with that is that people read the headline and not much else and don’t really look into the facts. and… the annoyance and misinformation is perpetuated.

If there is a real issue here, it is a lack of awareness about Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity. Read Jennifer Esposito’s Story and you’ll soon understand the seriousness of this issue. It’s a serious and sometimes life threatening condition.

It can take years and years for people to be diagnosed with CD. That’s not funny and it’s not cute, it’s serious. I don’t know how many such headlines or articles my general practitioner read to come up with the conclusion that I was… crazy to think I had a problem with gluten. All I can say is… Thank you to Google for your part in my self diagnosis.

I’ve talked with plenty of people that have Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity and still others that just feel better eating gluten free.

At the end of the day… What does anyone care what anyone else eats. I say to those the web “news sources” that help perpetuate misinformation to make a buck… shame on you for throwing people under the bus.

Gluten… it’s an issue for a lot of people.

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A Missing Nutritional Link for Me?

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Jennifer Esposito is a well known actor, bakery owner and author of the book Jennifer’s Way. If you haven’t read Jennifer’s Way, I think you should. It is, at times, a heartbreaking story about how serious Celiac Disease can be. If you have a doubter or know someone in the medical field, this would make a great gift.

A little while back, I was reading through posts on Jennifer’s website and I came across… Frustrated Celiac? Vigilant gluten-free eater yet STILL FEEL BAD? Missing Link…MTHFR?. I knew that Jennifer continued to struggle with symptoms even after going strictly gluten free (and more). It seems that MTHR was an issue she was experiencing. I’ll nutshell her broad strokes… MTHR is a condition that prevents breakdown and absorption of certain B-vitamins. More detailed information can be found linked in her article.

Even though I have felt much, much better since going strictly gluten free I wouldn’t say that I have felt 100%. I continue to have periodic issues. Tingling skin, tinnitus and (although I didn’t really realize it – keep reading) fatigue to name a few.

I thought I’d give it a shot. I ended up sourcing these two vitamins…

Jarrow Formulas Methyl Folate 5-MTHF, Supports Brain, Memory, Cardiovascular Health, 400 Mcg, 60 Caps – More Info on Jarrow Formulas Website

Jarrow Formulas Methylcobalamin (Methyl B12), Supports Brain Cells, 5000 mcg, 60 Lozenges – More Info on Jarrow Formulas Website

Fine and dandy.

The following day I decided to try and dig into my Tinnitus a little more.

I went about Googling tinnitus and celiac together and came to this article… Diabetes, Celiac Disease and Tinnitus – The Vitamin B12 Link.

In my opinion that’s a great article. I’ll quote a section toward the end…

In both diabetes and celiac disease, it is critical to supplement with optimal doses of multivitamins and at least 400 mcg of Vitamin B12 a day. B12 can better be absorbed by your body by using a sublingual (under the tongue), or subcutaneous injection (under the skin) form of B12. -Dr Mark Rosenberg, M.D.

That made sense to me, so again, I turned to Amazon. I searched b12 lozenge. At that time, one of the first results was…

Jarrow Formulas Methylcobalamin (Methyl B12), Supports Brain Cells, 5000 mcg, 60 Lozenges

I clicked on that only to find I had ordered it the day before. Okay, now we’re talking.

After taking this combo for a little over a week… I have noticed a substantial difference. Both the tingling and Tinnitus have decreased (although they have not totally gone away). I’ve also experienced a noticeable change in energy level. I didn’t think fatigue continued to be a major factor, but I think it has been. I wasn’t even aware until I experienced this boost in energy. I will concede that it’s possible that this was a coincidence. I cannot tell you without a doubt that my progress is solely because of these two new vitamins. I think they are playing a key part, but that’s only a guess at this point.

I’ll update this post over time, but at this point, I’m optimistic.

Before making a change to your supplement or vitamin regimine, talk to your doctor or healthcare professional to see what vitamins and supplements are right for you.

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Restaurant Fail… If they can’t make it Celiac Safe, they shouldn’t plate it

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I’m fresh from returning for an overall great trip to Seattle. Look for a sizable trip report soon. Also: Trip Reports tag. I did want to tell you a quick story about a bad experience that I had in hopes that you’ll learn from my misfortune.

The primary reason we went to the Seattle area was a family function. We flew from the Midwest to Seattle. The family function had an associated luncheon with it. Great… that’s always fun for a Celiac [About Me].

I called the restaurant a few days in advance and spoke with the Chef. He was polite and respectful. I asked him if he knew what Celiac Disease was and he said… not really, could I tell him about it. I explained it in general and let him know that I’m very sensitive to even small amounts of gluten.

After chatting, he told me he didn’t feel comfortable providing food to me. Surprising, since this was an actual Chef at what appeared to be a well-rated and moderately expensive restaurant. Nevertheless, I would have rather heard this vs sweet nothings combined with sickness from gluten. He suggested that I bring my own food in and they would plate it. Good solution. I asked him if I should just ask for a plate and he said that he would prefer that I give them the food for plating. Ok.

The morning of the event I drove 25 miles in the wrong direction to get a gluten free breakfast at a highly rated Seattle based dedicated gluten free restaurant. It was delicious. The restaurant also prepared and packed up a lunch for me. Yay! I have no doubts that the lunch I received was gluten free and Celiac safe.

Upon arriving at the luncheon, I spoke with staff to let them know I was there and went over plating my food. They immediately knew who I was and what my situation was. They expected to see me and seemed to have it under control. The last thing I said before giving them my food was… that whoever touched my food needed to wash their hands and change their gloves prior to doing so.

Upon receiving the food (a panini and a cup of soup), I knew that the food had been warmed up. My assumption was that this had been done in a microwave (wrong). Within a couple hours, I became certain that I had been poisoned by gluten. I would say it was a small amount of cross contamination.

I emailed the manager about this. He was apologetic and confused at what happened. He said that “kitchen staff had washed their hands multiple times” preparing my food. Wait.. preparing my food? I was already told that the restaurant didn’t have the capacity to safely prepare my food. Their task was to… put it on a plate. Yet, they felt the need to “play chef” and contaminate my food. Note that he (rightly) never disputed the gluten free status of the food I brought.

This leads me to a new rule that I’ve made up for myself… If they can’t make it then they shouldn’t plate it. If a restaurant staff isn’t trained to understand basic food safety, including cross contamination, then they can pretty easily botch anything up. If you’re in a similar situation to me, I’d say skip the eating altogether. If for whatever reason you feel that they must plate your food then I would suggest that you talk directly with a Chef or cook and walk through every single step that the food will take.

Lesson Learned.

I had a good discussion with the management and asked them to commit to discussing this issue among their team. They agreed.

Also: Gluten Free Dining Out Cards (English and Spanish Edition) – Review

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About Me: I am a… Celiac

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It start about two years ago, around the spring of 2014. It was so subtle, I didn’t even really notice. I thought the things I was experiencing were related to getting older. After all I had just turned 40. Having never been 40 before I assumed the changes were natural.

The first symptom I can recall is what I would now call “brain fog”. Occasionally, maybe every week or two at first. My brain felt like someone turned the power switch off. As if 90% of my ability to comprehend was just gone. I thought I had narrowed this down to eating certain things and tried to avoid those. Over the next year and half the brain fog continued and over time, more things started happening. I had odd skin things happens – tingling and numbness, I started to get joint pain, I had near constant ear problems and infections, heart palpitations and on.

These were all incremental enough that I thought they may be normal. That is until about a year and a half had passed. Somewhere around that time period the brain fog became a near constant. I couldn’t think, I was forgetful (walking away from my running vehicle and several occasions) and I knew something was wrong. I knew that my symptoms were not normal.

Not being the go-to-the doctor sort. I started looking for solutions. I tried several things including diet changes, weight loss and too many vitamins. At one point I became convinced that I was suffering from a Candida imbalance. Many of my symptoms seemed to match Herxheimer reaction “die-off”. That sent me down a path of digestive enzymes, molybdenum supplements and probiotics. I had a few days where I convinced myself I was feeling better, but those were short-lived and probably mostly wishful thinking.

Finally… I ran across a forum post that described some of the same symptoms I was having. The person initially thought the were suffering from Candida imbalance but had figured out that they had Celiac Disease. I thought it was worth a try and started a “gluten free” diet. Gluten free is in quotes because I didn’t really realize the extent to which gluten permeates our food supply. Nonetheless within a few days I felt much, much better.

Having what I believe to be my diagnosis in hand, I was ready to go to my Doctor. I know that doesn’t make much sense, but it’s what happened. I explained my symptoms and thinking and was pretty quickly dismissed. Having Celiac Disease without classic GI symptoms was not something that my Dr had run into. He just didn’t believe I had it. I spouted off that only a minority of people with Celiac have diarrhea and was shrugged off. He actually had me convinced I was crazy. In any case he ran a battery of tests including the Transglutaminase IgA antibody test. At my follow up I was told… everything looks good. Oh, except your Transglutaminase IgA antibody test result was very high. He said I *may* want to consider a gluten free diet. His recommendation was to try that and if it didn’t seem to work he would refer me to a specialist. In retrospect, that was bad advice. It didn’t take Celiac Disease seriously and it was contrary to what most sources, that I’ve read, say the next step is. I should have been referred to a gastroenterologist. I made my own appointment. Shortly after I had an endoscopy and was officially diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

My initial emotion was… happiness. I was glad that I didn’t have a more serious condition. I was glad to know what I had and how to treat it. That emotion faded and in short order was replaced with depression. In a certain sense, I felt like a stranger to myself. After all, I had been able to do A, B and C why could I no longer do those things? It’s odd to say, but I felt like I didn’t know me. I also felt like I was a foreigner in my own home town. I’ve done some traveling to third world countries and as I drove around I felt like I was driving around in a foreign country. After all many of the places I looked at were just as unsafe for me as a restaurant in the hill country of Guatemala. These people that were doing the things they had always done were now different from me. That didn’t last all to long, but it wasn’t a fun period.

I’m happy to say that I’m feeling healthier. I also have endoscopy results that show my small intestine as healthy. Although I wouldn’t choose this disease, I do accept that I have it and am committed to living a healthy gluten free lifestyle.

I don’t have what I would term classic symptoms.

Here are my basic symptoms…

“Brain Fog” – forgetfulness, problems concentrating, my brain feels like it is switched off. Dizziness.
Tingling sensations, numbness (peripheral neuropathy) – at times feels like adrenaline and then numbness like Novocain wearing off – warm face
Fatigue – sometimes extreme
Joint pain
Muscle twitches
dark circles and bags under my eyes
Sinus pressure
Post nasal drip
Heart palpitations
Ear sensitivity and ear infections
Ringing in the Ears – Tinnitus
Forgetfulness, fatigue, problems concentrating

Since going strictly gluten free, I have become more sensitive to even small amounts (cross contamination level) of gluten. My immediate reaction to cross contamination are more similar to what I would call classic symptoms. Those include gas and stomach cramps. I didn’t really have these symptoms, at least that I noticed, before going gluten free.

A large percentage of Celiac Disease is undiagnosed. If you think you may have Celiac Disease based on these symptoms or others you have read, I would encourage you to get a blood test. It’s an easy thing to do.

Learn more…

Mayo Clinic Going Gluten Free: Essential Guide to Managing Celiac Disease and Related Conditions – my first read on Celiac Disease. Written by Joseph A Murray – great overview of conditions of celiac disease and other gluten related conditions.
Gluten Is My Bitch: Rants, Recipes, and Ridiculousness for the Gluten-Free – a (sometimes) funny, informative and practical look at celiac disease
Jennifer’s Way: My Journey with Celiac Disease–What Doctors Don’t Tell You and How You Can Learn to Live Again – If you, a loved one or a medical professional in your life, doubt the seriousness and impact of celiac disease… read this book. Jennifer’s story is sometimes heartbreaking and speaks to the need for celiac awareness among medical professionals.

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