USA Today Celiac Disease Supplement

Today, the USA Today has a 12 page supplement about celiac disease. The supplement, Celiac Disease: Your Guide to Living Gluten-Free, contains excellent information and is truly amazing awareness! There is great information from the Celiac Disease Foundation and Shelley Case, many advertisements, and even an Amy's coupon.

One of the best parts of the supplement is the following printed in bold on page four.

"CAUTION: If you suspect that you might be one of
the 3 million Americans suffering from celiac disease,
DO NOT remove gluten from your diet before
being tested. Doing so can lead to inaccurate test
results and misdiagnosis."

There is also a terrific section of celiac disease myths on page four, and one myth is that "celiac disease is an allergy to wheat". Thank you Media Planet!

New Gluten Free Options at Ithaca College

Susannah Faulkner, a junior politics major and SGA senator at Ithaca College, is working hard to improve celiac disease awareness on campus. As a result of her efforts, students at Ithaca College have some safe gluten-free dining options. Below is a quote from the article she wrote in The Ithacan newspaper.

"Starting this past week, the Campus Center Dining Hall installed a 'gluten-free pantry,' which includes main gluten-free staples such as bread, wraps, pasta, bagels and cereal. Also, there is a toaster and a microwave exclusively for gluten-free products along with individually portioned peanut butter, jelly, cream cheese and butter."

She also intends to start a club on campus for students with special dietary needs.

Jean Duane's Press Release: Goal is the Ellen Show

This is a very unusual press release. Following Ellen's strategy to land herself on the cover of O, The Oprah Magazine, Jean Duane is attempting to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to promote her gluten-free and dairy-free cookbook.

The press release mentions that Ellen said on her show in June that she had been eating gluten-free for two weeks and felt better. Jean is publicly declaring her goal to appear on the show. If this bold and humorous approach works, hopefully Jean will talk about celiac disease!

Review: Balance Pure Chocolate Cashew

I tried many energy bars sold at Whole Foods (LARABAR, Thinkthin, Kind, and PranaBar) and Balance Pure chocolate cashew is by far my favorite. Recently, I finally found one flavor of Larabar that I like, the new peanut butter and jelly, but it is higher in fat and calories and only six grams of protein. The Balance Pure price is good at only 99 cents each.

Only Balance Pure bars are gluten-free, not the other Balance bars. They are available in three flavors: cherry pecan, chocolate cashew, and berry chia. The website lists banana cashew, but that flavor is not in stores, not sold on the Balance website, and Whole Foods was unable to order it, despite having that flavor on their list. Perhaps, it is a new flavor? I certainly hope so because it sounds wonderful. I did try to contact Balance about it, but even the customer service representative did not know if the banana was new or old.

The chocolate cashew has 170 calories, six grams of fat, nine grams of protein, four grams of fiber, and only eight ingredients. Compared to the high protein bars that I like, PureFit and ANDI, these are not as wide and not as filling. They are probably about the width of an Enjoy Life bar, but much longer and denser. For a quick snack on the go or at home with a very chocolate taste and some cashew crunch, Balance Pure is a great choice!

Gluten free Mentioned on the Good Wife on CBS

Last night on the new CBS drama The Good Wife, the episode called unorthodox had a sentence about gluten free. The gluten free sentence can be viewed at 10:20 in the full episode video on the CBS website. When the lady was questioned about why she walked to the grocery store that is 1/2 mile from her home, not one of the five closer grocery stores, she said the following statement.

"My daughter needs gluten free foods and this grocery store, the kosher grocery store, had more options."

Alicia then said to her coworker "great answer".

Depression and Celiac Disease: Psychology Today Article

The informative November newsletter from the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) mentions an article about celiac disease posted on the Psychology Today website. This interesting article, Gluten: The Secret Stalker, discusses depression as well as ADHD and lists many symptoms of celiac disease. It is great awareness for mental health professionals, except it does not provide information about how to be tested for celiac disease.

A Great Celiac Disease Video

This great video provides a brief and accurate overview of celiac disease. It was part of the recent General Mills gluten-free Chex press release done by MultiVu. The General Mills website now contains many gluten-free Chex recipes.

Recall: Armour Chili

The original Armour Chili with Beans is being recalled due to undeclared wheat. The case of six cans has a plastic over-wrap with the label gluten free. Below is the recall information from the Food and Allergy Anaphylaxis Network.

"Pinnacle Foods Group LLC is recalling “ARMOUR Chili with Beans, Original” due to undeclared wheat. The product was distributed to retail stores in Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The 15-oz. cans come in a case of six with a plastic over-wrap that incorrectly states the product is "Gluten Free," while the product actually contains wheat. The label bears an “EST. 2AD” number inside the USDA mark of inspection with dates ranging from August 26, 2009 to October 28, 2009.

Consumers with questions may call (800) 253-5882."

CBS Video: Celiac Disease on the Early Show

Checkout this great video that aired on CBS this morning on The Early Show. Robert M. Landolphi, author of Gluten-Free Every Day, talked about his wife's symptoms before being diagnosed with celiac disease and then cooked gluten-free onion rings and biscuits. Anchor Dave Price said his mom has celiac disease.

Cross-contamination was addressed and Robert even corrected Dave Price when he called celiac an allergy. Robert said, "It is actually an autoimmune disorder, but we look at it as an allergy because it is just easier in the restaurants to approach it that way." The recipes are available on the CBS website.

Review: Nature’s Path New Sunrise Cereals

I was so excited when Nature’s Path wanted to send me free boxes of their two new gluten-free cereals: Crunchy Maple Sunrise and Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise. I love cereal. I find cereal is best enjoyed when at least two different kinds are mixed together. One of my favorite combinations is Nature’s Path Crispy Rice and Nature’s Path Whole O’s, which has been my breakfast of choice lately.

Well, Nature’s Path has now mastered the art of cereal mixing with these two new Sunrise cereals. They combined corn puffs that resemble Gorilla Munch, Mesa Sunrise flakes, and Crispy Rice. Then, they added two delicious flavors to produce cereals that are truly unique from other gluten-free cereals.

The cereals are nutritious, low in sugar, and contain “an organic blend of corn, rice, flax, quinoa, buckwheat, and amaranth”. They are both sure to be a hit with consumers, including kids and people who can eat gluten. There is really only one word to best describe Nature’s Path new Sunrise cereals – perfection!