The CeliAct Blog

Gallons of ink have been spilled about so-called “hidden gluten” foods. Sure enough, gluten-free gumshoes would be well served by investigating foods – such as deli meats – that harbor gluten particle fugitives. However, there’s a new concern growing among celiac experts: how to define the two words “gluten-free.” Right alongside a ballooning debt and sky-high unemployment, Congress is working hard on figuring out how to approach the sticky subject of gluten-free labeling. Here’s the current state of affairs and what to watch out for. –   No Such Thing as a Gluten-Free Lunch   There’s not much debate over whether there should be rules in place to make sure that products which claim to […]

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In Celiac Disease and the Quest for a Cure Part 1, we discussed Nexvax2. This vaccine could one day offer a real cure for celiac disease by “teaching” our immune systems to tolerate gluten. Today, we’re going to look at a company that’s taking a completely different approach. California-based biotechnology company Alvine Pharmaceuticals has been hard at work on their leading candidate for celiac disease treatment. The newest version of this therapy is called ALV003, which uses an enzyme-based approach to break down the harmful components of gluten. See, humans do not break down the massive gluten particle as completely as it breaks down smaller, simpler food particles. These partially digested gluten peptides make their […]

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  In 1796, Edward Jenner developed a treatment for smallpox that consisted of exposing humans to a different and less severe form of the virus. Ever since then, scientists have developed dozens of similar therapies. The ultimate purpose of a vaccine, as this method came to be known, is to trick the immune system by exposing it to harmless elements of a pathogen. Nexpep, a biotechnology company based out of Melbourne, Australia, took this concept and applied it to celiac disease. The potentially groundbreaking results? Nexvax – a vaccine for celiac disease. Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition causing your immune system to recognize gluten as a foreign intruder. The resulting immunological response to gluten ingestion […]

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  So, you have to follow a gluten free diet. Sounds challenging, right? Now imagine following that same gluten free diet, but you move to a new city and you don’t know where any of the gluten free restaurants are. You don’t know which grocery stores have good gluten free selections, or even where their gluten free sections are. For the first time in your life you lose access to your mother’s cooking. In fact, you will lose your kitchen altogether and you’ll be lucky to have a locker-sized refrigerator. You’ve also adopted a new sleep schedule where you’re consistently awake up to 6 hours after restaurants and grocery stores close. Sounds tough, right? Well, […]

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With most grains and flours out of the question, how do you eat your favorite foods and cook your favorite gluten free recipes? It’s not easy, but ancient grains are your answer. Why are they called ancient grains? They all have histories that span far back, but they’re all pretty new to modern European and American culture. Not only are they new and novel, they’re nutritious. And in most cases, they can effectively replace your traditional grains. One gluten free brand that’s leading us into the new generation of nutritious and delicious gluten free foods is Cocomama Foods, creator of an innovative line of quinoa-based cereals and soon other ancient grain-based products. “When I was […]

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So many celiac diagnoses are initiated by the patient, and not the physician. After all, there are still a vast number of physicians out there (especially the ones who went to medical school decades ago) who are frighteningly ignorant of celiac disease. Why is this the case? Recent research helps shed some light. The Celiac Disease Center at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston is one of the best of its kind. A lot of you have probably heard their name recently as they have been (very) actively recruiting adults with celiac disease for a survey on celiac symptoms. While the data from that survey isn’t available yet, they did just publish […]

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Max and I always start the summer with a Memorial Day weekend trip to Nantucket for Figawi weekend. It’s a famous yacht race that starts in Hyannis and goes east to Nantucket. Unfortunately we don’t own a yacht. And honestly, we don’t know much about the race. It’s just a great place to kick off the summer. Since it’s a guaranteed 4 days straight of barbecuing, we sought to put together a guide of sorts on how to best do a gluten free barbecue, realizing that no matter where you go, there’s almost never going to be a completely gluten free barbecue. So, it takes work beyond just knowing great gluten free barbecue recipes. Making […]

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As we’ve mentioned in the past, one of the things that makes a gluten free diet so difficult is that eating is such a social activity. In fact, it is probably the second most social thing we do as humans. The most social thing we do? That’s easy – drinking. And let’s face it. Having to give up beer makes drinking pretty darn difficult at times. Well, just as we’ve seen an explosion in gluten free dining options lately, there has also been an explosion of gluten free drinking options! So since summer just started and many of you will be looking for a nice beverage for your BBQ, your trip to the beach, or […]

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Food labels can be deceiving. You’ve looked at enough of them to generally know what you’re looking at, but it can still be hard. No wheat – check. No barley – check. No rye – check. Comparing labels is something you’ve become an expert in because you look at them before you eat everything. But you may not know how to look at labels past determining if foods are gluten free or not. And gluten free eating and nutritious gluten free eating are a whole different ballgame. Protein is a prime example – it’s an essential part of your gluten free diet, but the amount on a label doesn’t always tell the full story. Not all […]

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The Department of Agriculture officially did away with the Food Guide Pyramid we’re all so familiar with last week and replaced it with MyPlate. The thinking goes that a plate is much easier to refer to than a pyramid. After realizing that I don’t have any pyramid-shaped dishes in my kitchen, I think I agreed with them. MyPlate is similar to a pie-graph that divides the plate into the portions they recommend for the American diet. Classes represented on the plate are Vegetables, Proteins, Grains and Fruits, with a side serving of dairy recommended as well. –   What are the Differences Between the Pyramid and MyPlate?   The “Breads, Cereals, Rice and Pasta” group […]

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How has the gluten free diet contributed to the hottest winning streak in professional tennis right now? It’s pretty simple actually. Novak Djokovic is absolutely destroying his competition in 2011 and is single-handedly dominating the sport of tennis. All on a gluten free diet. Djokovic is undefeated in 2011 and has won 39 matches in a row. Of those 39, four were against Rafael Nadal and three were against Roger Federer – the two traditional beasts in the sport.   Why on Earth is this Significant?   Djokovic was not always such a stellar performer on the court. The young Serbian was actually pretty middle-of-the-pack. What changed? – Last August he was diagnosed with gluten […]

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May is Celiac Awareness Month. All month I’ve booted around the idea of writing something creative and groundbreaking to celebrate how far celiac has come, and how much exposure it’s gained over the past decade. But I couldn’t really think of much. As you probably know by now, I myself do not have celiac disease. You can read why I blog gluten free, but beyond that, I want to make it clear how glad I am to be a part of the celiac community, helping to gain greater exposure for the disease. I’m one of the lone “outsiders” that blogs gluten free – but I know where celiac has been, and how awesome it is […]

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So I recently went home to visit my parents for the weekend. Going home is always a treat because my mom still LOVES to make me amazing gluten free meals (not to mention gluten free cookies, pancakes, cupcakes… you name it). Where else can I get a completely gluten free Thanksgiving dinner? A Passover Seder? A homemade birthday cake? Not many places. As much as my mom likes to cook for me, she still likes to take her nights off (and I don’t blame her!). This happened to be one of those nights… – We were all getting ready to go to Famous Pizza, a nearby pizza place that has great gluten free pizzas, when […]

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By deciding to follow a gluten free diet, you lost something far more important than just some of your favorite foods. You lost the sources of most of your fiber. But what’s so good about fiber, and why do you need it? Fiber doesn’t serve one function specifically – it’s helpful for many reasons. In fact, it can help prevent a number of immune and gastrointestinal complications. Interestingly, the recommended daily allowance (RDA) is 20-35 grams, but the average American’s intake is just 10-12 grams. So, deficiency is common in most Americans – and because celiac puts grains, cereals, and flours off-limits, it makes your job that much harder. Fiber reduces the risk of coronary […]

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Do you sometimes feel like you’re the only one in the world with celiac disease? The feeling that you’re alone with this life-altering disease can sometimes be worse than celiac itself! This feeling of loneliness is only exacerbated by the fact that celiac disease drastically affects the way that you eat. When you think about it, eating is one of the most social things we do as humans. Going on dates, being a guest at someone’s house, going to parties, grabbing lunch with a colleague or friend—these are all common social interactions that revolve around eating. Not being able to eat like “everyone else” can make you feel left out and even ostracized. This doesn’t […]

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