The CeliAct Blog

You need to eat gluten free, but did you know that the products you’re buying may not be gluten free? Shocking, right? Gluten free product labeling has been important for as long as celiac disease and gluten intolerance have existed, but it’s been neglected for just as long. In 2004, and again in 2007, the FDA was tasked with standardizing gluten free labeling. Both times it seemed like a priority, but the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA, 2004) ignored barley and rye – these gluten-containing grains currently do not need to be identified in products. Again, standardization hit a roadblock during the 2007 initiative, as well. The delay in standardization has left […]

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Now I know this is one of the most overused sayings – but if I had a nickel for every time that someone felt sorry for me for having to follow a gluten free diet, I’d be rich. For those of you following a gluten free diet, you know exactly what I mean. Every time your celiac condition or gluten intolerance comes up with your peers, it is almost always followed by expressions of sympathy and discussions of how happy that person is to be among the world’s gluten tolerant. When I explain celiac disease or gluten intolerance to people (as I normally do when I go out to eat with them), they always say […]

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Your friends are throwing around ideas for where they want to sit down for dinner on Saturday night. You want to make suggestions, but it’s difficult because your options are limited. Dining out gluten free is really difficult, especially when it’s a social event (often the case). I have my personal favorite places, and my friends are great at catering to where I can and can’t eat. Luckily for us, there are places that are gluten free friendly and are also big hits with the gluten-eaters out there. P.F. Chang’s is definitely one of those places. –   Here’s the Scoop on P.F. Chang’s   Gluten Free Hub recently did a review of P.F. Chang’s. […]

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When you found out you had to follow a gluten free diet, you probably had some anxiety. How were you going to eliminate major staples like bread, pasta, and cereal from your diet? The reason why it’s so difficult is because these foods are omnipresent throughout the average American diet. For the cereal-eater, breakfast becomes tough. For the sandwich-eater, lunch becomes challenging. For the pasta-eater, dinner becomes a struggle. The fact is, carbohydrates are important—and these grain-based foods are the ones most people are familiar with.   The Importance of Carbohydrates and Differentiating Between Good and Bad Carbohydrates provide energy to every cell in your body. Without them, your body won’t function. There are 2 […]

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My journey with celiac disease began when I was 16. After several months of weight loss, chronic fatigue and stomach issues, it was a pretty easy diagnosis for the doctor to make. Not long after my diagnosis with celiac, I had the opportunity to study and travel all over the world, exploring gluten-free dining in Israel, Jordan, Chile, Turkey, Italy and Brazil. It wasn’t until after I graduated from college that I started to research celiac disease and how it affects our bodies – even when we adhere to a strict gluten-free diet. – Observing the Gluten-Free Industry from Infancy   Over the last decade, I’ve seen the emergence, and eventual explosion of the gluten-free […]

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