Well, the day has finally arrived. There now exists a soy sauce product that is not only wheat free but also soy free. I was just informed yesterday and I still can't believe it.
So what is this product made from? You'll never guess. It's made from coconut, the miracle nut that seems to give us endless hypoallergenic alternative food options.
This product, called Coconut Aminos, is being made by a company called Coconut Secret. As it turns out, they make many other interesting coconut based products as well, including coconut flour, coconut crystals (a sugar substitute), coconut vinegar, coconut nectar, and coconut cream.
They are definitely worth a look. You can see all of this and more by visiting www.coconutsecret.com.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Upcoming Northeast Speaking Engagements
I'm looking forward to seeing many friends and meeting many other people on my upcoming swing through the northeast. If you happen to be in the area, please join me. Or if you know someone who lives in the general vacinity, please pass on this message. I hope to see you there!
Thursday, November 5. 5:30-9:00 p.m. Talk starts at 6:30.
Richmond, Virginia
Speaking at Trinity United Methodist Church, 903 Forest Ave, Richmond
Hosted by the West End Gluten Intolerance Group
Questions: www.gigofrichmond.org, or mms27@comcast.net
Friday, November 6. 6:00-9:00 p.m.. Talk starts at 7:00.
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Speaking at Gettysburg Hospital Community Room, off of Washington Street.
Hosted by Gettysburg Gluten Free Group.
Questions: hutchjc@earthlink.net
Saturday, November 7. 1:00 p.m.
Hershey, Pennsylvania
Speaking at Milton Hershey School, Purcell Friendship Conference Hall, 109 McCorkle Road, Hershey
Hosted by Gluten Intolerant Group of Harrisburg
Questions: www.harrisburgceliacs.org or llweller@gmail.com
Sunday, November 8. 2:00 p.m.
Johnston, Rhode Island
Hosted by American Celiac Family Support Group of Rhode Island
Questions: www.celiacsupportgroup.com or monahanlinda@yahoo.com
Monday, November 9. 6:30-8:30 p.m.
New York City, New York
Public lecture at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Food and Health. 48 W 21st Street, 2nd floor, NYC
Questions: www.naturalgourmetschool.com or jfriedman@naturalgourmetinstitute.com
(there is a registration fee for this lecture, contact the school for more information)
Thursday, November 5. 5:30-9:00 p.m. Talk starts at 6:30.
Richmond, Virginia
Speaking at Trinity United Methodist Church, 903 Forest Ave, Richmond
Hosted by the West End Gluten Intolerance Group
Questions: www.gigofrichmond.org, or mms27@comcast.net
Friday, November 6. 6:00-9:00 p.m.. Talk starts at 7:00.
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Speaking at Gettysburg Hospital Community Room, off of Washington Street.
Hosted by Gettysburg Gluten Free Group.
Questions: hutchjc@earthlink.net
Saturday, November 7. 1:00 p.m.
Hershey, Pennsylvania
Speaking at Milton Hershey School, Purcell Friendship Conference Hall, 109 McCorkle Road, Hershey
Hosted by Gluten Intolerant Group of Harrisburg
Questions: www.harrisburgceliacs.org or llweller@gmail.com
Sunday, November 8. 2:00 p.m.
Johnston, Rhode Island
Hosted by American Celiac Family Support Group of Rhode Island
Questions: www.celiacsupportgroup.com or monahanlinda@yahoo.com
Monday, November 9. 6:30-8:30 p.m.
New York City, New York
Public lecture at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Food and Health. 48 W 21st Street, 2nd floor, NYC
Questions: www.naturalgourmetschool.com or jfriedman@naturalgourmetinstitute.com
(there is a registration fee for this lecture, contact the school for more information)
Monday, October 26, 2009
GF at Great Harvest Bread Company
One of the Great Harvest Bread Company franchises, located in West Seattle, is now offering yummy gluten and dairy free breads. Now that is something to look into. I remember years ago eating the bread from Great Harvest and thoroughly enjoying their fresh and tasty products. Of course, that was before I realized what else it was doing to me, but the taste was great!
Now we can get some of that experience back. It is my understanding that the owner of the West Seattle Great Harvest Bread Company has been diagnosed with celiac disease, as has his daughter. And we are primary beneficiaries.
Today I had the distinct pleasure of enjoying a ginger cookie from there(thanks Sharon!) and I'm looking forward to trying more of their gluten free offerings. While you're in West Seattle don't forget to visit Full Tilt ice cream shop, where they usually have homemade coconut milk ice cream.
I couldn't find a website for the bakery. Please mention it below if you do. Let's hope that this catches on at other Great Harvest franchises.
Now we can get some of that experience back. It is my understanding that the owner of the West Seattle Great Harvest Bread Company has been diagnosed with celiac disease, as has his daughter. And we are primary beneficiaries.
Today I had the distinct pleasure of enjoying a ginger cookie from there(thanks Sharon!) and I'm looking forward to trying more of their gluten free offerings. While you're in West Seattle don't forget to visit Full Tilt ice cream shop, where they usually have homemade coconut milk ice cream.
I couldn't find a website for the bakery. Please mention it below if you do. Let's hope that this catches on at other Great Harvest franchises.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Bone Loss in Celiac Disease, Not Just Malabsorption
A very interesting study was recently published by Scottish researchers on the relationship between celiac disease and bone density. They looked at 15 celiac patients and found that 3 of them had an autoimmune reaction against a bone protein called osteoprotegerin. This means that their own immune system was attacking their bone.
Previously it was commonly thought that low bone density in celiac disease was due to the malabsorption of nutrients required to build bone. Although this likely still plays an important role the development of osteoporosis, it is certainly not the only factor.
Few people appreciate the role of the immune system in building healthy bone, but more research will likely come out in the next few years regarding this relationship. I attended a conference a couple of years ago where I heard a fascinating presentation about the role of inflammation bone density and the ability of inflammation to interfere with the process of building bone. And as most researcher in the healthcare world recognize, inflammation is the thread that underlies most health issues. This is just another example of this, even with regard to bone density.
Unfortunately the study did not note whether or not this autoimmune reaction resolved once the celiac patients discontinued ingesting gluten. It also isn't known how commonly this autoimmune reaction contributes to osteoporosis in celiac disease. Regardless, keep eating healthy foods and taking your vitamin D, calcium, magnesium and other vitamins and minerals that are good for your bone health. If you'd like to read the abstract for the study, click here.
Previously it was commonly thought that low bone density in celiac disease was due to the malabsorption of nutrients required to build bone. Although this likely still plays an important role the development of osteoporosis, it is certainly not the only factor.
Few people appreciate the role of the immune system in building healthy bone, but more research will likely come out in the next few years regarding this relationship. I attended a conference a couple of years ago where I heard a fascinating presentation about the role of inflammation bone density and the ability of inflammation to interfere with the process of building bone. And as most researcher in the healthcare world recognize, inflammation is the thread that underlies most health issues. This is just another example of this, even with regard to bone density.
Unfortunately the study did not note whether or not this autoimmune reaction resolved once the celiac patients discontinued ingesting gluten. It also isn't known how commonly this autoimmune reaction contributes to osteoporosis in celiac disease. Regardless, keep eating healthy foods and taking your vitamin D, calcium, magnesium and other vitamins and minerals that are good for your bone health. If you'd like to read the abstract for the study, click here.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Thanks to Kathy from Ener-G Foods
I want to thank Kathy from ENER-G Foods for coming out to our support group meeting last week. Kathy brought boxes full of free samples and we all enjoyed hearing about Ener-G and tasting some of their surprisingly good treats.
Ener-G has been around for a long time and was probably the very first company to produce gluten free products. Many people recognize their vacuum packed breads, their pretzels, and their egg/dairy/gluten free Egg Replacer.
Ener-G has recently updated many of their bread recipes, so I encourage you to try them if you haven't recently. And Kathy recommend putting them in the microwave for about 10 seconds to soften and moisten them. This is a helpful tip that can be useful for other gluten free breads as well.
Ener-G has literally hundreds of different products. All of them are gluten and dairy free. Some contain eggs and other potential allergens, so of course everyone needs to read the ingredients for their unique needs.
Ener-G is the only company that I'm aware of making gluten free hot dog and hamburger buns. They also have a nice potato ginger cookie that we sampled, and a variety of breads, cookies, and even some rice pasta imported from Italy.
Their extensive product options can be perused online at www.ener-g.com, where you will also find a button for locating their products near you. If you live in the Seattle area then you are in luck, because they are headquartered in Seattle. You can visit their south downtown store and buy items directly from them.
Ener-G has been around for a long time and was probably the very first company to produce gluten free products. Many people recognize their vacuum packed breads, their pretzels, and their egg/dairy/gluten free Egg Replacer.
Ener-G has recently updated many of their bread recipes, so I encourage you to try them if you haven't recently. And Kathy recommend putting them in the microwave for about 10 seconds to soften and moisten them. This is a helpful tip that can be useful for other gluten free breads as well.
Ener-G has literally hundreds of different products. All of them are gluten and dairy free. Some contain eggs and other potential allergens, so of course everyone needs to read the ingredients for their unique needs.
Ener-G is the only company that I'm aware of making gluten free hot dog and hamburger buns. They also have a nice potato ginger cookie that we sampled, and a variety of breads, cookies, and even some rice pasta imported from Italy.
Their extensive product options can be perused online at www.ener-g.com, where you will also find a button for locating their products near you. If you live in the Seattle area then you are in luck, because they are headquartered in Seattle. You can visit their south downtown store and buy items directly from them.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Trumpeter Public House
The next time you are going up to La Connor to see the tulips, or up to the San Juan Islands to see the Orca whales, or up to Canada to wait in line at the border, you now have the perfect midpoint pit stop.
The Trumpeter Public House located in old town Mount Vernon is just off the freeway. Trumpeter is family owned and operated and offers an impressive variety of gluten free offerings, all of which are clearly identified on the menu. And they even have some dairy free items identified on the menu.
Interesting items such as flash fried calamari and gluten free burger options are unique in the gluten free dining world. A complete menu is available on their attractive website at www.TrumpeterPublicHouse.com.
Old town Mount Vernon is a restored and incredibly easy to access area from the freeway. Now you have the perfect reason to stop as you're going by. And you may as well, you have to slow down anyway since the town practically gets in the way of the Interstate 5. You'll know what I mean when you get there.
The Trumpeter Public House located in old town Mount Vernon is just off the freeway. Trumpeter is family owned and operated and offers an impressive variety of gluten free offerings, all of which are clearly identified on the menu. And they even have some dairy free items identified on the menu.
Interesting items such as flash fried calamari and gluten free burger options are unique in the gluten free dining world. A complete menu is available on their attractive website at www.TrumpeterPublicHouse.com.
Old town Mount Vernon is a restored and incredibly easy to access area from the freeway. Now you have the perfect reason to stop as you're going by. And you may as well, you have to slow down anyway since the town practically gets in the way of the Interstate 5. You'll know what I mean when you get there.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Anxiety and Food Allergies
It has been interesting to see over the years the variety of symptoms that can be caused by food allergies. One of those symptoms often triggered by food allergies is anxiety.
The interesting part is not that people are anxious because they have symptoms caused by a food allergy, which would be expected if you had something like unpredictable or painful bowel habits. The interesting part is that the food allergy itself is triggering the anxiety.
I saw two recent cases of this which reminded me of the impact that food allergies have on our entire health, both physically and emotionally. These patients, one male and one female, were both suffering from a combination of food allergies which were only detectable on IgG food allergy testing. (This is not the kind of testing that you can get from an allergist.)
Once these foods were removed from their diet, these patients began to heal in a number of different ways. They had originally come in for their digestive problems, which completely resolved. However, they also reported that a significant amount of anxiety that they had been experiencing which they had attributed to a troubled emotional life also vastly improved.
There are many case reports in the medical literature of just this type of reaction happening in people with gluten intolerance. But the problem is not limited to gluten. Immune reactions to other foods are just as important and can cause just as many emotional and neurological problems.
If you suffer from anxiety or depression you should be properly assessed for food allergies. It may just be the help that you needed. For more information visit www.CenterForFoodAllergies.com.
The interesting part is not that people are anxious because they have symptoms caused by a food allergy, which would be expected if you had something like unpredictable or painful bowel habits. The interesting part is that the food allergy itself is triggering the anxiety.
I saw two recent cases of this which reminded me of the impact that food allergies have on our entire health, both physically and emotionally. These patients, one male and one female, were both suffering from a combination of food allergies which were only detectable on IgG food allergy testing. (This is not the kind of testing that you can get from an allergist.)
Once these foods were removed from their diet, these patients began to heal in a number of different ways. They had originally come in for their digestive problems, which completely resolved. However, they also reported that a significant amount of anxiety that they had been experiencing which they had attributed to a troubled emotional life also vastly improved.
There are many case reports in the medical literature of just this type of reaction happening in people with gluten intolerance. But the problem is not limited to gluten. Immune reactions to other foods are just as important and can cause just as many emotional and neurological problems.
If you suffer from anxiety or depression you should be properly assessed for food allergies. It may just be the help that you needed. For more information visit www.CenterForFoodAllergies.com.
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