I have been waiting for this day for a long time. I love granola. My favorite cookie used to be granola raisin. But alas, no one makes a granola bar using gluten free oats. I figured that I was going to have to quite my day job and start making them myself. That is until now.
I first came across Nonuttin' at the GIG conference here in Seattle this month. Having never heard of Nonuttin, I didn't know what to make of it. I figured that it didn't have nuts. This is true, but more important to me is that it doesn't have gluten, dairy, egg, or soy either, although they forget to mention that they are soy free. You have to read the ingredients for that one. And of course, you'll read the ingredients anyway, right? Unfortunately for some, they do use cane sugar in their products.
Having tasted their bars, I can't complain, although they are maybe a bit sweet for me. I've had the Granola Raisin, Granola Apple Cinnamon, and the Granola Chocolate Chip. Of course, I prefer the Granola Raisin.
They have some other products as well. When you go to their website, click on the American flag or the Canadian flag, depending on your preference. It's a bit confusing because they don't make that clear, but you'll be much happier when you do that. Visit Nonuttin' at www.nonuttin.com.
Gluten Free Teen Support on the Web
This past week I had the pleasure of hearing Max Renke speak at the GIG Educational Conference. Max is a 16 year old gluten survivor (I kind've like how that sounds. He might even agree.). He told his story about how he had suffered from gluten intolerance for many years and how he finally was diagnosed by his fifth or sixth doctor.
Max does an excellent job of conveying his story, but it doesn't stop there. He has been politically active and was responsible for getting the State of New Hampshire to pass a bill declaring May as Celiac Awareness Month.
Max also has his own website,www.thatkidscompany.com. I encourage you to visit it because you will learn a lot more about Max and his ideas. He is quite an impressive young man, and an inspiration to us all.
While we're on the subject of teens, I'd also like to mention a new program run by the Gluten Intolerant Group of North America. It's called TAGS, Teen Advocates for Gluten Sensitivities. For more information about this program please contact GIG at 253-933-6655.
Max does an excellent job of conveying his story, but it doesn't stop there. He has been politically active and was responsible for getting the State of New Hampshire to pass a bill declaring May as Celiac Awareness Month.
Max also has his own website,www.thatkidscompany.com. I encourage you to visit it because you will learn a lot more about Max and his ideas. He is quite an impressive young man, and an inspiration to us all.
While we're on the subject of teens, I'd also like to mention a new program run by the Gluten Intolerant Group of North America. It's called TAGS, Teen Advocates for Gluten Sensitivities. For more information about this program please contact GIG at 253-933-6655.
Yoga Journal Drops the (Exercise) Ball
This months edition of Yoga Journal includes a short article in which I am quoted on the topic of food intolerance. Although the interview was quite extensive and I believe that the writer had a good grasp of the topic of food allergies and intolerances, ultimately the article was trimmed down to contain very little quality information.
The article is titled "All That You Can Eat." As you can see, even before the article started it wasn't very helpful. As the article got rolling, as much as you can get rolling in 400 words, they proceeded make a mess of the words "allergy," "intolerance" and even threw in "sensitivity" several times. Then they stated that you couldn't test for food intolerances, which certainly isn't the case for gluten intolerance. About the only thing that the article may have accomplished was to get people to consider that a wide range of symptoms may be caused by reactions to foods.
Yoga Journal failed to examine the history of the use of words "allergy" and "intolerance," or to properly define these words, which is ultimately what leads to many misunderstandings when it comes to discussing these issues. They didn't address gluten intolerance at all, nor did they mention lactose intolerance. And of course, once you introduce these two concepts you need to discuss the completely different mechanisms that underlie them.
The editors of this magazine boiled an important topic down to a few catchy phrases in order to fill space and sell more magazines. This in turn helps them sell more advertising. This is really too bad because I like yoga and I assume that the readers of Yoga Journal are intelligent people who would like to know more about this topic.
Unfortunately, at this point I can only conclude that you don't want to be getting your dietary information from Yoga Journal. If they'd like to write a more comprehensive article on the topic then I'd be happy to talk with them.
If you'd like to read it for yourself you can find it at the following link. Unfortunately, it probably isn't worth your time. http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/2760
The article is titled "All That You Can Eat." As you can see, even before the article started it wasn't very helpful. As the article got rolling, as much as you can get rolling in 400 words, they proceeded make a mess of the words "allergy," "intolerance" and even threw in "sensitivity" several times. Then they stated that you couldn't test for food intolerances, which certainly isn't the case for gluten intolerance. About the only thing that the article may have accomplished was to get people to consider that a wide range of symptoms may be caused by reactions to foods.
Yoga Journal failed to examine the history of the use of words "allergy" and "intolerance," or to properly define these words, which is ultimately what leads to many misunderstandings when it comes to discussing these issues. They didn't address gluten intolerance at all, nor did they mention lactose intolerance. And of course, once you introduce these two concepts you need to discuss the completely different mechanisms that underlie them.
The editors of this magazine boiled an important topic down to a few catchy phrases in order to fill space and sell more magazines. This in turn helps them sell more advertising. This is really too bad because I like yoga and I assume that the readers of Yoga Journal are intelligent people who would like to know more about this topic.
Unfortunately, at this point I can only conclude that you don't want to be getting your dietary information from Yoga Journal. If they'd like to write a more comprehensive article on the topic then I'd be happy to talk with them.
If you'd like to read it for yourself you can find it at the following link. Unfortunately, it probably isn't worth your time. http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/2760
Gluten, Dairy, and Respiratory Problems
A woman from Chicago recently shared her story with me about how she suffered from chronic respiratory problems that were very disruptive to her health and life. I thought that it was worth sharing with you. Often, hearing others stories is the best way to learn new things.
After a lifetime of upper respiratory problems increasing in frequency and severity with age, and which had escalated into back-to-back bronchitis (and once or twice pneumonia) that left me a total wreck, and for which the MD's only offered ever more ferocious antibiotics, and especially after an incident on a bus where I actually couldn't breathe for a short time which scared me out of my wits, I fortunately found my way to a doctor who sent my blood out for testing for food allergies. This is the first time anyone had ever done this.
The results showed antibodies for gluten and casein. I didn't think I could give up so much -- baked goods, cheese, yogurt, etc., But I gave it a try and even after a few weeks the change had already become so profound I couldn't believe it.
For the first time in years I didn't have to pop a few Excedrin every morning for the sinus headaches, or deal with a constant postnasal drip or have to clear my throat every few minutes, or worry about being sick and missing this or that important event.
The doctor's explanation was to the effect that my immune system was always in an uproar resulting in excessive mucous production serving as a great breeding ground for any bug that came along, and, especially with increasing age, left me unable to fight it off very well. (I was in my 60's then and I'm 73 now) I'm kind of riffing on what he said but this was the general gist as I recall.
I have only had two serious problems staying away from gluten & casein -- both times involving travel where I was stuck and unprepared. Both times after a few days I could feel the mucous building and shortly thereafter developed the kind of cold to sore throat to laryngitis to bronchitis progression that I had otherwise not experienced for nearly seven years (during which time I've taken other equally strenuous trips but was able to eat properly and had had no problems.) Otherwise I can be in close quarters with people with colds, flu, you name it, and I don't get sick which for me is amazing!
I should add that I've always been mostly an organic vegetarian, but once I had given up baked goods and dairy I pretty much shifted gears and for the past three years or so have been pretty much a raw vegan and feel terrific.
For a while I played around with cooking with different kinds of flours, gluten/casein free cooking, food substitutions, etc. and decided I didn't need that stuff and that fresh food was a lot more fun!
Please feel free to share your story. I would love to post them here. You can either comment on a blog entry, or email them to me at info@ibstreatmentcenter.com and I'll post them as individual entries.
After a lifetime of upper respiratory problems increasing in frequency and severity with age, and which had escalated into back-to-back bronchitis (and once or twice pneumonia) that left me a total wreck, and for which the MD's only offered ever more ferocious antibiotics, and especially after an incident on a bus where I actually couldn't breathe for a short time which scared me out of my wits, I fortunately found my way to a doctor who sent my blood out for testing for food allergies. This is the first time anyone had ever done this.
The results showed antibodies for gluten and casein. I didn't think I could give up so much -- baked goods, cheese, yogurt, etc., But I gave it a try and even after a few weeks the change had already become so profound I couldn't believe it.
For the first time in years I didn't have to pop a few Excedrin every morning for the sinus headaches, or deal with a constant postnasal drip or have to clear my throat every few minutes, or worry about being sick and missing this or that important event.
The doctor's explanation was to the effect that my immune system was always in an uproar resulting in excessive mucous production serving as a great breeding ground for any bug that came along, and, especially with increasing age, left me unable to fight it off very well. (I was in my 60's then and I'm 73 now) I'm kind of riffing on what he said but this was the general gist as I recall.
I have only had two serious problems staying away from gluten & casein -- both times involving travel where I was stuck and unprepared. Both times after a few days I could feel the mucous building and shortly thereafter developed the kind of cold to sore throat to laryngitis to bronchitis progression that I had otherwise not experienced for nearly seven years (during which time I've taken other equally strenuous trips but was able to eat properly and had had no problems.) Otherwise I can be in close quarters with people with colds, flu, you name it, and I don't get sick which for me is amazing!
I should add that I've always been mostly an organic vegetarian, but once I had given up baked goods and dairy I pretty much shifted gears and for the past three years or so have been pretty much a raw vegan and feel terrific.
For a while I played around with cooking with different kinds of flours, gluten/casein free cooking, food substitutions, etc. and decided I didn't need that stuff and that fresh food was a lot more fun!
Please feel free to share your story. I would love to post them here. You can either comment on a blog entry, or email them to me at info@ibstreatmentcenter.com and I'll post them as individual entries.
New Soy Free Butter!
I'm so excited. Today a patient told me that Earth Balance now has a dairy free and soy free buttery spread. That is fantastic news for those of you who need to avoid dairy and soy. Earth Balance already makes excellent soy based products, and there is no reason to think that this one won't be just as good.
It comes in a red and yellow container and is simply called "Soy Free Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread." You can read more about it and see what it looks like at http://www.earthbalancenatural.com/#/products/soy-free/.
Click on the Nutrition Facts button for specific information about the ingredients.
Yes, the food industry really has come a long way in just a few years. Thank you Earth Balance.
It comes in a red and yellow container and is simply called "Soy Free Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread." You can read more about it and see what it looks like at http://www.earthbalancenatural.com/#/products/soy-free/.
Click on the Nutrition Facts button for specific information about the ingredients.
Yes, the food industry really has come a long way in just a few years. Thank you Earth Balance.
See You At GIG
This week I am very busy with the Gluten Intolerant Group's National Education Conference here in Seattle. I'll be there all day every day and I hope to see you there. To learn more visit www.gluten.net.
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