Research: Five Questions to see if your child has Celiac; Really, just 5?

New research being published in the March issue of Pediatrics aims to help parents and doctors narrow down the possibility of celiac disease by getting the answers to 5 questions. The actual article published in WebMD is called: 5 Questions Find Hidden Celiac Disease in Kids. I would retitle it: 5 Questions Find Obvious Celiac Disease in Kids.

Danish researchers set out to find whether some easy questions could lead a child down the road toward getting a diagnosis of celiac disease and going on the gluten-free diet. I can see where these questions really could be helpful. Parents could easily get the answers to these questions, and in their minds (and possibly their doctor’s minds) either rule out or rule in celiac. If they rule in celiac the child would then get the blood test.

Here are the 5 Questions to find Celiac Disease in Kids:

1. Has your child ever suffered from abdominal pain more than twice during the last three months?
2. Has your child ever had diarrhea lasting more than two weeks?
3. Does your child have a tendency to firm and hard stools?
4. Does your child gain enough weight?
5. Does your child gain enough height?

So do the questions work?

The researchers conducted this questionnaire in a small county in Denmark. At the time of the test, 13 children were diagnosed with celiac disease. By the end of the test another 14 were diagnosed.* Researchers concluded that indeed this questionnaire could be helpful in diagnosing “preclinical and low-grade symptomatic patients with celiac disease,” Peter Toftedal, MD and colleagues at Odense University Hospital in Denmark concluded.

The Problem with the Questionnaire

Let me say that asking these questions absolutely will help diagnose kids… but only those with the most  common symptoms of celiac disease.  My daughter did have symptoms for #2 and #4 above.  What worries me is that the article says nothing about the fact that children can have less typical symptoms that shouldn’t be ignored because they don’t fit in with the above 5 questions.

For example, the Celiac Sprue Association (CSA) has a list of symptoms in children. Of course you should look at the GI symptoms listed in the above questionnaire, but take a peek at all of the other things that should be taken into consideration, according to CSA: (I put an E next to the other symptoms my daughter had)

Celiac Symptoms in Children

How is the child developing?

• Slowly
• Not gaining weight
• Losing weight (E – lost 10% of body weight)

Under age three:

• Growth failure (E)
• Diarrhea (E-daily)
• Projectile vomiting (E- I documented every 9 days for several weeks)
• Abdominal bloating/distention (E)

Older children:

• Crankiness (E)
• Difficulty concentrating
• Irritability (E)
• Personality changes (E, we only noticed when her personality changed to what we now know is normal, when she went on the diet at 15-months-old)
• Poor memory

When I conducted a survey in the fall of 2008, I asked people what their top three symptoms were before diagnosis.  Additional symptoms from parents talking about their children included:

• Type 1 Diabetes (of 3 Million, 180,000 have celiac — 6%) **
• Down Syndrome (350,000 cases, 42,000 have celiac — 12%)**
• Itchy blisters or dry skin
• Anemia
• Headaches
• Brittle hair or hair loss
• Respiratory illnesses/Asthma
• No symptoms at all

Bottom line:  The questions are a good starting point.  But parents and doctors may need to look at a bigger picture to get the whole story.  Please don’t discount celiac if the answers to the first five questions appear to rule out celiac.  It’s true, your child may not have celiac, but he or she also may have atypical symptoms of celiac disease.

*To find more detailed results in the research, you can read the WebMD article.

**Statistics from the University of Chicago’s Celiac Disease Center

Holy cow!  Just when you thought no one was watching, the North Carolina courts show up the entire country by charging a so-called gluten-free baker with six felonies for falsely reporting the bread made by his company Great Specialty Products (GSP) was gluten-free.

The whole thing went down yesterday in a Wake County courtroom in Raleigh, NC.  According to the Gluten Free Raleigh blog, Paul Seelig saw the evidence put before him which included:

• test results on Seelig’s “gluten-free” bread in Nebraska showed greater than 5,000 parts per million of gluten
• testimony from a gastroenterologist about celiac disease and the damage gluten can do to someone with celiac
• testimony from an employee who seemed to have no recollection of a gluten-free product
• the most shocking evidence from the State Department of Agriculture that found “… GSP was buying regular bread products from a company in NJ called Tribecca Oven and repackaging the products as GF [gluten free].”

Seelig is charged with six counts of “obtaining property by false pretense” and bail was set at $100,000 and he returns to court today at 2:00 p.m. eastern time.

This is an incredibly bold move by the state of North Carolina.  I wonder what kind of precedence this will set for other companies.  Will they be more cautious?  Will they be more forthright, or will they skip trying to do gluten-free at all?  Maybe this case doesn’t matter to other producers of gluten-free foods, because the companies don’t compare.  This case goes BEYOND what other responsible, ethical business owners are doing with their gluten-free products.  We’ll find out with time.

When it comes to the courts taking this progressive move, I think Gluten-Free Raleigh said it best back on January 21st,

“the state of North Carolina is enforcing Gluten Free product claims/labeling (via fraud) when the FDA won’t. It’s great to know that our state is actively protecting it’s citizenry, especially Celiacs who are often left fighting for themselves at every turn.”

If you would like to read more on this story or to follow future develoments, please check out the Gluten-Free Raleigh blog which has the court documents and more attached to the site.  And of course we’ll be tracking the case here on The Savvy Celiac too!

Gluten-Free Raleigh, great job reporting!!

I was recently at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport enroute from Minneapolis to San Diego for a conference. My flight was delayed by about an hour so I started searching around for lunch – knowing full well the snacks on my 3+ hour flight wouldn’t suffice.

I saw a sign directing me to the French Meadow Bakery Café in the “F Concourse” at MSP and I was so excited! French Meadow has a wonderful selection of gluten-free brownies, cookies and breads. While I am not the gluten-free person in my house, my daughter is. And since I have a major interest in all things gluten-free, I HAD to walk down there to find out what goodies the café had in store for people who live the gluten-free lifestyle.

Once I arrived, I searched and I searched…salads, sandwich wraps, and tons of regular baked goods—but alas, I didn’t see any of their gluten-free selections. Hmmm.. I thought. I better just check with the staff members. The first person did a double take, not understanding my question and then sending me to someone who appeared to be a manager. He said no, they didn’t carry any of their gluten-free items.

Ugh! What a disappointment. There must be a good number of gluten-free people who pass through the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on a daily basis, you’d have to think they might be able to sell some items? And if you let the celiac community know via Twitter and Facebook, word might get around. You already use the airport’s website to promote your menu including your vegan and organic choices– why not throw gluten-free into the mix?

Please French Meadow, you have wonderful gluten-free foods! Don’t make us always go to McDonalds and Chili’s for a meal when we’re at the airport! Axel’s Bonfire is there too, but I did not see their gluten-free menu on their airport page either. French Meadow, please consider adding a few of your gluten-free items to your freezer at MSP (and other airports if possible) at least they would be accessible if anyone asks for them.

I want to tell you about a few gluten-free events that are going on in the next month that will leave you educated and your gluten-free tummies and hearts full!  Sounds like a Win-Win!

Wildfire Gluten-Free Events – Minnesota and Beyond

Wildfire restaurants, based in the Chicago area, has done a great job accommodating gluten-free diet.  The upscale restaurant chain specializes in steaks, chops and seafood and is perfect for people who eat gluten-free.  Emma has been offered a gluten-free roll with her dinner!  That’s a rarity.

On February 16th, the company is helping the celiac community out with a benefit for the University of Chicago’s Celiac Disease Center.  The Gluten-Free Wine Dinner is priced at $60 per person (including tax and gratuity) Plus $25 of that price will be donated to the University of Chicago’s Celiac Disease Center.

In Minnesota on February 23rd, the Eden Prairie location is holding a Gluten Free Wine Dinner.  The event is priced at $45 per person plus tax and gratuity.  The company asked me to be the guest speaker at the event.  So I will be there talking about dining out gluten-free and getting involved in the celiac community, and I hope you can too!

For more details on both of these events just go to the company’s website and scroll down to the event you’re looking for.  I also reviewed the restaurant on my blog if you would like more information from a gluten-free standpoint.

Assert your Gluten-Freeness to Help People in Haiti!

The Gluten-Free Trading Company in Milwaukee is taking part in a fundraiser for Haiti. More than two weeks ago the earthquake struck killing an estimated 200,000 people. Thousands more are homeless and/or injured.

If you’re in the Milwaukee area on Sunday, January 31st The Gluten-Free Trading Company has invited people who eat gluten-free to the “Our Milwaukee 4 Haiti” event.  It is going on from 1:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the Lakefront Brewery where they make New Grist Gluten-Free Beer. If you buy a New Grist Beer at the event, 100% of the proceeds will go to the relief efforts in Haiti.  GFTC will also donate gluten-free snacks and a door prize for the event.

According to the email-invitation I received, the event will “support two organizations with ties to the Milwaukee area, Friends of The Orphans and Youthaiti. Both organizations have established practices in Haiti. At this time both are working to provide emergency relief, and they are also invested in the well-being and rebuilding of the country for the long term. Specifically, Friends of The Orpahans operates orphanages and a hospital (which was severely damaged by the earthquake), while Youthaiti works on sanitation and disease prevention projects.”

If you can’t make it to the event, you can donate to the Haiti relief effort through both of the organizations websites above.

I told you these events would leave you smarter and your hearts and tummies fuller….

Take a trip with me…it’s a quick one but it takes you to a place where some may believe will come true some day, for others it may be doubtful. Either way, for now, I like to call this place…”fantasia”. It was a term I used to use when I worked in tv news when I pitched my vision for a story – the word seems to work for this post as well. This particular fantasia is purely focused on one question: What would the United States look like if all people with celiac disease were diagnosed?

Earlier this month when I looked ahead at the next decade and what it may hold for celiac disease, I posed this very question. This would mean that all 3 million Americans who researchers predict have celiac disease were diagnosed and living a gluten-free lifestyle. Right now, they predict that 97% of those 3 million don’t know they have celiac disease*. To put that into perspective, the University of Chicago’s Celiac Disease Center says there are 3 million people with Type 1 diabetes.

So let’s begin…

More and cheaper specialty gluten-free food products.

I know it’s an obvious one, but right now it is still so hit or miss as to whether you can find gluten-free items in the mainstream grocery store. When we travel we still always have to have a back-up plan for food with us, because you never know if you will find gluten-free food.

Eating out would be a breeze:

Restaurants would commit to doing gluten-free right:  dedicating a special area for gluten-free food preparation and making it easy for us to order gluten-free.  There would be no more accidental cross contaminations, no confused looks on servers’ faces, no leaving restaurants because the chef cannot accommodate you at restaurants.

Mainstream companies would automatically make much of their foods gluten-free.

This is starting, but just barely. I really think some companies need to experience celiac disease first hand before they take it seriously enough to do something as massive as add a new line of gluten-free products. That’s what seemed to happen with Betty Crocker. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal earlier this month, Dena Larson, marketing manager for the baking products division of General Mills said,

“…the company was spurred to create gluten-free products because several employees either had gluten intolerance or had relatives who did. What struck the staff, she said, was that gluten-sensitive people were excluded from the ‘sweet moments of life – family moments sharing a cake, being able to reward your son with a cookie when he gets off the bus. Those are the things we take for granted, but it’s emotional to have those things taken away from you.’” Las Vegas Review-Journal

Doctors testing for celiac and/or Mass Testing.

I really don’t know if this a “what comes first, the chicken or the egg” scenario. Would the increase in people with celiac disease be because of the doctors testing for it more? Or would the doctors test for it more because it seems like a lot of people have it? Either way mass testing would be ideal.

Gluten-free considered the 9th “Allergen” for FALCPA.

We all know gluten isn’t a top “allergen”. And in the case of celiac disease people who have celiac aren’t technically “allergic” to gluten. We can’t tolerate gluten, it’s toxic to our systems, but it’s not an allergy. Either way, the government recognizes the severity of the issue and puts gluten on the list. Thus, making gluten mandatory in the labeling of food products (not voluntary like it’s proposed to be now).

Domino Effect in overall health and health care.

Can you imagine how many extra doctor’s visits WOULDN’T have happened if celiac would have been your first diagnosis?

Or how many medicines you WOULDN’T have taken or spent money on if celiac had been your first diagnosis…

Or how many happy memories you would have if you hadn’t been in the “celiac fog” for umpteen years…

Or how many health repercussions you currently deal with that you WOULDN’T have had to, if celiac disease would have been your first diagnosis…

This one for me is a biggie. If all Americans who have celiac disease were diagnosed, just think of how much healthier we would be? There would likely be no celiac-induced osteoporosis, cancer, infertility, growth issues, teeth issues, and more. That’s billions of dollars in treatments, doctor’s visits, medications saved – just like that.

Will this post will ever end up being more than fiction…or “fantasia”? Only time will tell.  But thanks for listening.

You can add to this conversation.  Do you have another idea? Feel free to comment about it in the area below.

*Source: University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center

There are a few rumblings in the celiac world that need to be touched on…A gluten-free breadmaker has the state of North Carolina on his case, Starbucks appears to be taking a safer approach at appealing to gluten-free folks, Redbridge rumors, and a Maggiano’s closure. HEEEERE GOES!

State Investigation Forces NC Gluten-Free Breadmaker to Close (for now)

A local television station in Raleigh is reporting that  gluten-free breadmaker Great Specialty Products is shut down for the next 10 days while the state investigates claims that  the company was marketing its bread as gluten-free when it really wasn’t.

The Raleigh News Observer reported early Thursday,

“The lawsuit [filed late Wednesday] says the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services began investigating [owner Peter] Seelig after complaints about Great Specialty Products breads that were sold at the N.C. State Fair. The lawsuit details complaints from three consumers who got sick after eating the bread or whose children got sick.”

Thursday night, NBC 17 reported the the judge in the case called for the shop’s doors to be  shut — at least for now.  As of Thursday night there was no mention of the closure on the company’s website.

Seelig wouldn’t comment to the television station after the court hearing Thursday.

The state Department of Agriculture says testing on the bread came back at 5,000 parts per million of gluten, they say that’s too high for regular cross contamination in the kitchen.

Stay tuned for new developments in this one.

Starbucks & gluten-free

It appears that Starbucks hasn’t forgotten about us after their Orange Valencia cake debacle last spring. But now I found out, courtesy of Gluten-Free Living’s blog, that Starbucks is now carrying a few gluten-free options—at least in a few stores.

Lucy’s gluten-free (and free of other allergens) cookies are now being stocked on some of the shelves at Starbucks. I reviewed these cookies last summer. They were yummy! I loved the gluten-free oatmeal cookies as I mentioned in a review I did last September. I am not a coffee drinker but I might have to stop by my local Starbucks to see if they have the cookies here in Minnesota.

Redbridge Rumors

Kudos again to Gluten-Free Living’s blog for debunking rumors that Anheuser Busch’s gluten-free Redbridge Beer isn’t going anywhere. There have apparently been rumblings that the company was going to discontinue what really has become a groundbreaking mainstream beer that celiacs have been enjoying now for several years.

The blog says,

“A company spokesperson…told Gluten-Free Living the beer giant has no plans to discontinue Redbridge in the near or distant future.”

Maggiano’s closing in Edina, MN

By the end of this month, a restaurant that offers gluten-free options, Maggiano’s Little Italy will be gone from Minnesota. The restaurant that would tweak pasta recipes and substitute them with gluten-free pasta, is closing its only restaurant in the state; which was located at Southdale Center in Edina. In fact it’s already off the map on the company website.

Such a bummer. Because Edina is a 30 minute drive for me, I didn’t get there often, but I was there last November and loved my meal! I even blogged about it. The closest one for me now is in Wisconsin. Boo…

Celiac disease reveals itself in many unexpected ways: brittle bones, hair loss, poor teeth, even diseased organs, etc. Now new research adds another way it shows itself–neurologically or in their psyche.

Many of us know of people who’ve complained of depression-like symptoms or being short-tempered, this research talks about that, but also goes beyond  it.

The article, published in December in Movement Disorders, and republished in Medscape, says that  25% of the celiac patients had a history of migraine, while 20% had carpel tunnel syndrome.  Researchers called these “common symptoms” of celiac disease.  But also, 35% of respondents said they had “a history of depression, personality changes, or psychosis.”

The article goes onto say:

“About a third of patients had stance and gait problems, and many experienced deep sensory loss and reduced ankle reflexes.”

“‘Gait disturbances in celiac disease do not only result from cerebellar ataxia but also from proprioceptive or vestibular impairment,’ report investigators led by Katrin Bürk, MD, from the University of Marburg in Germany. ‘Neurological problems may develop despite strict adherence to a gluten-free diet.’”

That last part is a doozie.  “Neurological problems may develop DESPITE strict adherence to a gluten-free diet”…WHAT? Everything we’ve always known has been that symptoms should dissipate or disappear with the gluten-free diet.

Researchers also were surprised at the few number of people with epilepsy — only 5% reported this.

What causes neurological problems in celiac patients?

So what is the trigger? Researchers really aren’t sure about the connection between celiac and neurological or psychological disorders.  But they did discuss nutrients in the body, or lack thereof , as being a potential problem.

“Deficiencies in folic acid, vitamin E, and biopterin have been implicated in the pathogenesis; however, the investigators report that replacement therapy does not resolve clinical symptoms in most cases.”

And that’s only one possibility they looked at.

Finally researchers concluded that it’s no accident that people with celiac disease could have neurological trouble. And that a gluten-free diet wasn’t a cure-all in this case.

“The investigators suggest that because of the considerable clinical variability, many different pathogenic mechanisms are likely to contribute to the neurological and psychiatric dysfunction in celiac disease.”

Yes these suggestions are vague and will anyone really care about this research?  Maybe not, but if celiac is triggering neurological and psychiatric symptoms, then we should be looking into it.  From the sounds of it, some of these symptoms could be lifelong with or without the diet.  But it’s always better to have the diet going and see what symptoms will improve.

Note: I first saw this research on Celiac.com, so I wanted to give them credit for being on top of the latest research.

Anyone who reads the blog knows that celiac disease is “in” for us—all the time. But recently the Washington Post gave it some love too in “The List” which apparently details what’s in and what’s out for 2010. The only thing that sorta stinks about the list is that it declares celiac “in” at the expense of another serious ailment.

The Washington Post’s article declares that “Journey is out”, “Hall and Oates is in”; “platform sandals are out” and “thigh-high boots are in”; “peanut allergies are out” and “celiac disease is in”. (insert scratching record sound here). What?

Wow! Someone/thing who thinks celiac disease is popular? Could someone please tell the rest of the country and the medical community that?

“In and Out”

I have several feelings about this story. My first is this – yippee! I am more than delighted for someone to say that celiac disease is “in”. If this list raises awareness for the disease that affects 3 million people and isn’t diagnosed for 97% of those Americans. It is important for the general public to hear about celiac disease as often as they hear about peanut allergies.

Second, I don’t want celiac to be “in” at the expense of peanut allergies. Peanut allergies are incredibly dangerous! As Julia Bradsher, chief executive officer of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, said in her opinion piece which recently was published on the Washington Post’s website,

“A peanut allergy is most certainly not a fad to be categorized as ‘in’ or ‘out.’ It is unfortunate that an institution as venerable as The Post chose to treat it so lightly.”

Peanut allergies often cause an instantaneous gut or anaphylactic reaction for anyone who is exposed by eating or even breathing “peanutty” air. For most celiacs, we can at least be surrounded by gluten (well maybe not if you work in a bakery, pizza place or as a dry waller) and not get sick.

Celiacs also don’t have to carry life-saving medication around with us 24-hours a day if we accidentally ingest gluten. While we would love a pill that lessens our symptoms after getting glutenized, it all pales in comparison to the epi-pen people with peanut allergies have; which, when used, usually includes a trip to the emergency room.

Comparing awareness

With that said, I would like to play a little devil’s advocate here though. I found an article published on medicinenet.com that sourced the British Medical Journal when it reported that peanut allergies affect 1.1% of the population which is about 3 million Americans. Granted the research that was sourced here was from 1996. I concede that the statistic may have changed in the last 14 years, but if it remained roughly the same, that statistic is similar to the numbers of people with celiac disease! I was pretty surprised when I saw that statistic.

Please understand I’m not trying to offend anyone with a peanut allergy, I am just trying to point out the lack of general public awareness of celiac disease in comparison to peanut allergy, despite the two ailments affecting roughly the same number of people. Does anyone else find this shocking? I would have thought many more people had a peanut allergy.

I tried to find a statistic that supported how many people knew about peanut allergies.  But I had no success.  However, in passing, I have found most people have heard of or know what a peanut allergy is. There are peanut-free zones in schools, day cares; many airplanes don’t serve peanuts anymore all because of this allergy. All of this is no doubt because of the dangerous reaction.

But on the celiac side, I found an interesting unscientific poll on Facebook of all places asking people just one question, “Have you ever heard of celiac disease?” Of the respondents 67% had never heard of it. 31% responded yes that they had heard of it. And only one said “Yes…Maybe? I have if it’s that thing where your small intestine gets damaged by your immune system when you eat certain stuff.” I left it in the “maybe” column, although he’s on the right track.

Raising Celiac Awareness

Clearly raising awareness for celiac needs to increase.  Groups like the Celiac Disease Awareness Campaign, the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, and the American Celiac Alliance are doing their best to get the word out. But still so many people remain undiagnosed and even more don’t understand what it is.

What can we do? Get involved! Volunteer or be an advocate for celiac disease. Check out these organizations or volunteer with a group closer to you, you may be able to make a difference and create greater public awareness for celiac disease.

We celiacs are always looking for the best kinds of bread ever right?  Lucky for us, so many companies are experimenting with recipes to make eating more enjoyable for people who are gluten-free.  French Meadow Bakery is one of those companies.  It’s also enjoyable to talk about a Minnesota company every once and a while.

French Meadow Bakery's White Sandwich Bread

French Meadow has done a great job of working on its share of the gluten-free market.  Super Target had been selling gluten-free French Meadow’s brownies (yum) and the chocolate chip cookies (convenient) for a while.  Although I’d seen them deeply discounted and I was worried about their future at the mainstream store.  Regardless, we end up getting the brownies whenever we see them.  But I digress…

Recently the company turned out a few kinds of breads that the Linden Hills Co-op is now carrying.  I tried the multi-grain and the sandwich bread.  I thought both were very tasty.  The sandwich bread was spongy and good when warmed up with butter.

The Multi-grain was not quite for my daughter, but I thought it had a good sweet taste (I don’t like soury or a majorly strong grain flavor) and descent texture.

Overall my feeling is that it was as good alternative to some of the other gluten-free breads on the market.  However, I wasn’t too impressed with the size of the loaf.  It seems small (although it is 15 oz.). When I brought Udi’s bread recently, even though it is only 12 oz, the loaf  looked physically bigger.

While I thought the price for the French Meadow bread was steep for such a small loaf (label says one slice per serving and the loaf has 8 servings), in reality it appears to be about average when you look at cost per ounce.  Using prices on company websites, I priced out two other somewhat comparable loaves of bread along with French Meadow:

Udi’s Multigrain 12 ounces at approximately $5.00: 41 cents/ounce

French Meadow Multigrain 15 ounces at approximately $5.00: 33 cents/ounce

Kinnikinnick Brown Bread 20 ounces for $5.70: 28 cents/ounce

If your search seems never-ending for a good gluten-free bread and you haven’t tried French Meadow yet, it’s worth a shot, even though the loaf is somewhat petite.

If you’ve been reading my blog over the last two weeks you know with the help of people in the celiac community we’ve been looking back at the last decade and ahead at the new decade. This week’s post that looked ahead at our hopes for the next ten years, showed how most celiacs hope for a cure or a pill to mitigate symptoms of a gluten-reaction. But just because some people didn’t have some of the most common answers doesn’t mean they’re not worthwhile to discuss.

Mass testing for celiac disease

A few people talked about how they would like to see testing for all Americans. It’s no wonder people would like to see this happen, the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center reports 3 million Americans have celiac disease and 97% of them are undiagnosed.

For now, there is no plan for mass testing for celiac disease. However recent studies have actually considered it. Last July when a Mayo Clinic study declared that celiac is more common than in the 1950’s, Dr. Joseph Murray hinted at the idea, “This study suggests that we may need to consider looking for celiac disease in the general population, more like we do in testing for cholesterol or blood pressure.”  It will take some time before that happens, I am sure.

What would the United States look like if all 3 million Americans that have celiac were finally diagnosed?

Fabulous Gluten-Free Flour

One respondent mentioned how if there wouldn’t be a cure in the next decade maybe there could be something else…. “Otherwise, a grain that really, REALLY is a match for regular flour that would make our baked goods as good as the stuff we’re missing.”

Right now all of us are probably either buying or making our own gluten-free flour mixes. Some of them already have the binder, xanthan gum, in them and others you have to add the xanthan gum. I suppose if we found this maybe we wouldn’t be nearly as worried about a cure because our food would taste like perfection? Certainly an interesting thought.

A Little Respect for Gluten-Sensitivity

So people with gluten-sensitivity don’t have celiac, as a result, the blood tests aren’t very helpful. Yet gluten may be giving them trouble. In some cases people with a gluten-sensitivity may go for years—perhaps a lifetime never knowing about this sensitivity. Basically, you may have some or all of the discomforts of celiac disease but possibly without the damage to the gut and the medical acknowledgement that you have something that’s ailing you. Frustrating.

A handful of people talked about this. One person wrote that they’d like to see “the truth about gluten sensitivity which is the inclusion of accurate tests from the medical system.” Another person wrote, “More research done on testing..I’m convinced that blood samples don’t catch gluten sensitivity until considerable damage has been done in the body.”

Summing it up:

While those subjects may not have been the most popular – like doing a cure, these suggestions are definitely issues that many of us are dealing with or think about often. And maybe they should be issues to take on in the next decade.