Why I started blogging and October is Celiac Disease Awareness Month

This blog started out as a way to organize my recipes and gluten free cooking experiments for my sister. We have way different taste preferences. I like intense flavors. She likes mild flavors. I like spicy foods. She likes bland foods. (Though she does eat sauteed garlic & onions.) I prefer only chocolate desserts. She doesn't like chocolate.

A couple years ago after the death of her husband my sister discoverred she had celiac disease. So I ordered a lot of books on Gluten Free Cooking, Allergies and Celiac Disease from the library and looked up information on-line. Then I started cooking treats for her.

Overall a gluten free diet isn't too bad if you have a not too rigorous schedule, can eat at home and your family is willing to also eat gluten free. Basically you can eat plain fruits, vegetables, potatoes, rice, quinoa, millet and unflavored meat. However the typical American diet contains lot of processed foods and eating out with kids in sports and other activities.

Gluten Free foods have become more available over the years but tend to be a lot more expensive. Even the ingredients are expensive. In the past it was very difficult to get gluten free products but now many Pic n' Save grocery stores carry them. A great store staffed by great, knowledgeable people (most who can't eat gluten) is The Gluten Free Trading Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin http://www.food4celiacs.com/ .

October is Celiac Disease Awareness month and NIH has launched a Celiac Disease Awareness Campaign for Health Care Providers and the Public. All I can say is, it's about time. Just a couple months ago I heard a doctor on the radio telling a caller diagnosed with Celiac Disease that once their symptoms cleared up they could go back to eating regular bread up to the point where they could tolerate it. I sent him an email but there was not even a automatic response.

Here's some info from NIH:

• www.dermatitisherpetiformis.org.uk/dhocblog/2006/08/nih-launches-celiac-disease-awareness.html
• www.celiac.nih.gov/http://consensus.nih.gov/2004/2004CeliacDisease118html.htm

Since we have several people with CD in our area my sister was lucky and knowledgeable enough to ask her doctor to run the necessary tests. However, it seems to be me that this is not a disease that doctors are trained to recognize and therefore most people have to be proactive and insistent. It was true several years ago and it still seems to be true today.

• "All it took to alleviate their symptoms was a gluten free diet": http://cbs2.com/health/health_story_280015610.html
• "How we got diagnosed" http://onlysometimesclever.wordpress.com/2006/09/29/more-on-celiac-disease-how-we-got-diagnosed/

I read about an enzyme that could help Celiac Disease patients tolerate gluten about a year ago. It's still in the experimental stages but supposedly could help prevent a reaction if you accidently consume gluten. (It's very difficult to escape some cross contamination if you eat out and your family continues to eat foods containing gluten.)

• http://www.newstarget.com/020273.html
• http://www.reactivereports.com/57/57_4.html
• http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/celiac-disease-and-food-additive.html