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Round Up! Gluten Free, Celiac and Nutrition News and Notables

Erin | Nov 27, 2010 | Comments 4

It’s been a month since my last round up post!

Yikes!

I can’t begin to catch you up on ALL the highlights, but we’ll hit a few of the high points for your reading pleasure.

And, I hope everyone had a healthy, safe, and fun Thanksgiving for those of us in the US.

Onward!

The ABC News debacle: Some of you my have already read my rant about the inaccuracies in the ABC news clip about celiac disease and the gluten free diet. There were lots of other blog posts about how disappointing this piece was. Dr. Vikki Petersen released a Youtube video and also posted an article. My friend Wendy at Celiacs in the House posted a list of all the produce her family had eaten in the past week. Unhealthy and lacking in fiber, indeed. They can kiss my tight, healthy, gluten free butt Another article on Escape the Herd pointed out the lack of consistency with Dr. Green, which is quite disappointing. I am bringing this up again because I think that it is very important that we, as the gluten free community and consumers, continue to push back against the notion that a gluten free diet is “unsafe” and ask for higher nutrition in the gluten free processed goods, on the rare occasion when we choose to consume them. Education and awareness must be our weapon of choice. Let’s fight the good fight.

Speaking of education and awareness, my friend Shirley at Gluten Free Easily (along with a few other gluten free bloggers, including Maureen of Hold the Gluten my fellow podcaster [yes I know I haven't done a podcast in a while I will before the end of 2010!]) took a trip to the General Mills Mother Ship to discuss/test their gluten free products and knowledge. Read Shirley’s incredibly thorough and detailed article. She, and the others, are truly ambassadors for our cause.

Starbucks is starting to really annoy me. In this post, Jules (of the famed Jules Gluten Free Flour, which I hear is amazing, but admittedly have not tried, I don’t use grain based flour much at all) explains how Starbucks has stated that it cannot guarantee that even it’s coffee is gluten free. Seriously. Read the post for the quoted email exchange. I understand that the lawyers have to cover their butts, but that seems a little ridiculous. But, it reinforces something that Shirley and I (and others, I’m sure) are preaching all the time. You can eat/drink safely in many locations that don’t necessarily have a gluten free menu, you just have to take the time to explain to the staff your needs, and the precautions they must take. 9 times out of 10 they are very happy to accommodate. If they are not, move on down the road and find someone else who will be happy to serve you and take your money.

Thanksgiving may be over this year in the States, but there are always more holidays to come. My friend Kim over at Cook IT Allergy Free posted an absolutely awesome allergy friendly Thanksgiving prep series. She even included a time line and a shopping list. Go read, marvel at her organizational skills, and bookmark it.

The Gluten Free Goddess, Karina, has my mouth watering again with her gluten and grain free peanut butter banana cake. Yummers. You could easily susbstitute almond butter if you are legume free. She uses almond and coconut flour, my two favorites. I used them both and explained a bit about each in one of my healthier chocolate chip cookie recipes.

Runner’s World posted what was a not-terrible article on the gluten free diet and runners. For a mainstream publication, this was pretty good and explained the pros and cons well. Gave me a bit of hope after the ABC news debacle.

Amy Leger wrote an excellent article that was posted on celiac.com for families who are cooking for someone with celiac disease. This is a wonderful resource to point people to.

Mark’s Daily Apple published an article about taking a critical view of research studies. This is important. Research is necessary, and an important part of making an educated and informed decision, but you must look at all factors involved.

Foodeducate (on of my favorite blogs to read) posted an excellent an eye opening article titled “In Less than 10 years, Either You or Your Spouse will have Diabetes.” Read it. Get scared, and make a positive change.

One of the smartest guys I know, Lyle McDonald, (not personally, in the i-read-your-stuff-because-it’s-really-good sense) posted a series of articles last week on his volunteer experience at the Austin Humane Society. Read it. Have your credit card and a box of Kleenex handy. Then call your local shelter and sign up. (And if you are interested in losing fat, buy Lyle’s Guide to Flexible Dieting while you’re over there. As he says, great book, terrible title. It’s one that every person interested in weight control should own.)

Lastly, my colleague at Hive Health Media, Doug, posted an excellent article on perceived body image and the differences between guys and gals, as well as how things have changed over the years. Excellent read.

Have a fantastic weekend all!

If you are stuck inside for whatever reason, you can read:

And if you want more, Gluten Free and Fit 101 has a lot more in store!

If you STILL don’t have enough, get my free nutrition guide.

And that should give you enough reading for a while.

If you STILL want more, or you just want a step by step, simple, checklist approach to cleaning up your diet, check out 7 Quick Start Tips to Living a Healthy Gluten Free Fit Life.

Then get up and do something active!