Sure Foods Living - gluten-free and allergen-free living

This year’s double birthday party featured a Hawaiian theme. We went to Hawaii on vacation this summer and my girls fell in love with a hula dancer we saw. (I also encouraged the Hawaii idea so I could re-use the fish decorations I have used the last two years! I am running out of themes featuring the ocean.)

Once again, my mom made the cakes with Pamela’s chocolate cake mixes, and they were gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. I have already frozen the leftovers for any future cake needs that arise — I will keep the frosting as is or scrape it off and refrost as necessary!

We had 12 little girls and invited the parents to stay for food and Mai Tais made with my husband’s grandfather’s secret Mai Tai recipe from Hawaii. You only needed one!
The gluten-free dinner menu included:

• Quinoa tabouleh salad with cucumber, tomatoes, green onions, mint, parsley, lemon juice, feta cheese
• Black bean salad with corn, jicama, red pepper, and cucumber, tossed in a vinaigrette
• Oven roasted baby gold potatoes
• Barbecued Aidell’s chicken apple and cajun style andouille sausages
• Freshly cut pineapple

The party was a success, complete with tiki mask pinata, treasure hunt and a spontaneous dance party at the end. It is hilarious to hear 6 and 4 year olds singing, “All the single ladies!” They are growing up too fast!

Past birthday posts:
Happy Birthday to my girls and wow! gluten-free mermaid cakes! 2009
Happy Birthday to my girls 2008

I’ve already asked the question: Is the gluten-free diet a fad or here to stay? more than once. Now the Today Show weighs in on whether the gluten-free diet is a fad weight-loss diet…

Thoughts?

This is important! All type 1 diabetic patients, regardless of the presence of symptoms, should be regularly screened for celiac disease. This was the message at The Endocrine Society 92nd Annual Meeting, based on findings in a new study of Type 1 diabetics.

I’ll break down the numbers for you, as I understand them:

• 493 patients were screened for celiac disease within roughly 3 months of being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
• 25 of these patients had positive celiac blood tests on their initial screening. Of those who tested negative the first time around, 14 tested positive the second time, making the total number of patients with a positive blood test 39, or 8% of those screened.
• Of the patients who tested positive on the blood test, 12 had positive biopsies (one showed a positive biopsy 5 years after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.) 7 have not been biopsied.

Now, these numbers are compelling, but I still believe the number of those with a gluten problem is higher. We know that the tests for celiac miss people. A lot of people. I wonder if the gluten intolerance or sensitivity, undetected by mainstream tests, contributed to the onset of  diabetes. The diabetes gets noticed first, because doctors understand it, are aware of it, know how to diagnose it, and to treat it, but perhaps it is another symptom of gluten wreaking havoc on the body.

Having diabetes is hard. Having celiac is hard. Having them both — well, I can’t speak from personal experience, but I imagine it is doubly hard. I can also imagine that someone with type 1 diabetes or a parent of someone with type 1 diabetes would not want to think about having celiac too. But I hope that my urging to pay attention to gluten will get someone’s attention out there.

Undiagnosed celiac disease or gluten intolerance can lead to very serious problems. As stated in an article about the study, “Undiagnosed celiac disease might cause significant morbidity… Short-term complications include growth disturbances, weight loss, and difficulty achieving glycemic control in type 1 diabetics. Long-term complications can include small bowel malignancy.” And these are just a few of the many symptoms and associated conditions related to celiac disease and gluten intolerance.

To read articles about the study, go to the Global Diabetes Community or to Medscape.com (sign up for a free account).

Does anyone have a personal story about gluten and diabetes?

It is common knowledge now in the gluten-free community that most oats are contaminated with wheat. For this reason, certified gluten-free oats have become available and are increasingly being used in cereals, bars and cookies. I have wondered about other grains — why would oats be the only ones when surely other grains are grown near, processed, stored, and transported with wheat? Though I wondered about it, I didn’t pursue it, probably because I never really wanted to know the answer!

The answer is here, and it’s not good news. In a study conducted by registered dietitian Tricia Thompson, Anne Lee of Schar, and Thomas Grace of Bia Diagnostics, 7 of  22 (32%) samples of naturally gluten-free grains, seeds and flours tested contained mean gluten levels above 20 ppm with amounts ranging from 25 to 2,925 ppm. What does this mean? Some foods we think of as being naturally gluten-free actually contain higher than the proposed FDA amount of allowable gluten (20 parts per million or ppm).

This poses a problem for the FDA’s proposal regarding gluten-free claims on food. Under the proposed FDA rule, gluten-free oats can have a gluten-free claim on them because some oats are contaminated with wheat and are not gluten-free. An “inherently gluten-free” food, on the other hand, such as apples, would not be allowed to have a gluten-free claim on them unless it was stated that “all apples are gluten-free” or something to that effect. Apples are obviously gluten-free so putting a gluten-free claim is considered misbranding of those particular apples. But what about these other grains?

Gluten-free grains, seeds and flours that many of us eat every day were found to be contaminated with wheat. The most contaminated samples in this study were soy flour, millet flour and sorghum flour. Thompson notes on her blog entry about the study that “sampling was not large enough to make any assessment on the overall percentage of contaminated product. Sampling also was not large enough to make any inferences on the specific grains, flours, and seeds more or less likely to be contaminated.”

This study might open a can of worms for the FDA, which must decide what a gluten-free label claim means. It also opens a can of worms for the gluten-free community… what are we to do now? Trace every grain, seed and flour, including those used as ingredients in gluten-free products, back to its origin to ensure that it has not been contaminated with wheat? Let’s hope that testing continues and that more information becomes available regarding this issue.

Read more about the study:
Abstract from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association
Contamination of Naturally Gluten-Free Grains

If we had to be just gluten-free in my family, that would be easy with so many great gluten-free products on the market now. But my older daughter is allergic to eggs, and many gluten-free products contain eggs or call for eggs in their recipes. Making good, fluffy gluten-free and egg-free pancakes is one of the biggest challenges.

One mix that I have found to work really well is The Cravings Place All-Purpose Pancake and Waffle Mix. None of the mixes made by The Cravings Place contain nor require the use of eggs. This mix is easy to use — you just pour out as much mix as you want, then add water until it is the right consistency for pancakes. I usually make little pancakes and they always turn out light and fluffy.

Lately I have been adding teff flour to the dry mix before adding the water. I don’t measure — just dump some in. The teff ups the nutrition of the pancakes, and amazingly, the fluffiness isn’t compromised. It turns the pancakes from white to brown with the teff added in, but my 5 year old daughter didn’t mind, especially when I told her that teff makes people run really fast! I tried adding quinoa flour this morning, but the taste and smell of the quinoa was too strong. I’ll stick with teff.

From the company’s website:
“This mix was designed especially for children so the flavor is very mild. This is a great thing so depending on your dietary restictions add your favorite ingredients such as fruit, nuts, oats or flavorings to create your own yummy recipes.”

Ingredients:
BROWN RICE FLOUR, WHITE RICE FLOUR, VANILLA BEAN POWDER (vanilla beans, corn based dextrose), SEA SALT, XANTHAN GUM, NON-ALUMINUM BAKING POWDER (sodium acid pyrophosphate, bicarbonate of soda, corn starch (from non GMO corn), calcium acid phosphate), BAKING SODA.

The Cravings Place mixes are produced in a dedicated allergen free facility. I buy the mixes 6 at a time on Amazon.

If you know of any other good gluten-free egg-free pancakes, feel free to leave the info in a comment!

When I hear of someone who is vegetarian or vegan and doesn’t feel well, I think of gluten. I have nothing against people who don’t eat meat. I just think that vegetarianism has changed over the years from being about eating grains, fruits and vegetables to eating processed meat alternatives. There is a danger lurking in the meat substitutes that have become so popular, and that danger is gluten.

Gluten is a primary ingredient in meat replacement products because of its ability to have the texture of meat. Extracted from wheat, gluten is pure protein, the very part which many people cannot tolerate. In my 20s, I decided to cut down on my meat consumption and Boca Burgers became a common item in my freezer — I loved them and thought I was being healthy. It was also in my 20s that I became sicker and sicker. I’m not blaming Boca Burgers for my downfall– that would be stretching it! But I do think that there is far too much gluten in the average diet, and even in the diets of people who think they are being ultra-healthy by not eating meat.

Just to give an example of how gluten shows up in place of meat, I will compare a hamburger to a Morningstar Farms Veggie Burger:

In a homemade hamburger, there is usually one ingredient: BEEF, and maybe some SPICES.
In a Morningstar Farms Veggie Burger, there are many ingredients involved in making it taste and feel like meat, including gluten ingredients (shown in bold below):

TEXTURED VEGETABLE PROTEIN (WHEAT GLUTEN, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, WATER FOR HYDRATION), CORN OIL, SUNFLOWER OIL, EGG WHITES, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF CORNSTARCH, NATURAL FLAVORS FROM NON-MEAT SOURCES, SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, SALT, CARAMEL COLOR, ONION POWDER, SPICES, HYDROLYZED VEGETABLE PROTEIN (CORN, WHEAT, AND SOY), GARLIC POWDER, POTATO STARCH, MALTODEXTRIN, DISODIUM GUANYLATE, DISODIUM INOSINATE, SUCCINIC ACID, SUGAR, NONFAT DRY MILK, SOYBEAN OIL, WHEAT FIBER.

Here are the ingredients of the original Boca Burger that I loved:

WATER, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, WHEAT GLUTEN, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF METHYLCELLULOSE, SALT, CARAMEL COLOR, DRIED ONIONS, YEAST EXTRACT, SESAME OIL, HYDROLYZED WHEAT PROTEIN, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR (NON-MEAT), DISODIUM GUANYLATE, DISODIUM INOSINATE. CONTAINS: SOY, WHEAT, SESAME.

In addition to eating a lot of gluten in these specialty non-meat foods, many vegetarians are also consuming gluten in other foods such as pasta, cereals, crackers, breads and all the other wheat-based foods that are staples in our society.

I write this post as a caution to those who think that they should be feeling better than they do because they eat a vegetarian or vegan diet. It could be what you are eating a lot of that is making you feel worse, not better. I don’t believe that overloading on gluten and soy is a healthy way to live. There are many people living both vegetarian or vegan AND gluten-free.

What do you think? Do vegetarians and vegans eat more gluten than others?

I can’t believe it has been three years since I posted an article called Is gluten-free a fad? Since then, more and more people have started eating gluten-free and it seems that the gluten-free world has just exploded wide open (finally!) And, just like three years ago, the gluten-free diet has been termed a fad diet in news articles, on blogs and in comments like this one posted on my site just a few days ago:

Of course this is a fad! …  If wheat or barley were unhealthy to the general population, I’m fairly certain we would’ve come to that conclusion over the last 6,000 years of cultivation. I guess we should all “make the choice” to not eat other things, like fruit (MANY food allergies related to fruit proteins) or any type of nut (nut allergies are much more common than celiac) or breathe the air which contains pollen (by far most common allergy) Come on people, think about this before you write ridiculous things, or decide not to eat an important group of foods. There is no doubt in my mind of “fad” status. Just like anti-sugar, pro-agave, or anti-gelatin, pro-pectin, whatever it may be. Most people ARE NOT SMART ENOUGH to think about these things, and come to their own sound conclusions, so PLEASE stop spreading the inane “hype” which only inflames the ignorance. IF YOU ARE DETERMINED TO BE GLUTEN INTOLERANT, DON’T EAT GLUTEN. IF NOT, FEEL FREE. Simple as that. Apply this to other food-allergy-related questions as necessary.

My response:

The fact is that we are eating more gluten than ever before. And more dairy. And more soy, etc. Even sesame allergies are increasing… why? Because people are consuming more and more sesame. Same goes for sugar consumption. So there is the reality that our environment (what we eat) is changing and our bodies cannot cope with the change.

Unless your statistics are different than mine, there are about the same number of people with nut allergies as there are with celiac. This doesn’t include the many more who are non-celiac gluten intolerant. Food allergies are also much different than gluten intolerance or celiac disease — with food allergies, you generally know right away that you are reacting to it. With intolerance or even celiac disease, the symptoms can be more subtle and can develop over time. There is no reason to avoid a food if you are not allergic or intolerant to it. But if you are, then you should.

It doesn’t take determination to be gluten intolerant, but it does take determination to get diagnosed, to recognize that gluten and other foods really are responsible for people’s ill health and to stay on the diet. I personally write about being gluten-free and hope to educate others so they don’t have to be sick like I was. It’s frustrating and depressing to think about relatives whose lives could have been longer and healthier if only we had known about the problems that gluten can cause.

I wonder why you are so anti-gluten-free?

I believe the logic that is being used to call the gluten-free diet a fad is as follows:
1% of the population has celiac disease (every article and doctor quotes the celiac statistic as this). Of this 1%, only 3% are diagnosed (another statistic often quoted). So clearly, more than just diagnosed celiacs are buying and eating gluten-free food. Therefore, the people buying gluten-free foods who are not celiacs don’t really need to be eating it and are doing it because it is popular or to lose weight.

Here is the key point that is missing from this logic and continues to be my frustration… there exist more people with gluten sensitivity than people with celiac disease! It is a real condition, just like celiac disease. Just because there are no official statistics does not mean that it doesn’t exist. And this will change in the next few years, I’m sure. (For more of my opinions on this, read Think Outside the Celiac Box.) People buy gluten-free food because it makes them feel better. Couldn’t this mean that they are gluten intolerant? That is my simple logic. Also, the definition of a fad is something that is embraced very enthusiastically for a short time. This gluten-free thing is not going away!

What do you think? Fad or here to stay? How would you respond to the commenter who seems to think that gluten-free people are pushing their agenda on others?

I want to let you know about my revised Gluten-Free Diet Guide for 2010!

The gluten-free diet can be overwhelming at first, especially when presented with huge lists, or even books, explaining what you can and can’t eat. My goal in creating this guide has always been to make this diet easy to understand, and to give people immediate knowledge to begin the gluten-free diet with confidence instead of confusion.

I also have a new print feature on the website — just click the Print button above any article to display it in print-ready format. The Gluten-Free Diet Guide is a great one to print!

To find the Gluten-Free Diet Guide in the future, click on the Celiac and Gluten-Free Info link - you will find it listed there!

P.F. Chang’s truly goes out of their way to accommodate the gluten-free diner and anyone with food allergies. I recently took my daughter there and they made her an entirely different entree due to her multiple allergies. They are always warm and assuring and my daughter asks to go back to “the noodle place.” They have also been very generous with our local Gluten Intolerance Group. This is one restaurant that really gets it!

And now, the great news — they have now expanded their gluten-free menu to include BEEF! See the press release below, and their menu…

P.F. CHANG’S CHINA BISTRO LAUNCHES EXPANDED GLUTEN FREE MENU
Enhanced Offering Includes 5 New Beef Entrees and a Total of 28 Dishes

Scottsdale, AZ. (March 8, 2010) - P.F. Chang’s China Bistro (NASDAQ: PFCB) announced today a newly expanded Gluten Free Menu, featuring beef entrees for the first time.  Gluten intolerant diners can now enjoy a wider range of dining options, from P.F. Chang’s signature Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Mongolian Beef to a Flourless Chocolate Dome for dessert.

“More and more of our guests are asking for gluten free options and we’re proud to offer them a greater variety of P.F. Chang’s classics,” said Gregg Piazzi, Director of Culinary Training for P.F. Chang’s China Bistro.  “P.F. Chang’s is sensitive to all of the food allergies and dining requirements of our guests and we strive to serve customized cuisine that meets each diner’s individual needs.”

P.F. Chang’s upholds a rigorous gluten free cooking process to ensure the dietary safety of guests with celiac disease. The restaurant’s staff takes all the necessary measures of precaution during the preparation and serving of gluten free dishes.

The newly expanded Gluten Free Menu features the following items:
Entrées:

• GF Shrimp with Lobster Sauce - $12.95
• GF Moo Goo Gai Pan -$13.25
• GF Ginger Chicken With Broccoli - $12.75
• GF Philip’s Better Lemon Chicken - $12.95
• GF Chang’s Spicy Chicken - $12.95
• GF Chang’s Lemon Scallops - $14.95
• GF Salmon Steamed With Ginger - $17.95
• GF Cantonese Shrimp or Scallops - $14.95
• GF Mongolian Beef - $14.95
• GF Beef with Broccoli - $11.95
• GF Beef a La Sichuan - $13.95
• GF Pepper Steak - $13.25
• GF Hong Kong Beef with Snow Peas - $10.25
• GF Dali Chicken - $12.95

Starter:

• GF Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps - $7.95

Soup:

• GF Egg Drop Soup Cup - $2.95/Bowl - $5.95

Noodles:

• GF Singapore Street Noodles - $9.95

Rice:

• GF P.F. Chang’s Fried Rice - $7.95/Combo - $9.95

Vegetarian:

• GF Buddha’s Feast - $7.50

Sides (Small: $2.95/Large: $4.95):

• GF Spinach Stir-Fried with Garlic
• GF Garlic Snap Peas
• GF Shanghai Cucumbers

Dessert:

• GF Flourless Chocolate Dome - $5.95

Lunch Bowls:

• GF Buddha’s Feast - $7.25
• GF Shrimp with Lobster Sauce - $8.95
• GF Moo Goo Gai Pan - $8.95
• GF Beef with Broccoli - $8.95
• GF Pepper Steak - $8.95

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc.

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc. owns and operates two restaurant concepts in the Asian niche. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro features a blend of high-quality, Chinese-inspired cuisine and American hospitality in a sophisticated, contemporary bistro setting. Pei Wei Asian Diner offers a modest menu of freshly prepared Asian cuisine in a relaxed, warm environment offering attentive counter service and take-out flexibility.

“Winning Without Wheat: How a gluten-free diet powers one of the best cycling teams in the world — and how it can help you perform better and recover faster.”

This is the title of this month’s Men’s Journal Magazine report on a professional cycling team that was advised by their team doctor to cut out the gluten during the racing season. The results? Improved performance all around.

A couple of quotes from team members, as reported in the article:
“I just had all-around better digestion, and digestion is the biggest thing in utilizing the energy I consume.”
“My performance really improved a lot — there was definitely a correlation.”

Would being gluten-free help every athlete’s physical performance? It depends on who you ask. There are mainstream celiac-focused doctors who say that there is no evidence to suggest that a gluten-free diet helps those who do not suffer from celiac disease. However, there are other doctors and diet specialists who are now realizing the far-reaching effects of gluten, not just on those with biopsy-proven celiac disease. Gluten intolerance or gluten sensitivity may affect much more of the population than anyone currently knows, or that any studies currently show. And there is still another thought that wheat is simply difficult to digest for any human being. So, bad tummy = poor performance.

My own athletic performance was certainly affected in the years before I was diagnosed with celiac disease. An avid runner, volleyball player and skiier, I experienced physical challenges. Exercise-induced asthma, aching knees and leg cramps forced me to stop in the middle of my runs. Temporary blindness like whiteouts halted me at the top of ski runs, and again those painful leg cramps inside my ski boots practically made my cry. Playing volleyball with digestive problems certainly didn’t help me soar to new heights! Since being gluten-free, I am a better athlete physically. No more asthma, leg cramps, joint pain or bad stomach to hold me back. (So what’s my excuse going to be now??)

The question that really remains is: how many people out there are sensitive or intolerant to gluten? If the number is high (as I believe it to be), then it makes sense that many athletes would experience benefits from a gluten-free diet.