Photo: CC-DanBrady

Coeliac UK, Britain's leading celiac disease organization has finalized an agreement for all European countries to use a single universal gluten-free symbol on the front of all packaging for gluten-free products.

Roasted Dungeness Crab. Photo: CC--bbum

From Alaska to Mexico, winter means crab season. Dungeness crabs get their name from the town of Dungeness, Washington, where they were first harvested commercially. They are known for having sweet, tender meat.

Photo: CC - sea town

A team of researchers recently conducted a prospective controlled study on a gluten-free diet and autoimmune thyroiditis in patients with celiac disease.

Photo: CC - greencolander

A number of breweries have been labeling certain of their barley-brewed beers as 'low gluten." The breweries have contended that the brewing process eliminates or reduces the gluten content in beer to levels that make it acceptable for people with sensitivity to gluten.

Photo: CC--attercop311

A Canadian woman is fighting a battle with the government of British Columbia to protect the services that allow her 18-year old daughter to live at home in Quesnel, B.C., with 24-hour care — much of it provided by Shelley McGarry herself.

Photo: CC-USDAgov

Perhaps due to a combination of public information efforts and higher diagnosis rates, but awareness of celiac disease, gluten-free and other food sensitivities is slowly spreading to schools across the nation. This reality, coupled with general student interest in a greater variety of healthier food options is driving a change in both vocabulary and offerings at campuses around the country.

Candi Smithson says her 2-year-old son, Preston, has severe allergies that present him from eating certain breads and dairy items, among other things. Smithson was in Muskogee as part of a home-schooling group to see replicas of the Niña and Pinta ships, which have been cruising the Arkansas River. She, another parent and four children, including Preston, stopped at Pizza Hut to have lunch.

The finished pork katsu curry: Photo--Jefferson Adams

You can serve the resulting meat with potatoes and gravy for a chicken-fried steak-style cutlet, or with rice and curry sauce for a more Asian flare. You could also serve it with pasta and tomato sauce and cheese for a delicious chicken, veal or pork Parmesan.

Photo: CC-Lisa Brewster

A number of small studies have shown a connection between celiac disease and various gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, but the results haven't been corroborated by larger studies, or by blood and biopsy analysis of large populations. That means that researchers just haven't been able to say with certainty what the results of those smaller studies might mean about cancer risks for the larger population.

Photo: Gene Davis -- Smithsonian Institution

Should there be mass screening for celiac disease? Currently, there is no consensus among scientists or among public policy makers in favor of mass screening for celiac disease as a public health intervention. Advocacy for mass celiac disease screening remains somewhat controversial.

Photo: CC-tinemine

In an event that was part local apple festival, part celiac disease awareness promotion, and one-hundred percent record-breaking bake-off, a team of community members in Buenos Aires has baked the world's longest apple tart. One third of the 984-foot tart was made gluten-free to promote celiac disease awareness.

The finished chicken vegetable curry. Photo: Jefferson Adams

The S&B company makes a number of delicious curry blocks that I now cannot use because they all contain wheat flour. However, I was shopping at Nijiya market in San Francisco's Japantown recently, when I noticed a red S&B box with Japanese writing. It looked to be an import from Japan. Unlike the other S&B curries, which list wheat flour as an ingredient, this one contained sorghum. The product is called "Curry No Ohji-sama." It comes in a red box with a cartoon of a child with a band of yellow stars across his head.

Photo: CC--MPClemens

In an effort to understand how delayed celiac disease diagnosis became the norm for most patients over the last few decades, a research team conducted a study to assess the issue. Their study also looked at how delayed diagnosis affects health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for those with celiac disease, and considered differences with respect to sex and age.

Photo: CC-Edmund German

Women with celiac disease face a higher risk for depression than the general population, even once they have adopted a gluten-free diet, according to U.S. researchers.

Photo: CC--DoNotLick

The same ultrasound technology that helps doctors and expectant parents to view a developing baby might soon literally mean a better gluten-free bun in the oven.

The finished San Francisco Cioppino. Photo: CC--karen_neoh

Dungeness crab season in San Francisco means great crab recipes and great crab cooking in restaurants and at home. Cioppino is our own hometown dish. This time of year, nearly every restaurant has a crab dish on special, and numerous folks at home follow suit with wonderful crab recipes of their own.

Photo: CC - GreenFlames09

Many researchers suspect a connection between eosinophilic esophagitis and celiac disease in children. A research team sought to confirm this association in children, and determine whether it extends into adulthood.

Photo: CC--Muffet

A research team recently assessed variability in small bowel histopathology reporting between different pathology practice settings, and its impact celiac disease diagnosis.

Photo: CC--Mangee

About one in 100 people in America has celiac disease, while about one in four of those will develop dermatitis herpetiformis Duhring, which occurs when celiac disease manifests cutaneously, in the skin. Dermatitis herpetiformis Duhring is uncommon in children, with only 5% of cases appearing in children younger than 7 years. Most often, it presents in people over forty.

Photo: CC - spec-ta-cles

Non-controlled studies suggest that Rifaximin may improve celiac disease symptoms in such cases. However, up to now, no controlled trials have been conducted.