Celiac.com 03/27/2021 - Yes, I am “just” a veterinarian but I now speak at both veterinary and human conferences on the topic of epilepsy. The response to the elimination diet that I talk so much about has been phenomenal and part of the reason it does work is that the immune system becomes healthy enough to deal with the viral “culprits” in epilepsy.

Many epilepsy sufferers have not been told that viruses are known causes of seizures. The fact is that there are over 25 viruses known to causes seizures in people, many of which are ubiquitous (e.g. the Herpes and paramyxovirus families, including Epstein Barr, Herpes simplex, measles, mumps, Coxsackie viruses, and many more). I would encourage all of you to do some creative Internet searches for “virus, epilepsy”, etc., and see this for yourselves. 

This should all make total sense to people. There is a myriad of viruses that love the central nervous system. Many of them have a real affinity for the glial cells (astrocytes and oligodendricytes) that support the neuron and regulate levels of neurotransmitters (e.g glutamate) at the synapse. This is one of the main reasons why “the G.A.R.D.”...the glutamate/aspartate restricted diet...works so well to help control seizures. It dramatically reduces the work load of these dysfunctional cells and puts a great Band-aid on the epilepsy situation. However, the long-term solution comes from the same diet that helps to reverse the immune failure and tissue ill health that set the stage for the viral uprising to begin with.
It is interesting and easily explained why people have unusual seizure histories. Many of our viral infections do not come and go but rather come and stay. As I am fond of saying, “If I could do a Star Trek type of scan on your body and give you a print out of the viruses you have in there, once you got over the shock of that news, you might just be motivated to take better care of yourself, eh?” Some infections are “diphasic”, with the initial infection causing some signs while other symptoms arise later, once the individual fails to control the infection or continues to bombard these viruses with things that “make them mad”, as explained below.

Latent viruses are involved in many of the disease “syndromes” with which we are afflicted, including epilepsy and cancer. I like to use cancer as the parallel to illustrate the difference between “causes” and “triggers”. For example, carcinogens do not cause cancer.  Viruses cause cancer. Carcinogens incite the virus to cause the cancer. I am convinced that most of you reading this will hear, in your lifetime, that all cancer is viral. Researchers have been saying this for years and years. It’s what viruses do. However, that alone is not enough for us to develop cancer. We also have to experience some degree of immune failure in order to get the “big C”. Thus, it is a triad of factors...viruses, carcinogens, and immune failure...that come together to yield the resulting cancer. That is what we call a “syndrome”.

Epilepsy is also a syndrome and the parallel is probably already quite clear. We are loaded with viruses that have the potential to cause seizures. Epstein Barr is one such Herpes virus. 50% of our kids in the US have Epstein-Barr by age 5 and 95 % of Americans over age 40 have this guy in their body. Why don’t we all have seizures if the Epstein-Barr virus can cause them? Because we don’t have the right cofactors in place. There are many cofactors in epilepsy, including diet, air quality, hormonal influences, lifestyles, and many other things that affect our immune systems and the health of our central nervous system, liver, kidneys, and endocrine systems, all of which can play vital roles.

Of all of these factors, diet is clearly the most important. This is easy to see once we understand what is required for our brains, bodies and immune systems to stay healthy and operate optimally. The “big 4” (gluten, dairy, soy and corn) are the who’s who of what is wrong with foods, as they damage our gut’s ability to absorb nutrients (e.g. celiac disease), shower our body with damaging proteins (lectins), load us up with staggering levels of “excitotoxins” (glutamate and aspartate) and pound us with estrogens. As a result, tissue health suffers, immunity fails, enzyme systems go down, and the Pandora’s Box of viruses is opened wide. The bottom line is that viruses don’t like certain things hurled at them (e.g. lectins, chemicals, pollution) and when they react to these noxious stimuli, we had better hope that we have a competent immune system to put down their rebellion. If not, we suffer a full blown syndrome, whether it is epilepsy, cancer, or the myriad of things we love to call “autoimmune disorders”. These things are not as “idiopathic” as we have all been led to believe.

I think you will see how your medical histories all line up with this once you fully grasp the role (and ultimate purpose) of viruses in nature and our bodies. They are not the malicious critters that we have labeled them to be. They are just doing their job. It is what we are throwing at them that is the real issue. We are literally forcing them to become pathogens.

As Pogo so wisely stated, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” 

Celiac.com 03/18/2021 - This all started when I was a teenager, some thirty years ago.  I was interested in several sports, and had participated to varying degrees in track and wrestling, so when basketball season rolled around my sophomore year I decided to get out there and compete.  Not far into the practices, I began to have severe gastrointestinal symptoms.  Let’s be clear here—I’m talking painful cramps and diarrhea.  Everyone seemed to think that the real problem was that I was a “wuss,” and was afraid to play the game.  Well, it was my first time and I wasn’t that athletic, and part of me tended to believe them, so I dropped out of basketball and never played again in school (but have played lots at the health club).

The problem was—the digestive problems did not go away.  They have haunted me my entire life.  Of course I have gone to numerous doctors and have even been hospitalized more than once (I was hospitalized twice in the last ten days).  The hospitalization is always for diarrhea and the subsequent dehydration.  Doctors don’t seem to get it.  They see diarrhea and think, “No big deal, just rest and clear liquids for a few days”.  They can’t seem to understand that this is a chronic condition, nor how that can impact someone.  They can’t appreciate how it can hold someone back, and prevent them from thriving.

I could write much on the failings of the medical system.  I’ve been around a while but to date have never personally seen a doctor actually research the situation.  The results of their infinite line of tests—one after the other—presumably do lead to conclusions, but they do not seem to have efficacy.  I mean that doctors don’t generally don’t give much credence to what the patient is saying, and instead use a generic line of logic that works for any situation where they have no information on what is going on.  This canonical approach to testing guarantees everything be considered—but it also guarantees the medical bill will be as high as possible—and the answer will be found as slowly as possible.

In any case, perhaps as early as 1985 I figured out on my own that I was lactose intolerant.  Out of all the doctors and the tests I underwent—none discovered this—and finding this out helped me immensely.  The painful cramps are basically a thing of the distant past and I am thankful for that.  Diarrhea is also a part of the past with the exception of the occasional stomach flu or whatever it was that happened here recently (more on that in a bit).

Something else also became apparent back in 1991.  My college and career was in computer science.  I was administering computer systems for some thirteen federal field offices.  And that year, at the ripe old age of 31, I realized my mental capacity was diminishing.  But there was something else too—my vitality was noticeably diminished from the prior year.  No mistaking it, because I had been able to take a full load of college classes plus work full time, but could no longer handle it.  My intelligence wasn’t diminished, but my sheer capacity for mental work was—I could not do as much mental work as before.  

Naturally, at 31 one expects to start feeling the effects of age.  It seemed like a natural cresting, and although I was disappointed, it seemed like just one of those facts of life we have to accept.  But this was different.  The sheer pace of the progression was too much to be a natural decline.  The next year I took part-time classes and worked full time.  The year after that I took part-time classes and worked part time, and the next year I took part-time classes and had to take a leave of absence from work.  

Again, the doctors were consulted.  They discounted or discredited my perceptions.  Again, if it was anything, it was an emotional disturbance or character weakness on my part.  Evidently I just did not want to study or work.  Never mind that I had a 4.0 GPA in all my grad studies.  Never mind that I was on the fast-track to a GS-12 Computer Scientist position (the highest non-managerial technical position available with the federal government).  Never mind that I was one of only eight people in the nation for whom the government was picking up the tab for my studies.

Every single year after that there was a perceptible decline.  By 1996 my career was in jeopardy.  I resigned from the federal government, feeling “burned out”, and did six months of travel through Latin America all the way down to Panama—just me, my dog, and my little truck.  It was great, and I came back refreshed and re-energized.  It took a while to find another computer job, but in the summer of 1998 I landed another good one.  After six months at it I was again feeling drained, and I began to panic.  No help could be found.  I soon found an even better job and left the first one after only six months.  At the new job I continued to get drained and after perhaps six months had to go to a part-time schedule of about 25-30 hours per week.  Here’s what was going on.  I would work hard on a project, using very specific types of mental skills.  These skills included: mental modeling, state maintenance, memory, technical learning, mathematics, mental technical precision, creativity, and technical or engineering problem solving.

Mental modeling and state maintenance are used to a high degree in software engineering.  This is identical to playing a game of blind chess over a period of six months.  Blind chess is where you cannot see the chess board.  But it is much harder than blind chess if you are playing at the level where I was at.  A computer program has much more going on in it than a chess game, much more which you have to keep track of—that is what I mean by “state maintenance”.  Projects seemed to average about six months in length, and so you had to maintain the “game” over an extended period of time.  You had to be able to pick it up each day from where you left it the day before.  Great demands on memory are required.

There was constant technical learning of new languages, new programming environments and objects, learning written specifications and on-the-fly modifications.  Clearly algorithms were a large part of the effort which requires one to think in somewhat unnatural ways.  Thinking mathematically and with mathematical precision (required for writing software code) is unnatural.  We are an organic creature that thinks in an analog fashion, not a digital fashion.  We think in terms of changes, and ranges, not in terms of absolutes.  We can simulate this digital thinking with our brains, but it is unnatural and expensive.  By expensive, I mean it can be done, but it takes a lot of resources.  Resources, as far as the human brain is concerned, consists of amino acids, neurotransmitters, other exotic chemicals, and the like.

I had the distinct perception that I was mining these resources at a rate exceeding the rate they were being produced.  I don’t know how else to describe the sensation, but it was painful.  That’s right, painful.  The brain can’t feel pain directly with pain sensors because it does not have any.  But it has ways of letting you know when you are doing something that is untenable, and that is what I perceived—a certain kind of harmful mental stress.

At some point I began to experience something I call “Block Heading”.  This is where my mental processes literally failed.  Their limits were exceeded and the mental process failed in a biochemical way.  When this would happen I would find myself staring at the keyboard and no thoughts would come.  Let’s make this clear.  When you know something well you don’t have to think about it to do it, like driving a car.  That is a very complex and technical and dangerous maneuver, yet we do it without a thought.  It is the same with computers.  Someone can use Internet Explorer without a thought, really, once they know it—right?  But with programming this is only true to a point.

An expert can write complex commands in a given language and environment without a thought of how to put the command together.  But, for me anyway, it had become impossible to create such commands without thinking about it.  Developing anything new requires an internal dialogue in order to organize the sequence of steps that will occur, and to optimize how it shall be done most effectively.  Trying to create a program without being able to have an internal dialogue is literally as impossible as flying by flapping my arms—at least for me is was.  Take this test: Can you write a letter to someone without having any internal dialogue?  Well, writing software is much harder because the writing has to occur precisely in a certain order and there can be zero mistakes in it.  

Whenever I was “block heading,” there would be no internal dialogue—only silence.  My head was like a block of wood.  Even worse, when I had pushed and exceeded limits to the point that block heading occurred, it meant a penalty of about a week for my brain to recover!  All I could do was to take time off and rest—for at least a week!  My career was untenable.  It is virtually impossible to find a part-time software developer position.  More consistency is demanded from the industry than my part-time hours with occasional week-long absences could command.  

By October of 2001 I was laid off.  Nothing personal, all the contractors happened to get laid off.  It’s just that I was probably overdue because I could barely contribute anymore.  I was thankful to be laid off.  I’ve not had a software development job since, although my love for creating software products still remains.

There’s another observation here I can pass on, plus my hypothesis.  The main mental processes that were impacted were the ones I used in software development.  Any kind of work that uses these processes is out of the question except in limited fashion, such as managerial work which requires an understanding of work but does not require you to actually do much of it.  The mental modeling, maintaining state, memory, technical learning, etc., are what I am talking about.  Consider this possibility.  Suppose you have a pump house that has ten pumps for pumping water at variable rates.  All the pumps have the same capacity but some are used at high levels and some at low.  Some pumps are running at maximum capacity and almost continuously.  Now, you get some bad gasoline with some sort of impurity in it.  Months or years go by before you realize it.  Which pumps do you suppose are going to be damaged the most?  Surely it would be the pumps that were running at high capacity and for long hours.

Perhaps the same is true with the brain—which is a biochemical device.  Those processes that were the money makers were the ones with high capacity and high hour utilization.  I suspect that if processes related to writing or playing music or what-have-you were in play during this time of progression, that it would be those cognitive aspects most impacted by the disease process.  You may even be experiencing the same process at work in your life—although it may be different cognitive processes that are impacted.  This may account for some of the variability that makes it so baffling to doctors.

Getting back to the doctors, of course I was desperate for help, and sought out these esteemed men and women of science.  Some of them thought that I had mental or emotional problems.  They would do their standard blood tests, which of course showed nothing, and since I looked healthy in all respects, could only conclude that I was a hypochondriac with emotional problems who simply did not want to work.  The brain, however, is too complex and cognition too subtle to be evaluated by such crude tests!  At this time I was making $60 per hour as a contractor.  After being laid off of course my quality of life declined.  I could only find jobs that paid $6 to $15 per hour, and could only work part-time at them even though they were not jobs that were mentally difficult.  For example, I drove a bus for a senior center, and taught people how to use software applications at a computer store.

Even though the serious demands of mental work were removed, my mental situation continued to decline.  I began to regularly sprain my ankles—which was extremely painful.  After a few months of this I was reduced to wearing ankle braces on both ankles 24/7.  My walking was changing, never mind my running.  I had been a runner, but no longer could run.  Not just for fear of re-injuring my ankles, but because I could not move my legs right.  They were becoming like blocks of wood too, stiff and lifeless.  The muscles felt like they were continuously contracted and conflicting with each other.  It was almost painful, and was certainly uncomfortable.  When I walked, I had to throw my legs forward from the hips, something akin to a polio-style walk.

My physical health was declining.  I had been an extreme roller-blader, being pulled around town by my wolf-dog.  But a crash occurred, and in retrospect I realize now it was because I had lost my balance, becoming stiff and uncoordinated.  My neck was injured and the insurance company tortured me by not approving surgery for six months to see if it would magically get better on its own.  It did not, and the six months of pain depressed me physically, requiring much rest.  After the surgery, there was concern because my oxygen blood levels were too low because of shallow breathing.  For a period I had to consciously concentrate on my breathing to make it deeper and keep oxygen levels up.  I wisely sold my motorcycle, realizing that I no longer had the necessary balance to be safe on it.

My mental processes were now starting to decline quickly, and my intelligence was also being affected.  My memory was particularly impacted, in several specific areas.  I went to a renowned neurologist at the University of Colorado Medical Research Center in Denver.  I told him whatever it was had affected both my central and peripheral nervous systems.  He scoffed at such a thought, and informed me that it was next to impossible.  I said, “What about mercury poisoning, doesn’t that affect both?”  He conceded that it did, but—for reasons I probably was not smart enough to understand—it was virtually unheard of to have a disease that affects both.  He did seem to think I almost had a hereditary disease that causes “hammer toes” and can lead to ankle spraining.  By “almost”, I mean that he conceded that I had the symptoms but not to the necessary degree.  

Another neurologist found something of great interest.  He hooked me up to a device that provided me with repeated electric shocks and he measured how much of the electricity made it to the feet, plus seemed to enjoy watching me jump.  Not very much of the electricity made it to the feet.  There was acute poly-neuropathy.  This means a disease of multiple nerves and at an extreme level.  The nerve signals were not making it to the feet.  That is why my legs weren’t working right and I was twisting my ankles.  He did not check the arms but presumably they were the same because there was no autonomic nerve response reaching the nerve center when he tested me with the little rubber hammers.  

At this point I turned to the Internet and did a search of diseases that cause problems to central and peripheral nervous system which have poly-neuropathy as a symptom.  It was a short list of four or five and I cannot really remember the list.  Lyme disease was on the list, as was celiac disease, and a couple of other well-known diseases like Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis.

I went to my family doctor and told him these findings.  He ordered more tests—three of which were for celiac disease.  The results were: one was a high positive; one was borderline negative; one was completely normal.  I instantly went on the gluten-free diet on hearing the news and could not be persuaded to go off it a few weeks later to do a gluten challenge and biopsy.  So, they did not officially diagnose it as celiac disease, but I stuck to a strict gluten-free diet for two years.

Over the following one and a half years I saw steady improvement.  There was an immediate improvement in gastrointestinal health and mental processes.  There was a gradual improvement in my legs.  There was no improvement in mental capacity, but the progression seemed to have stopped and that itself was a huge improvement.  By December of last year I was doing a lot of running—about five miles a week, and this year I am on my way to the best Bolder Boulder 10K race ever.  My gluten-free diet was only getting stricter.  No MSG, no artificial flavors or colors, and I have also excluded sugar.  There have been suggestions that candida albicans (yeast) has a protein in its cell wall that is identical to gluten.  The implication is that having yeast in your system is the same as having gluten.  The yeast likes sugar—and to help starve it one should not consume sugar.

Recently something happened, and I don’t know its exact cause.  I quit running for a break and to enjoy the holidays—and have yet to make it back.  My health started to decline again!  My physical vigor gradually was being reduced.  The polio walk was back.  I was getting whacked regularly by what I called “stealth gluten attacks”.  A stealth gluten attack is where I must have ingested gluten without knowing it, from cross-contamination, mislabeling, etc.

These attacks were characterized by either or both of the following: gastrointestinal problems or neurological problems.  The gastrointestinal problems were generally “soft-serve ice cream” consistency problems but in the last ten days it was acute diarrhea returning to my life.  The neurological problems mainly impacted my legs and/or caused reduced mental acuity.  Mental acuity has to do with cognition, and it was generally like taking a stupid pill.  My memory would greatly diminish so that yesterday eluded me, and only mundane daily activities were possible.  Forget high-level activities such as writing, or creating, or planning a project.

By now I was virtually not eating out at all, and virtually not eating any processed foods.  My diet was as strict as humanly possible.  Plus, I was taking a good mega vitamin with mega doses of B-6 and B-12.  So, the acute diarrhea came back and would not go away.  My Bolder Boulder was a long and painful walk with zero running.  I finished with my worst time ever.  I have considered the possibility that there may be something else more serious going on like colon cancer, and have scheduled a colonoscopy.

Here is a hypothesis as to what may be going on.  My mother had colon cancer.  Celiac disease is very hard on the colon—it puts a lot of added wear and tear on it.  Further, something I suspect is that the damage to my nervous systems has made it more “fragile”.  By fragile I mean not robust.  I suspect that even without gluten, small upsets or stresses to the system could cause it to fail or behave as if gluten were present.  Put another way, one’s gut can overcome the effects of the damage to some degree when things are going well, but the gut’s of many celiacs cannot maintain proper operation when any additional stressors are present.  For many their guts will always be more fragile and require more TLC.

If there is no cancer, then I am thrown back into the unknown.  What could be going on?  At any rate, I should tell you that just four days ago I went completely off of my gluten-free diet (which I do not recommend to anyone who has celiac disease).  Here’s how my reasoning went.  I went through hell the last ten days.  Crapping my brains out and going to the emergency room twice, once by ambulance because I was too weak to drive there.  Who knows how much money all that is going to cost me?  I cannot express how every acute attack felt.  I’m a smart guy, and used to make a good living from being smart and working hard.  But every attack—maybe this will ring true for you too—every attack was like my life force was rushing out of me.  I mean, it was far worse than merely having cramps and enduring the humiliation.  For me, it would have felt the same if a pint of blood were rushing out of me—the dizziness, the loss of vitality or life force.  It was like a stupid pill injection directly into a vein.  Like the total ruin of my life, the stripping from me of my gift—with each attack.

So, my reasoning was something to the effect of, “Damn it, my life is terrible, and I’m still suffering from the celiac-symptoms while on my “perfect” diet.  If I’m going to suffer, why am I starving myself of all of those simple pleasures in life?”  I went out and had pancakes, some Wendy’s burgers, a no-sugar-added blueberry pie—all the things I gave up two years ago.  And guess what?  I don’t really feel any worse for it!  I do feel it a bit in my legs today, but from what I have been seeing of late, probably would be feeling it in my legs anyway if had not eaten any of that!

So what is the moral here?  Well, celiac disease is a complex and only partly-understood disease.  I may have it and I may not.  I may have celiac disease and something else!  It may be the same situation for you too.  It is particularly frustrating for me because I consider myself something of a healer—yet efforts for my own self are less than satisfactory.  I had such high hopes for my diet—and my life, for that matter—and hopes that the gluten-free diet had fixed my problem, and would reverse much of the damage.  It did for a while, but no longer seems to be working, and I don’t know why.

If the colonoscopy comes back for cancer—then that would fit into my model, and I would go back on the diet.  But I certainly don’t want to endure the harness of a gluten-free diet if I don’t have to.  And, by the way, I have decided to get a biopsy and consider this time period a voluntary gluten challenge.

I hope my story can somehow help you and yours.  One thing I have learned through all of this is that we have to take responsibility for our own health—that much is clear.  Do the research yourself, and have the discipline and guts to take the actions that your findings indicate need to be taken.  Accept what the facts tell you.  Remain flexible and willing to modify your position as the facts dictate.  Remember, the doctors work for you and you pay them—you control them.  You have to be in charge.  Good luck and good health to you all.  If I may be of assistance to you, informational or otherwise, feel free to contact me.

Celiac.com 03/12/2021 - The thing that can break any diet, whether the purpose is to lose weight, or to avoid certain foods, is not having a solid strategy to deal with between-meal hunger.  Snack attacks seem to hit during transitions: right after school or work: when returning to the house from an outing: when passing by the kitchen; in the late morning or late afternoon; driving; when the phone rings… just about any time that’s not a mealtime.  Temptations for infractions abound when visiting friends, going to parties, or meetings at work.  Food is present at virtually every gathering.  

Couple this random hunger with intolerances to gluten, dairy, soy and other foods, and your choices are limited.  The best way to ensure that you don’t go hungry, or deviate, is to have an acceptable snack available with you at all times.   This may sound a bit extreme, but when you are on a special or restrictive diet, it is very hard to get suitable foods without planning ahead.  This article will discuss snack strategies and how to be ready with some delicious treats when the urge to snack hits.  

A good snack strategy starts with the resolution that you need to carry appropriate, transportable snacks that meet your dietary restrictions.  This could include pre-planned foods for specific snack times throughout the day.  You may also want to prepare snacks that have a caloric maximum (such as 100 or 200 calories), to ensure you don’t over-eat between meals.  Another strategy is to integrate your snack foods into your regular diet.  For example if you have a daily fruit and vegetable quota, snacks could help fulfill this quota.  We all know how torturous rather than tantalizing it can be to smell an off-limits food someone else is eating.  If you know others are going to be eating sticky cinnamon buns, bagels or chocolate chip cookies at a meeting you could bring your own “look alike”, so you’ll be eating the same thing, but one made with ingredients your body can tolerate.

Sensible snacking is important.  Some diets require that people eat breakfast, a snack at 10:00 A.M., lunch, a snack at 3:00 P.M., and dinner.  Doing this maintains energy and blood sugar levels, prevents melt-downs and promotes a sense of well-being.  Snacking also prevents over-eating at meal times and helps maintain an optimal weight.  Eating a snack prior to going to an event can prevent being seduced into thinking an attractively present food adheres to your restrictions.  

Before we discuss snacks that require preparation, let’s review some naturally gluten-free snacks to remember when you don’t have time to prepare something special.  Dried fruit, nuts, cut vegetables, rice cakes, popcorn, gluten-free pretzels, pre-made bars such as those by Boomi and Lara, bananas spread with peanut butter, fruit leather, fruits in sealed individual serving containers, purchased gluten-free cookies and gluten-free salty snacks are all readily available at the heath food store. 

If you’d like more control over ingredients, consider making some easy-to-prepare, tasty, portable snacks that fit into lunch boxes, purses or briefcases.  On the salty side, an easy snack to make is Ume Cashews.  Umeboshi plum vinegar provides a tangy, salty taste to these beautiful nuts.  This vinegar is considered a salt and is available at the health food store, or in the Asian market.  Here’s how to make them:

Gluten-Free Ume Plum Cashews

• 1 cup raw whole cashews
• Place cashews in a glass pie pan and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 4 minutes.  Stir and bake 4 more minutes.  Remove from the oven and stir in
• 1 TBS ume plum vinegar
• Stir the nuts in the hot glass pan until they are coated and the vinegar evaporates on the nuts.  Let cool and serve.

Cereal mixes are also making a come-back in the gluten-free world since there are so many delicious gluten-free options available.  Just find one that suits your taste (one with little or unsweetened works best for this recipe).  Here’s an easy, high-protein recipe to have on hand for hungry snackers:

Gluten-Free Cereal with Toasted Almonds

• 8 cups cereal (use Health Valley Corn and Rice Crunch-Em’s)
• 1 cup raw almonds

In a large plastic bag, mix:

• ½ teaspoon garlic salt
• ½ teaspoon celery salt
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder

Place cereal and almonds on a baking sheet and spray with spray-on oil.  Then place the cereal and nuts in the plastic bag with the seasonings.  Mix until coated.  Place the cereal and almonds back on the baking sheet and sprinkle on 1 TBS gluten-free Worcestershire sauce (to taste).  Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.   

Another salty snack is Cajun Corn.  This snack features corn puffs.  

Gluten-Free Cajun Corn

• 4 cups of puffed corn cereal
• 1 TBS gluten-free Cajun Seasoning
• Spray-on olive oil

Spread cereal on a cookie sheet.  Generously spray with oil.  Sprinkle Cajun seasoning to coat corn.  Bake for 10 minutes in a 300 degree oven.  (These are great right out of the oven.)

For those of you with a sweet tooth, consider making granola.  Oats have been off-limits to Celiacs, but now, there are a couple of farms in the USA that are producing gluten-free oats.  If you are wary of oats, or can’t get the gluten-free kind in your town, use a combination of buckwheat, quinoa and/or rice flakes.  These flakes are usually available in the health food store.  This recipe also calls for Sucanut.  Sucanut is boiled down, evaporated cane sugar and is less refined than other sugars.  It is available in the health food store and has a nice wholesome taste.  After you discover it, you might use it in other recipes instead of brown sugar.  

Gluten-Free Granola

• 3 cups gluten-free oats (or buckwheat, quinoa or rice flakes)
• ½ cup raw slivered almonds
• ½ cup raw pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup raw sunflower seeds
• ¼ cup Sucanut 
• Mix in a bowl.

In a sauce pan, combine:

• 2 TBS sunflower oil
• ¼ cup gluten-free rice syrup (Lundberg’s)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Bring to a boil and remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  Pour on top of nut-oat mixture.  Stir until combined.  Spread on a baking pan and bake at 250 degrees for 50 minutes, using a pancake turner, scrape up from pan and mix every 10 minutes to brown evenly.  

After baked and cooled, add:

• ½ cup dried cherries
• ½ cup chocolate chips
• Divide ½ cup servings into zip lock bags and you are ready to go!

Who says we can’t have the taste of a popular peanut-butter chocolate cup?  And this recipe adds CRUNCH!  These will last several days (depending on how many times you have them for a snack, of course!) and they’ll make your gluten-eating friends jealous.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Corn Flakes

• ¾ cup gluten free (Lundberg’s) rice syrup
• ½ cup crunchy peanut butter
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Mix together in a pan and heat, stirring with a fork until the peanut butter is melted and the mixture comes to a boil.  Remove from heat and add:

• 4 cups of gluten-free corn flakes

Mix until corn flakes are coated and form 3” balls.  Let sit until firm and dip into melted chocolate.

Dipping Chocolate

• 1 cup of Tropical Source Chocolate Chips
• Melt chocolate in a double boiler.  Dip cornflake balls into the chocolate and let sit on a rack until chocolate hardens.  

If you prefer something fruitier, try making these in your food processor.  They are so easy! They’re also a wonderful way to add vegetables to your diet.  You can use virtually any dried fruit and any toasted nut.  These need to be refrigerated because of the carrots.  

Gluten-Free Carrot-Raison Almond Balls

Toast 2 cups of raw almonds in a glass pie pan at 350F for 8 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool.
Pulse almonds in a food processor until chopped.  Remove 1 cup and set aside.  Add to food processor (with the remaining almonds):

• ½ cup of carrots
• 1 cup raisons
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

Add the carrots and raisons.  Process until mixture forms a large ball.  Form into 1” balls and roll in the chopped almonds.  Store in the refrigerator.   

The trick to succeeding on a special diet is to not feel deprived, and to come prepared.  If you have foods you like to eat with you, you won’t be tempted to eat foods with unknown ingredients, or foods that look appetizing now but that may wreak havoc on your body later.  

I hope you enjoy these new snack ideas, and can incorporate a successful snack strategy into your diet.  When you make them, I’d love to hear your feedback.  Now, with all this talk about snacks—I’m getting hungry.  I think I’m going to have a snack now.  

Celiac.com 02/27/2021 - Some people eat to live.  The Greeks definitely live to eat.  The Greek Cuisine is very special (OK, so being Greek, I’m a little biased).  While some of the Greek pastries may be a bit challenging, for the most part Greek cooking is simple.  What distinguishes it from other cuisines are the herbs and spices used, the dependence on extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and tomato sauce, and the fact that most meat dishes are cooked to the point where the meat is so tender it literally falls off the bone.  

No matter how many people we are planning to serve, we end up making double the amount actually needed.  Greeks overcook.  It’s hereditary to do this.  But half the fun of entertaining is being able to eat leftovers the next day.  We also prepare more dishes than necessary.  In years gone by, it was customary when entertaining to serve a minimum of two entrees (meat, fish/poultry), two vegetable dishes, potatoes plus pasta or rice, salad, and either cheese or spinach pies.  Dessert always meant serving fruit, two different Greek cookies, two “desserts” (pie, cake, torte) plus baklava.  Thank goodness times have changed.  The old way of entertaining was bad for the budget, bad for the waistline, and bad for time management.  It took days to prepare for guests.  Now it is permissible to serve one entrée, one starch, one vegetable, salad, and a pita (cheese, spinach or other vegetable pie) is still included...  It’s just the desserts that we haven’t really been able to reform.  It is very rare to go to a Greek home and be served just one dessert.  

Greek cooking relies heavily on vegetables, especially beans, zucchini and eggplant.  Oregano and garlic are used in almost everything, with mint and dill tying for a close second.  Cheese preferences definitely include feta and kasseri (kasseri is similar to white sharp cheddar).   Fish of all kinds (including octopus and squid) are a mainstay of the diet with lamb ranking first in meat choices (spring lamb—definitely not mutton).   

Excluding the pastries and breads, most Greek foods are gluten-free because it they are dependent on using fresh foods.  

Greeks are big on appetizers and one of their favorites is Fried Cheese (Saganaki).  There is a very hard cheese called kefalotiri.  If you can’t find that, use kasseri, about ¾ pound, sliced ½ inch thick.  Whip one egg well in a bowl, then pour it into a plate.  Dip the cheese into the egg (both sides) then dip the cheese into some gluten-free flour mixture to lightly coat both sides.  Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet until it is very hot.  Add the cheese and fry it, turning it once.  The high heat will form a golden crust on the cheese.  Cook just until the center of the cheese is softened but not melted.  Squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the top just before serving.  Serve it while it is hot.

The most popular Greek salad is Peasant Salad.  It consists of cut-up cucumber, tomatoes, onions and green pepper.  The vegetables are tossed with extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, a generous portion of oregano and cut-up feta cheese.

The Italians have Eggplant Parmigiana, but the Greeks have Mousaka.  This is a baked creation consisting of fried eggplant slices, thinly sliced potatoes, browned ground beef and onions, tomato sauce with cinnamon, and a milk and egg creamed topping.  While this is meant to be a side dish, it is often served as the main entrée.

Traditionally, Greeks fast for 40 days during Lent only eating things that grow from the ground.  During this time, I don’t think there is a Greek household anywhere in the world that doesn’t serve stewed green beans as an entrée.  This dish is a staple.  Brown lots of chopped onions, carrots and celery in olive oil.  Add chopped parsley, salt, pepper and whole green beans.  Pour in an ample amount of tomato sauce and a little water, cover and simmer for an hour.  Then there are the variations—sometimes one or more of the following are added:  peas, chickpeas, chopped spinach, cut-up potatoes, northern beans, and/or cut-up zucchini.

Another staple in a Greek household is homemade yogurt.  It is a bit thicker than commercial yogurt and the flavor is exquisite.  To make commercial gluten-free plain yogurt taste more like homemade, strain it in cheesecloth for three hours in the refrigerator.  The next time you make rice, put a large dollop of plain yogurt on top of it...  Don’t turn up your nose...  TRY it!  Plain yogurt is also served as a dessert topped with a heavy, sweet honey.  

Tiropites (cheese pies) and spanakopita (spinach and cheese pies) are about as Greek as you can get.  What both of these have in common is that they are traditionally made with phyllo dough.  If you have the time and the patience, you can make your own homemade gluten-free phyllo dough and roll it very, very thin.  For a shortcut, you may use rice papers.  Rice papers are available at Asian markets.  Some brands are made from rice and water, while others have wheat added, so check the ingredients carefully.  These papers are round and brittle.  By soaking them in tepid water for about 3 minutes, they become very soft and pliable.  Either of the above fillings (cheese or spinach) may be rolled inside these papers instead of the phyllo.  Brush the inside of the rice paper (before filling) with melted butter, olive oil, or gluten-free nonstick spray, set the rolls on a greased baking sheet, then brush the tops of the filled rolls with the butter, oil or spray.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to bake.  After baking, eat right away.  One major drawback of using the rice papers is that the papers will become extremely tough if allowed to cool down completely after baking.

While baklava is the most well-known Greek dessert, Rizogalo (Greek rice pudding) is probably the favorite.  You have never tasted a rice pudding like this one.  It is thick and rich and ever so good.

From young, Greek kids are taught the importance of food.  If something good happens and we want to celebrate, we cook a big meal.  If something bad happens, we console ourselves by cooking a big meal.  We were ingrained with the premise that cooking and consuming good food was the answer to all of life’s problems.  

Gluten-Free Greek Rice Pudding

This recipe may be found in my “Wheat-free Gluten-free Dessert Cookbook”. Do not use instant or converted rice for this recipe.  Short-grain rice (like Carolina brand) works well.  Be patient while stirring the pudding on the stove because it will take about a half hour cooking time to thicken.  

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup short-grain rice
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 1 quart half and half, warmed
• ¾ cup sugar
• Dash salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Cinnamon

Directions:
Boil the rice in the water in a large saucepan, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until the water has been absorbed.  Stir in the warmed half and half.  Cook slowly, stirring frequently, until the rice is tender and the mixture has thickened.  Add the sugar and salt and stir until sugar dissolves.  Remove pan from heat.  Beat the eggs until light and frothy.  Very slowly (so eggs won’t curdle), drizzle a little of the half and half mixture into the eggs, stirring constantly.  Continue to slowly stir the hot mixture into the eggs until at least half has been added to the eggs.  Stir in the butter until melted.  Pour the egg mixture back into the pan with the rice.  Replace pan on medium heat and stir constantly until creamy and thickened, about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.  Pour the pudding into 6 dessert bowls then sprinkle the tops liberally with cinnamon.  Let cool on the counter.  When completely cool, refrigerate from 1 to 24 hours...  then enjoy! 

Celiac.com 03/19/2015 - Almost half of Americans eat no whole grains at all and those who do eat them only consume a single serving per day—far below the 3 to 5 daily servings recommended by the USDA. People often tell me, "I might eat more whole grains if I just knew which ones to choose and how to prepare them."

There are many wholesome, gluten-free grains that add flavor, variety, and texture to our diet and—if you read this article—you'll know which ones to choose and you'll learn some easy ways to prepare them at home.

A Quick Definition of Whole Grain
What is a whole grain? Scientists use technical explanations, but to me it means the WHOLE grain or seed with everything intact and nothing removed. A whole grain contains the outside layer of bran and fiber, the middle layer or germ which contains important nutrients such as B-vitamins, and the inner part called the endosperm which provides energy and carbohydrates.

Many whole grains are also naturally gluten-free, including amaranth, brown rice (but not white rice because the outer layers are milled away), buckwheat, hominy, millet, quinoa, sorghum, and teff. These grains are generally available at your natural food store. Some of these grains—such as buckwheat—are actually seeds of fruit but we treat them as grains in cooking. Gluten-free whole oats (or oat groats as they're typically called) are whole grain and are available from Open Original Shared Link and Open Original Shared Link. Be sure to check with your physician to see if these gluten-free oats are right for you.

Whole Grains for Breakfast
When we think of grains, we think of cereal. And, when we think of cereal, we automatically think of breakfast, so let's start there. Whole grains make terrific hot cereal, but they take a while to cook and most people don't have that much time in the morning.

Of course, you can always cook whole grains the traditional way on the stovetop the night before, if you have time. In my latest book, Gluten-Free Quick & Easy, I encourage ways to more easily incorporate whole grains into our diets with minimal time investment. This is the perfect opportunity to pull that slow cooker out from the back shelf of your pantry or to invest in a pressure cooker. The slow cooker cooks the whole grains overnight or the pressure cooker does it quickly the night before.

Slow Cooker Grains. Put 1 cup of any of the whole grains mentioned above, 3 ½ to 4 cups water, and ¼ teaspoon salt in a slow cooker. Cook on low all night and the next morning you have hot, cooked whole grains for breakfast. The grains will have softened and resemble porridge because they absorbed lots of water.

Pressure Cooker Grains. Be sure to follow your pressure cooker's directions. Lorna Sass, in her James Beard award-winning cookbook, Whole Grains: Every Day, Every Way, suggests using 4 cups water, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, and ½ teaspoon salt for each 1 cup of whole grain. Brown rice can be ready in 15 minutes while gluten-free oat groats take 30 minutes, but these times are significantly shorter than traditional cooking times. You can cook the grains while you're preparing dinner or after the dinner dishes are done. Drain any extra water from the grains and refrigerate the cooked grains before you go to bed. Unlike the slow cooker method, which produces a more porridge-like consistency, whole grains cooked in a pressure cooker more closely resemble their original shape. Cooked whole grains keep refrigerated for about a week. I simply reheat the refrigerated cooked grains in the microwave oven.

Regardless of whether I cook the grains in a slow cooker or pressure cooker, I like to mix them with honey, agave nectar, brown rice syrup, chopped nuts, or brown sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon and flax meal for a marvelous breakfast that is packed with fiber and nutrients.

If you would like to make your own breakfast porridge with the sweeteners and fruit cooked in it, try my easy Slow Cooker Brown Rice Porridge recipe (page 12).

Whole Grains as Side Dishes
Whole grains such as brown rice, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, and sorghum stand in nicely for savory side dishes made from rice, couscous, wheatberries, and bulgur. And, the new gluten-free whole oat groats make nice side dishes as well. You will find an excellent Toasted Oat Pilaf recipe at Open Original Shared Link that demonstrates how to use the new gluten-free steel-cut oats as a savory dish.

The basic idea is to add herbs and seasonings to the cooked whole grains in the same way and in the same amounts as you would add them to cooked rice, couscous, wheatberries, or bulgur. Any recipe that uses these grains can be adapted to use your favorite gluten-free whole grains.

Want to Learn More about Whole Grains?
If you would like to know more about the whole grain stamp used on store-bought foods, go to Open Original Shared Link. Or, if you want to learn more about nutritional content of gluten-free grains, see Gluten-Free Diet: a Comprehensive Resource Guide by Shelley Case, RD, (Expanded Edition, Case Nutrition Consulting, 2006). To learn more about cooking whole grains using a variety of methods, see Whole Grains: Every Day, Every Way, by Lorna Sass (Clarkson Potter, 2006). Not all of the grains are gluten-free, but the cooking instructions and innovative preparation techniques for the gluten-free grains are very helpful.

The effects of gluten are wide ranging and are now brought together under the term Gluten Syndrome.  In most instances, a simple blood test (the IgG-gliadin antibody test) can identify those people who are affected.  

10% Affected by Gluten
The Gluten Syndrome affects about one in ten people.  However, most people who are affected are unaware that their life is being hindered by gluten.  The gluten symptoms are most likely to be caused by damage to the nerves and brain.  The earlier the problem is identified, the better the response to a gluten-free diet will be.

Tummy Pains and not Growing
Jonti is 3 years old.  His gluten story is typical.  His mother brought him to see me because she was concerned about his poor growth, and his distressing abdominal pains.  His blood tests showed a high gluten test (His IgG gliadin was 94 units.  This test result is usually less than15 at this age).  Other tests, including the gene test for celiacs, showed that he did not have celiac disease.

I suggested that he go on a gluten-free diet.  Within days he began to eat better, and his tummy pains went.  He is now growing again on a gluten-free diet.  His mum wrote:

“I really haven’t found the gluten-free diet that difficult.  I found people to be incredibly helpful actually, both in the supermarket and in restaurants.  In the supermarket there is a lot of normal type food that is gluten-free and it is all clearly labeled that it is gluten-free.  Even if you go to the delicatessen department they will tell you which luncheon sausage is gluten-free.  There are gluten-free sausages all labeled and it’s normal food that tastes great.

For the baking mixes and bread mixes, you don’t even have to go to the specialist health food shops.  I go to no other shops other than the supermarket to get food for him and I haven’t really found it that difficult.”

Amazed how Jonti has Adapted
I have been amazed, actually, by how easily Jonti has adapted to the gluten-free diet.  I tell him it is special food for him and that it won’t hurt his tummy.  We have got nice biscuits from a bakery and he is allowed to choose which one he wants for morning tea.  He still has normal foods like chips and sweets.  He is not missing out and the other biscuits he hasn’t even really asked for.  The only thing is the bread!  I have yet to perfect the making of the bread.  Toast is about the only thing he asked for.  You can get specialist cornflakes and cereals, porridge he loves, again, at the supermarket.  It has been surprisingly easy actually

I’m so pleased that he is now well again.  Gluten-free has made such a huge difference.”

The Main Points:

• The Gluten Syndrome refers to the cluster of symptoms that you experience if you react to gluten.  It can affect your gut, skin and nerves.
• Medical practitioners accept that gluten causes celiac disease(gut damage) but often resist the notion that gluten can cause a wider spectrum of illness.
• Celiac disease, gluten intolerance and gluten sensitivity are all part of The Gluten Syndrome.
• Rapidly accumulating medical evidence shows that gluten is now creating a massive health problem throughout the Western world. However, woefully few people are aware of the catalogue of harm that gluten is causing.  About one in ten people—that is millions of people—are affected by The Gluten Syndrome.
• Gluten could be responsible for one-third of all cases of chronic illness and fatigue.  People suffering from these conditions are currently just tolerating their symptoms, unaware that gluten is the culprit.  This is because the link to gluten is not yet recognized by the medical community.
• Gluten-containing products are being added to our food chain in increasing amounts.  Our wheat is being engineered to have even higher gluten content.  This gluten overload is occurring without our communities being unaware of the harm that this is causing.
• Gluten can cause malfunctions of the brain and neural networks of susceptible people.  The incidence of mental, neurological and brain disorders is on the rise.  However, the diagnosis of gluten-sensitivity is seldom made.
• The community is already embracing the notion of gluten-sensitivity.  More and more people are opting for a gluten-free lifestyle.  These people are looking for a term to identify their illness.  Their search is over.  They have been affected by The Gluten Syndrome.
• A strong gluten-free movement is developing globally in response to the knowledge that going gluten-free can be so beneficial to so many people.  What has been missing up until now is a name that captures the gluten problem.  The missing name is The Gluten Syndrome.

Get Your Blood Tests

The Gluten Tests
Gluten is a protein that is found in wheat grains.  This protein has a number of components, one of which is called gliadin.  People who get sick from gluten are usually reacting to the gliadin component.  

You are a Long Tube
To understand what the blood tests mean, first you need to know a little more about your immune system.  It is the job of your immune system to protect you from the outside world.  It protects you from the invasion of microbes (viruses and bacteria), and it also protects you from the toxins and poisons in the food that passes through your gut.  Your gut is a long tube inside you that travels from your mouth to your anus. This is your gastrointestinal tract, also called your bowel.  Even though it is inside your body, the contents of this tube are still on the ‘outside’ from your body’s point of view.  Lots of your immune cells coat the skin (called the mucosa) of this tube and work hard to protect you from anything that might prove to be harmful.

Gluten (Gliadin) can be Toxic
Gliadin, the toxic component of the gluten protein, is one such harmful substance.  Your immune system defends your body strongly against gliadin using weapons called antibodies and the gliadin is repelled. The outcome of your immune system’s fight against gliadin is the production of antibodies that are specifically targeted towards gliadin: these are called anti-gliadin antibodies.

Gliadin Antibodies
Anti-gliadin Antibodies (commonly called the IgG-gliadin antibody) are weapons that have been made specifically to fight against gluten in the diet. Remember, gliadin is a component of the gluten protein.  This antibody is very sensitive.  It is made very specifically by your immune system to fight against gliadin.  However, a high level of this antibody does not necessarily mean that you have any gut damage, so it is not very accurate in assisting the identification of patients with celiac gut damage.  On the other hand, tests for this antibody are nearly always strongly positive in people with celiac disease who are not on a gluten-free diet.  Once people are placed on a strict diet, these antibodies will fall to normal levels within a period ranging from few months to a year or two.

Gluten Tests Not Getting Done
There is a problem.  Unfortunately, this gluten blood test (the IgG-gliadin antibody test) is no longer available from most community laboratories.  This year many laboratories have decided to discontinue this test.  Their opinion is that it is worthless (for detecting celiac disease).
I disagree with their decision.  My latest data shows that huge numbers of people remain undiagnosed with serious symptoms because of the misinterpretation of this gluten test result.  At the moment it is difficult to get the medical labs to do your gluten test.  They are unwilling to consider that gluten causes a wide spectrum of illness that has been written up in the international medical literature.  They have turned a blind eye to the problem.  If you can’t test for gluten reactions, then you will not be able to make the diagnosis!

A Diagnosis at Last!
Mandy wrote this letter to me: “Hi Dr Rodney Ford, for many, many, years I have been to doctors complaining of a bloated tummy, extreme cramping pains, and diarrhea (to the point I had no time to get to the toilet). I have recently had some blood test for celiacs done by my GP.  My results showed: the tTG was negative; and the IgG-Gliadin result strongly positive.  He could not explain it to me, but he said that Idid not have celiac disease.”

“I have no idea what these tests mean.  Although I got no answers, I had to try something.  I was at the end of my nerves!  My bad health has always been upsetting my social and working life.  I often have to rush home to the toilet.”

Amazing on a Gluten-free Diet
“So I decided to try a gluten-free diet!  I have now been gluten-free for a month.  It is amazing! Already I feel like a different person!  No more bloating, just the odd stomach cramp.  Also, all my headaches have gone.  But I still feel really tired and not sure how to overcome this.  Can you help me please by explaining my blood test results—and should I have anymore tests?  What else I can do to help myself?   I hope you can help me Dr Ford.  Gluten, up to now, seems to have made my life a misery.  Even though I feel so much better already, I want to get even better.  Kind regards, Mandy.”

The Gluten Syndrome
I replied: “Thanks.  I am glad that you are feeling a lot better off gluten.  From your story and your blood test results, you have gluten-sensitivity.  You do not have celiac disease (your low tTG level shows that you do not have any gut damage from gluten).  But you are still getting sick from gluten (your high IgG-gliadin level shows that your body reacts to gluten).  The good news is that it takes many months to get the full benefits of a gluten-free diet.  I expect that you will continue to feel better over the next few months.  You should be taking some additional iron and a multivitamin supplements because you will be relatively iron deficient—that will be making you tired.”

The Time has Come
The history of science and medicine is littered with vehement arguments against any new idea that runs contrary to traditional beliefs. Ironically however, it takes new ideas to make progress.  It was George Bernard Shaw who said that “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.  Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

Thousands Convinced
Many people are joining the ranks of the gluten-free.  There are thousands of people like you who have read this information and who are concerned about how gluten might be affecting them; there a millions of people who are sick and tired of being ignored and who are looking for more energy and vitality; there are the practitioners in the field of complementary medicine who are aware of the concept of gluten-sensitivity; there are the laboratories who have developed the gliadin antibody test and know that their tests are specific for gluten reactions; there are the gluten-free food manufacturers who have recognised that there is an ever-increasing demand for gluten-free products; there are the networks of people in the health food industry who appreciate the value of high-quality food and a gluten-free diet; and there are the supermarkets and grocery stores that are sensitive to the demands of their customers.

Who Might Oppose this Trend?
As previously discussed, medical practitioners are wary of overturning tradition.  They do not want to be seen as alternative and want to avoid acting outside of the recommended clinical guidelines.  In addition, there are the grain-growers and the bread-makers who make their living from gluten, and the pharmaceutical companies who make their living from the sick and unwell.  

Bad Behavior on Gluten
Kimberley is 12 years old.  She has The Gluten Syndrome and her behavior gets disturbed with gluten.  She does not have celiac disease but she does have a high gluten test.  (Her IgG-gliadin level was 55 units—It should be less than 20.)

Her mum said: “It is interesting about how behavior troubles are linked to gluten!  Our youngest, Kimberley, is now 12 years old.  She had her IgG-gliadin measured and it was high. She was clearly a lot better when she was off gluten.  However then she decided to ‘try’ gluten again.  Rodney suggested a small amount but she went for it—big time!”

By the end of a week, two other parents had asked what was wrong with her.  Another parent asked “what on earth’s the matter with her” she seemed so different and stroppy.  She admitted she felt “absolutely awful” but really didn’t want to admit it as she knew it meant she’d have to completely give up gluten.”

Anyway, after a lot of talking, she agreed it wasn’t in her best interests to eat gluten.  From that day she has been gluten-free ever since, with the odd very long envious glance at French bread!  With our support she’s very compliant with being gluten-free now, which I think is remarkable for her age.  Clearly she now understands and gets the benefits of gluten-free.  But I was really shocked at how affected her behavior was after are introduction of gluten.”

Could You Have The Gluten Syndrome?
One in every ten people is affected by gluten.  If you have chronic symptom(feeling sick, tired and grumpy) then you should get checked for The Gluten Syndrome. 

Celiac.com 03/10/2008 - Virtually every parent and every professional person who works with children wants to see them learn, grow, and achieve to the greatest extent of their potential.  The vast majority of these caregivers know that nutrition plays an enormous role in each child’s realizing their potential.  Unfortunately, that is where agreement ends.  There are almost as many perspectives on what constitutes a healthy diet as there are people on this planet.  Some claim that the healthiest diet is that of a vegetarian which almost invariably leads to a heavy reliance on grains and which is devoid of vitamin B12.  Others assert, based on cardiovascular disease being our number one killer that the best diet includes the smallest amount of fats.  They believe that fat consumption is related to blood cholesterol levels and that blood cholesterol levels are the best predictor of heart attacks.  Yet low cholesterol has been linked to increased cancer risk.  Still others argue for the health benefits conferred by a high protein diet.  They point out the importance of proteins in providing the building blocks for immune system function and the body’s maintenance and repair at the cellular level.  A small but growing faction points to the health benefits of a diet dominated by fats with little or no carbohydrate content.  Other diets target refined sugars and flours as problematic.  Added to this diversity, there is a plethora of dietary perspectives that advocate rigid proportions of fat, protein, and carbohydrates.  The proportions of each component vary according to the data that is given the most credence by the creators and advocates of each diet.  Many dietary rituals have grown up around cancer avoidance or therapy, weight loss strategies, treatments for cardiovascular disease or its avoidance, and autoimmune diseases.  Book, video tape, audio tape, menu guides, and other media sales are just a starting point.  Some advocates of specific dietary strategies are even selling special foods that comply with their recommendations.  The profit motive can be a powerful factor in creating bias.  Then there are the government sponsored healthy eating guides.  Of course, each paradigm assumes that one diet can be recommended for all people.  The USDA has recently devised recommendations that do make concessions to gender and stage-of-life (with separate recommendations for children, adults, and seniors) but even with these changes, the USDA provides a clear message advocating plenty of grains and little fat.  It is difficult to determine just how much these recommendations have been influenced by special interest lobbies.  Agricultural and food production corporations have made astronomical investments in current dietary practices and shaping new dietary trends.  Is it reasonable to expect them to be responsive to evolving research findings?  

Those of us who have experienced the painful shock that we were ill, sometimes deathly ill, from grain proteins that come highly recommended by government food guides, have had to revise our views of healthy eating and reject such flawed guidance.  Gluten sensitivity and celiac disease often crop up in the context of what many health care professionals tout as a healthy diet.  Prior to my own diagnosis of celiac disease, I remember one physician recommending that I eat bran every morning to reverse some of the gastrointestinal problems I was having.  He would not believe that eating bran made me vomit.  There is a persistent sense that we should all know what constitutes a good diet.  Almost every one of us who have to avoid gluten knows that avoiding it is a healthy choice for us, irrespective of government or private sector recommendations for healthy eating.  We have learned not to trust these prescriptions filled with certitude and rigidity.  We have found new-found health in eating habits that are diametrically opposed to those recommendations.
 
Thus, many of us will have a very different view of conventional dietary wisdom.  For instance, Dr. Eve Roberts, a scientist at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, was quoted on Monday, September 24th in the Victoria Times Colonist as saying: “I do not want children to grow up with liver disease because we forgot to tell them how to eat” (1).  I’m sure that same attitude abounds throughout the medical profession.  Unfortunately, despite the overwhelming consensus that children should not suffer such diet-induced illnesses, there is little agreement on exactly what we should be telling children (or adults for that matter) to help them avoid fatty liver disease.  The medical literature provides research reports of several contradictions on this point. 

In fact, contradictions abound throughout the medical literature.  So how are we to choose a healthy diet? What can we teach our children about eating well? For those of us who are gluten sensitive or have celiac disease, gluten avoidance is a given.  For our children, the answer is less clear.  They will be at greater risk of having celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, but what should we teach them about these grains? Should they avoid gluten entirely? Should they eat normally until they become ill—perhaps risking permanent neurological damage or a deadly cancer? Should they be constantly vigilant with regular blood tests, endoscopies, or IgG allergy testing?

Many of us have been told to “just eat a balanced diet”.  It sounds appealing, but it is so vague as to provide little meaningful direction.  What is a healthy diet and how do we judge if any special interest group is more interested in health than profits? Just how much can we trust information that has a price tag attached to it? Somebody is profiting.  Can they really provide objective guidance? These questions should form part of our search for information.  There is nothing wrong with making a profit or earning a living from providing dietary advice.  However, it is important to be aware of any possible conflicts of interest.  

For these reasons, I have developed my own strategy for determining what advice and guidance I can provide to my children and grandchildren.  I acknowledge that this approach is limited by my own biases, my finite capacity for assimilating and synthesizing information, my incomplete familiarity with nutritional research, and my own personal experiences.  On the other hand, I don’t have to worry about being directly influenced by profiteering or lobby groups diverting me from my primary purpose.

On that basis, I have proceeded to explore my own dietary program.  I have conducted some trial-and-error experiments on myself, and I have read as extensively as my part-time avocation of dietary investigation permits.  From this, I have learned to trust my own gut.  If something doesn’t feel right in my stomach, I avoid it.  I have also learned to trust my sense of smell.  If a food does not smell appetizing to me, I don’t eat it.  I suspect that this is a tool that evolution has provided us with to determine what is and is not safe to eat.  Those without it probably stopped contributing to the human gene pool.  I have learned that IgG allergy testing is an effective tool with which I can reduce the lengthy trial-and-error process necessary for identifying the majority of allergies.  I realize that this testing has its weaknesses, but so does almost every other form of medical testing.  I have come to accept that as long as human beings are involved, we will have imperfect testing, regardless of claims to the contrary.  Finally, although I try to read critically, I read medical and scientific research reports to stay abreast of new findings and gain a better understanding of this complex field.
The tentative conclusions I have reached, pending new information, are as follows:

1. Gluten grains probably aren’t very good for people.  They are highly allergenic affecting at least 10% of the general population, and perhaps as much as 40%  of the population.  These grains also contain opioids morphine-like substances that can be highly addictive and have a deleterious effect on our ability to resist cancer.  They also contain large quantities of starch that is converted very rapidly into sugars.
2. The evidence suggests that refined sugars and starchy foods cause many of our problems with obesity, vision problems due to growth related distortions of the eyeball, type II diabetes, and hypoglycemia. 
3. Dairy products probably aren’t very good for anyone either.  They are also highly allergenic and contain opioids similar to those found in gluten.  Further, about two thirds of the world’s adult populations are lactose intolerant.  They don’t retain enzymes for digesting milk sugars after childhood.
4. I think it is wise to avoid processed foods where possible.  The more they’ve been processed, the further they are from the state in which we evolved eating them.
5. I believe it is a good idea to avoid eating soy because it has been linked to neurological diseases and other health problems that I don’t want to develop.
6. I avoid foods to which IgG blood testing has shown to cause an immune reaction in me.
7. I try to avoid juices, as these are mostly sugar. 

1. I take supplements of vitamins and minerals which evidence has shown that I either absorb poorly or have been depleted from the soils in which my food is grown.
2. I try to eat whole fruits and vegetables.
3. I try to eat when I am hungry—not according somebody else’s idea of appropriate mealtimes.
4. If I am ever diagnosed with cancer, I will follow a ketogenic diet.  That is a diet that is dominated by fats, includes about 30% protein, and includes no carbohydrates.  I have tried this diet for about a month.  I can’t say that I enjoy it very much, but I’d be happy to forego the pleasure of carbohydrates if my life is at stake.
   
5. I’m very grateful to my wife who works very hard at finding tasty treats so I don’t have to feel isolated or deprived in social situations where food is consumed.
   
6. I’m convinced that even a little exercise is a critical feature of a well balanced diet, but that belongs in another column.
   

This is the balanced diet I recommend.  I sorely doubt that my children or my grandchildren follow my advice, except when they visit during mealtimes.  However I am confident that such a diet, should they choose to accept it, will not cause them to self-destruct due to dietary disease.