Celiac.com 02/24/2017 - Have wheat and gluten changed over time? Is the wheat we consume today substantially different to the wheat we ate fifty or one-hundred years ago? These are interesting questions that have invited a good deal of speculation, but so far, at least, no good answers.

Dr. Chris Miller, a former faculty member at Kansas State University in Grain Science and Industry, now the director of wheat quality research at Heartland Plant Innovations, is working on a project that could allow people with celiac disease to safely consume wheat. As part of that project, Dr. Miller is studying different wheat varieties from the Kansas State University breeding program.

So far, he has examined 50 Hard Red Winter wheat lines, which include current commercial varieties, older varieties once common, but rarely planted today, and wild relatives of wheat.

"With these different varieties we can get a broad understanding of how genetics change over time, or if they have changed through our breeding selection," Miller says.

Miller and his colleagues started by characterizing the varieties' traits from the field all the way through their protein characterization, their genetic makeup (which involves the plants' genotypes), end-product testing (which examines the plants' milling and baking qualities), and health and nutrition attributes.

Eventually, they hope to have good data on all of the wheat varieties in the study. This is exploratory research, says Aaron Harries, Vice President of Research and Operations at Kansas Wheat, "We're not sure what we are going to find."

They hope their preliminary research data will help them toward their main goal of helping people with celiac disease be able to consume wheat products without any digestion problems.

"This is a study that's focused for the good of all human health. We're doing research here that they aren't doing anywhere else," Jordan Hildebrand, program assistant at Kansas Wheat, said. "The fact that Kansas wheat farmers took the initiative to fund the research showed their foresight and their desire to deliver a wholesome product for everyone who wants to have their bread and eat it too."

Stay tuned for developments on this and related stories.

Source:

• Midwestproducer.com

Celiac.com 02/07/2017 - There's been a great deal of excitement, and plenty of confusion, among celiac sufferers about a drug that breaks down gluten into harmless smaller molecules. The good news is that the drug, GluteGuard, has shown some early promise in treating gluten intolerance in randomized human trials. The enzyme supplement currently available through Glutagen's website, and registered in Australia as a "listed complementary medicine".

The bad news is that the drug is not designed as a cure for people with celiac disease, and even the company that makes the drug has concerns about exaggerated reports of how widely it can be used.

The maker, Glutagen, claims that:

The company is doing further studies, but as yet, at least as far as those who have celiac disease are concerned, there is only evidence that it may be a hedge against accidental gluten ingestion.

GluteGuard is based on the papaya enzyme, caricain, which not only reduces gluten to smaller molecules, but further breaks down those products that negatively impact individuals affected by gluten.

The company recently sought to clarify confusion among people with celiac disease by issuing a statement that reads in part: "The manufacturer of GluteGuard, Glutagen, advises the supplement is not a treatment or cure for coeliac disease and it is essential that people with coeliac disease maintain a strict gluten free diet." 

Bottom line is that if you have celiac disease, you must maintain a strict gluten-fee diet, and never willingly eat gluten, no matter what kind of supplements you take. Hoever, it you regularly travel or eat outside of your home it may be a good idea to use this supplement.

Celiac.com will be among the first to announce any kind of cure or change to celiac disease treatment that might change that. Until then, stay tuned, and stay informed.

Read an important notice regarding GluteGuard for people with celiac disease: Celiac.org.au

This article was revised by Celiac.com on 11/02/2017 to address concerns that were raised by GluteGuard.

Celiac.com 02/03/2017 - Feeding kids restricted to a "special" diet due to food allergies or sensitivities can be both challenging and expensive. Two Kansas moms turned their experience meeting those challenges with their own children into a full-blown community service, dedicated to helping parents feed kids with food allergies on the cheap.

Emily Brown's daughter suffers from allergies to milk, eggs, wheat, soy, and peanuts. Avoiding such common ingredients really pushed up the Brown family's grocery bills. A single loaf of gluten-free bread can exceed $6.99. Such high costs led the women to seek federal assistance, but allergen-free food options in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program had limited offerings for their children.

For example, the program substitutes corn tortillas instead of bread, and rice instead of pasta, which wasn't so appealing to the kids.

With that in mind, Brown and her friend, Amy Goode, swung into action and set up the ReNewed Health Food Pantry in Overland Park, Kansas, along with a nonprofit to help low-income families with food allergies.

ReNewed is believed to be the first such pantry in the U.S., though a similar community food pantry recently opened in Philadelphia.

Read more: fox4kc.com.

Celiac.com 02/02/2017 - Scientists have devised a universal gluten cross-contamination checklist they hope will help to reduce gluten contamination in the food services industries.

The newly created food services checklist was compiled after an extensive literature review, input from 11 different experts with PhDs and experience with food services and/or gluten and celiac issues, along with documents from various organizations such as the Gluten-Free Certification Program from the Canadian Celiac Association.

The final checklist consists of 88 items divided into 12 sections, which cover everything from building and facilities maintenance, cleaning and ventilation, to employee clothing and hygiene, to food production and transport.

The checklist also includes a robust section on planning and communication with an eye toward maintaining a gluten-free facility and supporting gluten-free customers. The tool is notable in that it is the first comprehensive checklist designed to promote a proper understanding of the issues across all manufacturing and food production processes.

All of which make it, "an interesting tool since it helps to assure proper understanding of the items, which is crucial for the correct evaluation of conformities/non-conformities situations in loco and ultimately might impact the safety of the food produced in certain establishments," according to the authors.

Such an understanding is crucial for making correct on-site assessments of conformities/non-conformities.

Properly employed, the checklist might impact, and ultimately improve the safety of gluten-free food across the entire industry.

Read more at: mdpi.com and cantechletter.com

Celiac.com 01/24/2017 - Coming from homes where gluten-free food is abundant and taken for granted, many college students struggle with maintaining their diets during their time on campus.

That struggle is the focus of numerous efforts by campuses nationwide to provide solid, reliable and abundant gluten-free food options for their students.

At a place like SMU, that can include kitchen dining halls that serve gluten-free foods, or gluten-free pantry in Umphrey Lee.

To help students be more conscious about their food choices SMU posts the daily menus on its website, along with nutritional facts for each item. There are different icons such as Eat Well, Fat Free, Low Sodium, Vegetarian, and Vegan, but as yet, no Gluten-Free icon.

SMU does offer students access to a campus dietitian, who can help them figure out how to eat a balanced diet on campus, and grant them access to the gluten-free pantry or help in special cases.

Read more at: smudailycampus.com.

Celiac.com 01/18/2017 - Irish food manufacturer Largo, whose snack products include Tayto, has admitted it sold crisps contaminated with high amounts of gluten in a packages that were labeled "Gluten Free."

The company has pleaded guilty to breaching food safety regulations.

After buying a package of O'Donnell's mature Irish cheese and onion, gluten-free crisps for her 10-year-old son, a mother from Arklow, County Wicklow, reportedly noticed a reaction to the crisps when his ears began turning red. The mother complained to the company and the HSE subsequently brought a criminal case against the food manufacturer.

Calling the case a "very serious matter," Judge Grainne Malone noted that the maximum penalty on indictment in the cases at the circuit court was a €500,000 fine and/or three years in prison. However, the judge agreed to the jurisdiction of the district court in the case.

Giving evidence, HSE environmental health officer Caitriona Sheridan said that products to be labeled gluten-free were required to contain less than 20 parts-per-milligram gluten. The crisps targeted by the complaint tested at more than 700 ppm gluten. Lab tests on a second control sample of the product showed more than 100 ppm of gluten.

Two other people have since filed complaints about high gluten in Largo's gluten-free products. The company responded by withdrawing two pallets of the products, which it said contained the incorrect crisps.

Counsel for the company, Andrew Whelan, told the court the issue was identified as a malfunction in the line, and that Largo will now package gluten-fee products in a "totally segregated" production area.

Read more at Barfblog.com, 

Celiac.com 12/28/2016 - Quaker Oats UK has launched several gluten-free oat products, including a free-from variant and a yogurt-based breakfast pouch range. Available since late September, the new gluten-free offering comes in a 510g can of Traditional Rolled Oats, and a 350g box of 10 Oat So Simple packets.

"Leading a gluten-free lifestyle is important and necessary for some people, and so Quaker has created options to meet consumer demand," says PepsiCo's Jeremy Gibson, marketing director, nutrition.

The launch follows the introduction earlier this month of Oat & Fruit Breakfast, an on-the-go pouch line made with fruit purée and natural yogurt that comes in three flavors: Red Fruits, Apple & Cinnamon, and Blueberry.

The products will be sold exclusively at UK's Tesco stores, and will be promoted with an aggressive social media campaign and in-store marketing.

Calling Oat & Fruit Breakfast "unique to the market" Duncan McKay, PepsiCo's senior marketing manager for grains UK, expressed excitement over the new product range, which come "as demand for convenient breakfast options is at a peak."

Stay tuned for more information on gluten-free products from Quaker, and other manufacturers.

Celiac.com 12/16/2016 - Gluten-free news is everywhere, but so is fake news. Thanks to someone's sense of humor, the two collided recently, when signs recently appeared inside San Francisco buses, declaring:

Riders of San Francisco's buses may have seen these and other tongue-in-cheek ads, including signs that read:

No, you cannot actually get cheeseburgers or liquor on the bus, or any MUNI bus in San Francisco. Nor is the bus in any way gluten-free.

The signs sport the wry Twitter hashtag #MUNIFACTS

Sometimes fake news, and satire sites make it easy, and sometimes they make it harder to discern the truth of the claim.

These pranksters seem to be having a good time doing the latter, as witnessed by another sign that read:

So, if you're lucky enough to see one of these, be sure to smile, because that seems to be the culprit's main intent.

Read more at: Open Original Shared Link

Celiac.com 12/05/2016 - Symptomatic suspected gluten exposure is common among patients with celiac disease on a gluten-free diet. A gluten-free diet is the only recommended treatment for celiac disease. Although anecdotal evidence suggests that suspected gluten exposure is common among celiac patients following a gluten-free diet, there is not a great deal of hard data to support that view.

A team of researchers recently set out to assess the prevalence and characteristics of gluten reactions in people with celiac disease on a gluten-free diet. The research team included JA Silvester, LA Graff, L Rigaux, JR Walker, and DR Duerksen. They are variously affiliated with the St Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, Canada, the College of Medicine at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, and with the Celiac Research Program at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, USA.

Their team prospectively enrolled adults with biopsy proven, newly diagnosed celiac disease. They then conducted a survey related to diet adherence and reactions to gluten, both at study entry and at 6 months. To measure celiac disease symptoms and gluten-free diet adherence, they used T Celiac Symptom Index, Celiac Diet Assessment Tool (CDAT) and Gluten-Free Eating Assessment Tool (gluten-free-EAT). Of the 105 patients enrolled, 91% reported gluten exposure less than once per month, while the average CDAT score was 9 (IQR 8-11), which suggests good dietary adherence.

Two out of three patients reported suspected symptomatic reaction to gluten. Most, 63 percent, did not suspect gluten consumption until a reaction occurred. Meanwhile, just under one-third (29 percent) reported that problems happened when ordering in a restaurant.

Thirty percent of patients say that gluten was consumed from incidental contact, while 10 percent said it was due to eating a major gluten ingredient.

Average time to symptom onset was 1 hour, though onset ranged from 10 minutes to 2 days. Symptoms lasted about 24 hours on average, and ranged from 1 hour to 8 days. Symptoms typically included abdominal pain (80%), diarrhea (52%), fatigue (33%), headache (30%) and irritability (29%).

Even with good dietary compliance, most celiac patients following a gluten-free diet suffer from regular adverse reactions to gluten. Eating away from home continues to pose the major risks for accidental gluten exposure.

The team recommends that physicians treating celiac disease patients should include regular questions regarding gluten reactions as part of their assessment of gluten-free diet adherence.

Source:

• Open Original Shared Link

Celiac.com 11/25/2016 - First of all, if you are using methamphetamine, gluten is probably the least of your worries. Seriously.

But what about rumors and articles circulating that suggest that meth contains gluten, and that said gluten might make an already dangerous drug much word for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance? Is there really gluten in meth? The short answer is no, gluten in meth is not a thing. Meth does not contain gluten.

To the best of our knowledge this latest bit of misinformation comes from an article published in the Open Original Shared Link, and constitutes an attempt at humor.

According to the article, "Health experts have today warned that meth found on the streets of Portland has tested positive for gluten, a protein composite normally found in several types of grains, including wheat, spelt, rye, and barley." The article goes on to say that a group called Action on Gluten is working to eliminate gluten from meth within a year.

According to the article, the group's spokesperson, Simon Krueger explained that "Gluten is not only dangerous, but also highly addictive. When added to meth, an otherwise fairly safe drug, the consequences can be deadly." 

What some readers may fail to notice, however, is that the article appears in the magazine's "Satire" section, and is undoubtedly tongue in cheek. The article appears alongside other obviously satirical articles, such as one claiming that President-elect Donald Trump has recently announced his plans to build a marijuana-themed hotel in notorious hippy enclave of Eugene, Oregon.

So, anyone who actually believes meth contains gluten can credit their misconception ThatOregonLife.com.

Once again, as a public service announcement. People should absolutely not use meth, but meth certainly does not contain gluten.

Celiac.com 11/21/2016 - Even early on, strange inconsistencies caused Dan and Davina Dixon to wonder about her daughter, Rebecca. With dark hair and olive skin, Rebecca looked visibly different from her fair-complected parents. She looked different enough to wonder, as a child, if was adopted, if Dan and Davina were really her biological parents, as they assured her they were.

Later, in her twenties, Rebecca developed celiac disease, which usually runs in families, even though no one else in their extended family suffered from it. Most of this was merely fodder for curiosity, until the day Davina saw a Facebook post that mentioned how rare it is for parents with blue eyes to have a child with brown eyes.

Wondering about Rebecca's brown eyes, Davina went to the family doctor, who suggested a blood test. That's when the real mystery began: The blood test revealed that Rebecca's dad, Dan, was not, in fact, her biological father. There was absolutely no doubt. Dan's blood type was AB, while Rebecca's was O-Positive. That makes it impossible for Dan to be her father. A paternity test followed, and confirmed the blood results. There was simply no chance that Dan was Rebecca's biological father.

Naturally, the Dixons began to search for answers. As reported by Kidspot, Rebecca was raised believing that Dan and Davina were her biological parents. The couple had tried for years to conceive a child. Unsuccessful, they turned to Dr. Norman Barwin, a gynecologist and fertility expert known by many as Canada's "baby god."

The couple wondered whether there could have been some sort of mix-up in Barwin's office. Eventually, they noticed Rebecca bore a striking resemblance to Dr. Barwin, himself. Soon after that, as CTV News reported, a woman conceived at the same clinic learned that she was genetically related to Barwin. A DNA test confirmed that Rebecca and the woman were half-sisters, and their father was Dr. Barwin. Apparently, Barwin's role as a sperm donor to his own medical practice was kept secret from both sets of parents.

The Dixon family is now suing Dr. Barwin for negligence and breach of trust. The lawsuit requests that Barwin turn over a DNA sample, to determine if any other children conceived at his clinic are his offspring, and to notify them accordingly.

Read more at:

• Open Original Shared Link
• Open Original Shared Link 
• Open Original Shared Link

Celiac.com 11/18/2016 - Does a gluten-free diet offer special benefits to competitive bicyclists? A number of professional cyclists have adopted gluten-free diets in the last few years, mostly based on the notion that ditching gluten will improve training and/or performance.

The first big push came when team Garmin, led by their CEO and exercise physiologist, switched to a gluten-free diet in advance of the 2010 cycling tour. By 2012, according to a University of Colorado survey of almost 300 endurance cyclists, the gluten-free was the most popular 'special' diet among that group. Moreover, 84% of gluten-free cyclists said that eating gluten caused symptoms that adversely impacted their training.

Now, in fairness, about 7 out of 10 endurance athletes who compete at recreational level report digestive issues. So, could a gluten-free diet help? Recently, the University of Colorado scientists studied the effects of a short-term gluten-free diet in a group of non-celiac competitive cyclists, all with no history of irritable bowel symptoms.

Here's how it went down. For seven days, under normal training conditions, the research team gave the cyclists either a gluten-free or gluten-containing diet, then subjected them to a 45-minute steady-state ride and 15-minute time trial on day seven. The research team then led the cyclists through a washout period before reversing the diets, then again conducting the timed rides. Cyclists had no idea which diet they were on at any given time. This was done by concealing the gluten in otherwise gluten-free food bars, which the riders consumed twice each day.

During the study researchers monitored cycling performance, digestion and inflammation markers. On reviewing the data, they found no difference between the two diets on performance, digestive health or inflammation.

Larger, more comprehensive studies are needed before we know for sure, but this casts serious doubt on any claims of enhanced performance for athletes without celiac disease who adopt gluten-free diets.

So, while athletes with celiac disease will definitely see health benefits, and likely performance benefits, from going gluten-free, those without celiac disease would do just as well to go back to their normal training diets.

Read more at Open Original Shared Link