Celiac.com 06/11/2018 - Untreated celiac disease causes damage to the small intestine, which can interfere with proper nutrient absorption. Most patients can recover proper nutritional absorption via vitamins and mineral therapy, according to the CDF. Avoiding gluten is key. However, many people with celiac disease may not know that their pharmacist might just be one of their best allies in the fight to avoid gluten.
Currently, there are no rules that require drug manufacturers to disclose the source of medication ingredients. Consumers can contact the manufacturer directly with questions, and some drug companies strive for clear, helpful answers, but getting correct information can be challenging.  Many times though, an answer won't address possible cross contamination during the...

Celiac.com 08/22/2018 - There’s been some data to support the idea that local pharmacists might have an important role to play in helping people with celiac disease to remain gluten-free by providing information about possible gluten in drugs, and even liaising with manufacturers for gluten information on the patient’s behalf, as needed.
But how solid is your local pharmacist when it comes to celiac disease awareness? A team of researchers recently set out to evaluate pharmacists' knowledge of celiac disease, and to look for areas where further information may be beneficial.
The research team included Carmela Avena-Woods, PharmD, BS Pharm; Robert A. Mangione, EdD; and Wenchen Kenneth Wu, PhD, MBA. They are all with St. John's University in Queens, New York. To gather data ...

Celiac.com 12/20/2019 - A recent site reminded me again to check my cosmetic drawer, or as my husband calls it, “my chemistry set". Have you researched your make-up ingredients for the possibility that some of those creams, powders, oils or gels contain gluten? I did this briefly about ten years ago, but I was lax with it because the ingredient lists were so small in size, in another language, or had some "weird" ingredients that I could not even pronounce, let alone find out if they contained gluten. Now we have the Gluten Free RN Web Site, and the author is working hard to separate the cosmetics into two separate areas “Safe for the Celiac,” and an area that covers products to avoid. 
The Gluten Free RN answers a simple "Yes" to the query about whether these cosmetic products should be...

Celiac.com 03/28/2020 - Were you thinking that there wasn't much gluten in your medicine?  Had you read that less than 1% of drugs were made with it?  Think again, because while pharmaceutical manufacturers don't actually add gluten to drugs in most instances, they very frequently cannot say that their products are gluten free.  That's because before some ingredients get into a manufacturing facility, they are purchased from suppliers that are not controlled by the drug maker.  Let me explain.  
When you take a drug, most of what you are swallowing is filler.  This is called an excipient in the trade.  Excipients are inert stuff that the actual drug is mixed with, and it influences the rate the drug enters your blood.  For people with celiac disease, the problem is that the excipie...