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Celiac.com 07/11/2017 - A UK man has filed a lawsuit against a local bar and grill after becoming sick on a gyro salad that servers led him to believe was gluten-free. The Webster Groves resident, Phillip "Gus" Wagner alleges that servers at Michael's Bar & Grill in Manchester, provided inaccurate information about the dish, and that he suffered an adverse reaction to the gluten in the dish that left him with "severe and permanent injuries." His lawyer, Christine Anderson of Faerber and Anderson, specifies that Mr. Wagner was injured in one or more of the following respects to wit: injuries to the cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal tract, internal organs, respiratory system and body as a whole; that he sustained an aggravation of a pre-existing condition; that said injuries are permanent and permanently disabling; that he has experienced pain and suffering in the past and is reasonably certain to experience pain and suffering in the future; that he has expended money for necessary medical care, treatment and services in the past and is reasonably certain to expend money for necessary medical care, treatment and services in the future resulting from said occurrence; that he has lost the ordinary gains of his employment and will lose further such sums in the future; that he has sustained loss of a normal life. For their part, the restaurant says that the lawsuit is their first indication of any kind of a problem. Michale's general manager, Katina Malliotakis, says they had no indication that any customer had any kind of problem, until someone called and demanded to know their insurance company, and adding that that someone had told Wagner the gyro salad was gluten-free. Malliotakis says that Michale's special gluten-free menu does not include the gyro salad, and that her servers are all aware of that fact. "Nobody remembers a customer asking about the gyro salad,” she says. If someone did ask for a gluten-free salad, any server would have pointed them toward another salad on the menu that is gluten-free."We have plenty of gluten-free options if people ask for that," she says. What do you think? Mistaken restaurant? Mistaken patron? Much ado about nothing? Source: riverfronttimes.com

Celiac.com 04/25/2016 - In a scandal that is shaping up to resemble the story of Paul Seelig, who sold "gluten-free" baked goods that were actually regular baked goods merely labeled "gluten-free," an Ohio couple is suing their local pizzeria for serving "gluten-free" pizza that they claim was just regular pizza labeled as gluten-free. According to court documents, the Reynoldsburg, Ohio couple claims that, on April 11, 2014, they bought a pie from Donatos Pizza at 7580 East Broad Street in Reynoldsburg. The couple claims that the pizza was advertised as gluten-free, but was made with standard pizza dough, which contains wheat flour. The couple is seeking compensation for nearly $9,000 in medical expenses, nearly $4,000 in lost wages and unspecified future damages. The lawsuit was filed Monday in Franklin County. According to court documents, Donatos has not yet been served its copy of the lawsuit. Stay tuned for more details on this and other stories about gluten-free issues.

Celiac.com 05/29/2019 - Many practitioners of alternative medicine make marketing claims about diagnosis and treatment of celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) A team of researchers recently set out to assess the validity of marketing claims about diagnosis and treatment of celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) made by American chiropractors, naturopaths, homeopaths, acupuncturists, and integrative medicine practitioners. The research team included Graham Boyer; Timothy Caulfield, BSc, LLB, LLM; Peter H. R. Green, MD; and Benjamin Lebwohl, MD, MS. They are variously affiliated with the Department of Medicine, the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University, New York, New York, USA; the Health Law Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; and the Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA. The team conducted a cross-sectional analysis of practitioner websites in ten US cities, looking for any mention of celiac or NCGS as well as specific claims of ability to diagnose, ability to treat, and treatment efficacy. The team then classified promoted treatments as true, false, or unproven, as assessed independently by two researchers. Out of 500 clinics identified by the team, 178 (35.6%) made a claim regarding celiac disease, NCGS, or a gluten-free diet. Websites for Naturopathic clinics showed the highest rates of advertising for diagnosis, treatment, or efficacy for celiac disease (40%), followed by integrative medicine clinics (36%), homeopaths (20%), acupuncturists (14%), and chiropractors (12%). Integrative medicine clinics showed the highest rates of advertising for diagnosis, treatment, or efficacy for NCGS (45%), followed by naturopaths (37%), homeopaths (14%), chiropractors (14%), and acupuncturists (10%). They found no real differences in marketing rates from city to city. The team notes that, 138 of 232 marketing claims made by these complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) clinic websites were either false or unproven, that's nearly 60%. However, the figure may be misleading. It is unclear why the abstract for the paper lumps together false claims with unproven claims, when the study clearly created separate categories and data for each. It gives the impression of some sleight of hand. How many were false, and how many were unproven. Remember false claims are almost always groundless, and have no basis in fact. Unproven claims may in fact prove to be true. There may be some basis or data to support unproven claims. That's not to say unproven claims are good, just that they are different from claims that are known to be false. By lumping together the numbers for false claims with those for unproven claims, and not clearly listing the data for each category in their abstract, the team does a disservice to their efforts, which is a pity, because the team's conclusions are sound: "A significant number of CAM clinics advertise diagnostic techniques or treatments for celiac disease or NCGS. Many claims are either false or unproven, thus warranting a need for increased regulation of CAM advertising to protect the public." Clearly better information and regulation of false or misleading advertising claims will be in the public's interest. However, so will more transparency in communication about the problem. Conflating data from separate categories may make for an alarming headline, but it doesn't tell the story accurately or clearly. Readers deserve to know the exact breakdown of false information compared to unproven information. That said, take advertising claims made by alternative health practitioners with a grain of salt. Do your research and know your facts. Read more in the American Journal of Gastroenterology: May 2019 - Volume 114 - Issue 5 - p 786–791 doi: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000000238

Celiac.com 09/02/2016 - A Canadian woman who claims to suffer from celiac disease has sued Mohegan Sun Pocono and its buffet, Timbers, after she allegedly became ill from eating pastries mislabeled as "gluten free." The woman says the pastries labeled as "gluten free" at the buffet were standard non-gluten-free pastries, and says the error made her violently ill, and caused weight loss and several weeks of sickness. Dianne M. Leyshon, of Terrace Avenue, Harding, claims that, at a brunch served on July, 27, 2014, Timbers Buffet represented the desserts as gluten-free. The complaint alleges Leyshon became "violently ill" after she ate "several pastries." Gluten can inflame and damage the inner lining of the small intestine if eaten by those with celiac disease, according to the Mayo Clinic. She was later taken via ambulance to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center with "severe dehydration" and continued to feel the injuries' effects weeks later, losing as much as eight pounds in the process, according to the complaint. The complaint seeks a sum in excess of what Leyshon would stand to win through out-of-court arbitration as well as costs and interest. A Mohegan Sun Pocono spokesperson has not yet returned comment. Read more at the Timesleader.com.

Celiac.com 02/09/2018 - A newlywed couple have raised accusations of sick guests, inappropriate food, and breach of contract in filing suit against wedding vendors they say ruined their surprise vegan wedding, which was also to include gluten-free snacks for some guests. The wedding took place in May, 2017, and by Christmas, the family had already filed suit in Ramsey County against vendors Mintahoe, Inc., A'Bulae, LLC, and Bellagala for breach of contract. The lawsuit states the venue choice near Mears Park in downtown St. Paul was "absolutely contingent" on their commitment to provide a "delicious" vegan dinner to wedding guests. According to the couple, the main idea was to serve delicious food that guests would not suspect was "an entirely plant-based meal." The couple intended for the surprise to be revealed at the end of the night, when servers were to put out signs announcing that the entire meal had been vegan. Among the claims made by the family of the bride and groom are that a guest with celiac disease ate a seitan skewer that she believed was gluten-free, but which actually contained gluten, and that the guest became "very ill" as a result. The couple says the hotel's pastry chef took home the leftover vegan wedding cake the couple had ordered from an off-site vendor, instead of making sure it went to the wedding party. The couple's complaints go on to cite a litany of perceived offenses, including "horrific" food and service, "missing" bamboo shoots bean sprouts, too many carrots, and "horrific…sickeningly sweet," sauce that was not the peanut sauce they expected. The couple also complains that the groom's room before the wedding was "extremely hot and stifling," and disputes the cost of the menu for the wedding, which was mostly Thai food. In fairness, though, their main complaint seems to be that the food was terrible, rather than the fact that it wasn't vegan. The couple and mother-of-the-bride are seeking $21,721 for each of the seven counts of breach of contract, totaling $152,047, along with an award of damages to be determined at trial. What do you make of the situation? Right on the money, or a gluten-free bridge too far? Source: KTSP

Celiac.com 11/25/2013 - More and more professional athletes are claiming to reap benefits from adopting a gluten-free diet. What’s the science behind these claims? Writing for the Washington Post, Anna Medaris Miller has a very solid article in which she investigates the science behind the claims by many professional athletes that they has reaped tremendous physical benefits by adopting a gluten-free diet. Miller cites the growing popularity of gluten-free foods in general, as well as the move away from carbs by many professional athletes. She notes that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, the Garmin cycling team and top tennis players Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic have all been vocal about the benefits of gluten-free diets. Still, a gluten-free diet won’t turn you into an Olympic athlete, Fasano says. “But when you go to the high-level performing athletes in which a fraction of a second can mean the difference between winning and losing an event, or be[ing] able to complete a marathon or not within a certain time frame, that can be the small edge that helps you.” Some researchers theorize that eliminating gluten allows the body to better carry oxygen to the muscles, which may boost athletic performance. There are other theories as to why some athletes report improved athletic performance after eliminating gluten. So far, performance claims attributed to a gluten-free diet are purely anecdotal. In fact, Miller offers her own experience: My digestion is gentler, my sleep is sounder, my energy level is more even. These benefits also seem to have led to improved athletic performance. Since going off gluten, I placed in a race for the first time in my adult life, won a small community biathlon and achieved a personal best in a 5K run. Most important, I felt good while doing it. However, there is just no research that documents clear before-and-after changes among athletes who have adopted a gluten-free diet. Felicia Stoler, a nutritionist and exercise physiologist, who is president of the Greater New York chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine, says she has yet to see evidence heralding a gluten-free diet for endurance athletes. Until such evidence emerges, says Stoler, many people wise to remain skeptical. “If you have nothing wrong with you as far as absorptive disorders, then there’s no benefit by cutting out gluten,” she says. “You have to look at your overall caloric intake needs as an athlete.” Source: Article from The Washington Post by Anna Medaris Miller, an associate editor of Monitor on Psychology magazine and a health columnist at TheDailyMuse.com.