When Andrea asked me to do a guest post, I was excited and honored to be a part of her series. I had a couple of letters to choose from, I chose “X.”  Always up for a challenge, the reason I chose X is for two reasons. 

Reason number 1.  X marks the spot in my kitchen.  I am grateful for my mom and grandma who loved to cook from scratch, they taught me that the kitchen is a place where family, friends can be together enjoy a tasty meal and delicious baked goods.  I know am passing that down to my daughter and while I started a gluten free diet before she came into my world, I had to learn how to bake all over again.  You see, when you are use to cooking and eating a certain way your whole life, there is a fear of the learning how to cook and bake all over again.  It does provide its challenges.  I know I’ve had my fair share of dinner and baking fails, but that is part of the learning process and glad for those failures as it makes me eager to try it a new way all over so I can get it just right.  In all honestly, I would rather bake, that comes from my mom (though she’s a fabulous cook as well).  I have pure enjoyment when friends and family can sink their teeth into something that is gluten free, healthy and tasty.  I sneak in the healthy part, because baked goods can be healthy and tasty!  When it comes to gluten free baking though, it feels as if you have to learn how to be a chemist because gluten free baking is an exact science.  Since gluten acts as a natural binder in baked goods, we have to add a binder into our gluten free flour blends since none of the gluten free flours have a natural binder in them. 

Lilly really wants another cupcake!

Reason number 2:  Xanthan Gum:  One of the key ingredients used in gfree baking is Xanthan Gum.  Despite its alien-like name, xanthan gum (and its cousin guar gum) is used to bind, thicken and emulsify gluten free ingredients.  You will also see these “gums” in other products like protein powders, ice cream, ketchup, salad dressings and even cosmetics to name a few.  If you don’t use xanthan gum in your gfree baked goodies, you will basically have a bunch of crumbles.

So what is Xanthan gum?  Xanthan gum is derived from corn sugar (aka HFCS) which is extracted from cornstarch.  The corn sugar is fermented with a certain strain of bacteria called Xanthomonas campestris.  This bacteria is typically the black slime we see on leafy veggies, broccoli or cauliflower when it is going bad.  (How chemists think of this stuff is beyond me!)

There is controversy about xanthan gum.  Since those of us who eat a gluten free diet, we often want to eat as natural to the environment as we can, priding ourselves in eating home baked goods and avoiding artificial stuff like HFCS, but since xanthan gum is chemically made in a laboratory setting, we are often asking ourselves if it is worth it.  (Btw, if you have not seen the moving King Corn, it is a must see).  The other thing to consider is most Xanthan Gum comes to the USA from China untested for melamines and heavy metals, so finding a non-GMO xanthan gum that is made in the USA is important. 

As with any chemical made product, the human body does not really know how to process it, so it just sort of lingers around.  During my research, I came across this from Sciencelab.com about the toxic effects of xanthan gum.  It is hard to find products that does not use xanthan gum, but you often need very little when baking. 

The other issue is the rise in corn sensitivities.  Folks who cannot tolerate corn or gluten have their work cut out for them and using xanthan gum is definitely out of the equation.  For those who have corn sensitivities often have trouble digesting it and develop symptoms ranging from mild intestinal discomfort, bloating to severe pain.  Often similar to gluten sensitivities.  My naturopathic doctor told me those sensitive to corn are the ones that have more of a Dr. Jekyll /Mr. Hyde personality or be the playground bullies.  (But please don’t go diagnosing your family and children’s friends)  You can read more about this at www.drrapp.com 

I have had my fair share of using too much “gums” in my baked goods.  The result is not ideal as the texture becomes well, too “gummy” or even slimy.  I have made the switch to guar gum and you do have to experiment to get the right texture.  There are a couple of things I like about guar gum, it is higher in fiber, is found naturally in our environment, and it is also about 3 times less expensive than xanthan gum.  So if you are concerned about the costs of baking gluten free, then guar gum is for you.  Always measure the “gums” exactly.  Do not estimate as if you have a tad too much or too little, it will change how the gluten free flours bind together.  Here are some general tips for using Xanthan Gum and Guar Gum:

•  Yeast Bread and pizza dough recipes: Add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum per cup of gluten-free flour blend
• Cake, muffin and quick bread recipes: Add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum per one cup of gluten-free flour blend used
• Cookie and bar recipes: Add 1/2 teaspoon (or less) xanthan gum or guar gum per one cup gluten-free flour blend used

If you buy pre-packaged gluten free flour blends, always check the labels as some may already have the xanthan gum in there figured out for you.  

Jasmine is the Co-Branch Manager of the Gluten Intolerance Groups of Greater Chicago.  You can find Jasmine’s website at www.healthyjasmine.com and check out some of her writings at Chicago Family Health Examiner and National Pregnancy Health Examiner.Tweet

I am Very excited for “V” day! If you remember on “H” day when I posted about Heidi Kelly, I also included a video from Dr.Vikki Petersen, who shared the story of when Heidi and her family came to see her for a visit. I stumbled upon her videos on You Tube around the time I was thinking of starting my blog last Fall and have had the pleasure of chatting with her online. I was captivated by all the information she had regarding gluten and its effect on the body and immediately purchased the book,written by her and her husband, Dr. Richard Petersen,  “The Gluten Effect”, which I am proud to announce will be my next giveaway. In fact, I have two books I will be giving away plus two DVDs from the Gluten Sensitivity and Celiac Forum, so stay tuned!  “The Gluten Effect”,  is a  New York Times Best Seller and there is lots of great information in there.

One of the biggest questions that people ask me when they suspect that they need to go gluten-free is “How do I get tested?”.  Today, Dr. Vikki addresses this in her post. It is now with great honor and pleasure to bring you today’s guest, Dr. Vikki Petersen….

Best Laboratory Tests for those suspecting Gluten Intolerance

My passion is to increase the awareness of gluten intolerance in the US and internationally.

Note: I use “gluten intolerance” as an umbrella term that embraces both celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.

The facts are that a scant 5% of all the celiacs suffering ever get diagnosed in our country. For a medical system that prides itself on being state-of-the-art, this is truly a terrible statistic.

Add that to the fact that while 1-4% of the country suffers from celiac disease (yes, celiac disease incidence rises with age – 2010 research), a minimum of 10 times that amount suffer from gluten sensitivity. Personally I think it’s closer to 30 times more, but research is only just beginning to address gluten sensitivity and preliminary findings shows 10% of our population suffering.

The percentage of those suffering with gluten sensitivity who receive a diagnosis has not been researched, but I would estimate it to be less than 5%. So we have literally tens of millions of people in this country suffering from a condition that is dramatically affecting their health of which they know nothing about.

So what can we do to receive an accurate diagnosis for ourselves, our friends and family? I’ll be frank with you, it takes some work and diligence. Below is some information that I hope you find useful.

1. You may need to begin by educating your doctor. Easier said than done, I realize, but depending on your relationship with him or her and their desire to learn new things, it may work.
   

Our book “The Gluten Effect” can be a good tool for your doctor, or our website that is full of blog material and videos (www.healthnowmedical.com). We try to be a source of truth and accuracy in the field, and as a medical center and authors we do have credibility. So feel free to use us.

2. The newest lab specializing in diagnosis of celiac disease and gluten sensitivity is Cyrex Laboratories (www.CyrexLabs.com). Cyrex is exciting because they bring four new tests to the field that promise to be more sensitive than what we have had previously.

We have been using these tests for about 5 months now and are very pleased with the results.

Of course if your doctor refuses to order them that’s a problem. But Cyrex and I will work with you. Cyrex will try to find a clinician near you if possible and my clinic, HealthNOW, is a destination clinic so we can work with you as well.

3. Enterolab is another laboratory that can be used. They are not new but they are unique in that you do not have to go through a doctor to get tests ordered. An order can be placed online and results are sent directly to the patient.

They are also completely unique in that they are able to diagnose celiac or gluten sensitivity despite the patient being gluten-free. They are the only lab who claims this ability that I am aware of.

I feel very strongly about NEVER requesting a patient to reintroduce gluten into their diet if they have determined that they are intolerant.

Enterolab also provides genetic testing.

By the way I have no affiliation with either of the labs I just mentioned, so there is no conflict of interest in my recommendations.

4. If a doctor is convinced to order a test, whether due to their own curiosity or the insistence of their patient, they will likely order a celiac panel which typically includes tTG and AGA (antigliadin antibody). It used to include an EMA test but it has fallen out of favor due to poor accuracy.

Unfortunately there are problems with the celiac panel. The tests are not sensitive in their own right, but they are made less sensitive by the fact that it is only measuring the  IgA version of the tTG and AGA.

IgA is a part of the immune system that is poorly represented in blood. It is highly present in saliva, but not in blood and the above is a blood test. Further, when one is gluten intolerant, IgA is frequently suppressed, which would negate the accuracy of any test using it as a yardstick.

Further, the tTG test, at its best, cannot detect early changes in the health of the small intestine and will only show positive, typically, once 70% or more of the intestine is destroyed.

Lastly, the AGA is measuring only one of a possible sixty known portions of the gluten protein that are creating health problems. No wonder there are so many false negatives.

Therefore, if one is in the earlier stages of celiac disease or instead has gluten sensitivity, a false negative is often the result – something we want to avoid at all costs.

Some doctors are still stuck with the notion that regardless of what the blood tests reveal, the gold standard for celiac diagnosis is an intestinal biopsy. This is an out of date viewpoint and you can refer to my blog for many examples of why. But suffice to say that if you have a positive blood test that your doctor negates because a biopsy was negative, that is completely false (and bad medicine in my opinion). These same doctors are frequently unaware of gluten sensitivity as a diagnosis and for them we are back to point #1 – education!

The Cyrex Lab mentioned above offers a test that is ten times more sensitive than any we have ever had before. (I don’t use the number ten loosely. The test measures ten different portions of the gluten protein whereas before we were only measuring one.) This should dramatically lessen the number of false negatives.

5. Genetic testing is a valuable tool. Genes don’t lie. Mostly the genetic panels that are done are only for celiac disease. Enterolab however does testing for both celiac disease and gluten sensitivity and it’s a simple non-invasive test – just a swab inside the cheek.

If you do get a celiac gene test run and you possess 1 or 2 of the genes, you would often be told that you were fine to consume gluten if your lab tests were negative.  I disagree with this advice which I consider akin to playing Russian roulette with your health.

Would you really rather wait until an insensitive blood test finds that most of your intestine is destroyed before embarking on a gluten-free diet?  Some people will answer yes to that question. I may disagree with them but ultimately it is their body to treat as they see fit. I simply want to ensure they’re making an educated decision.

It is true the 20% of the population carries the celiac gene while only 1-4% manifests the disease. If this was occurring in me, a close friend, or family member I would run every test possible before I decided to include gluten in my diet. A major stressor, operation or illness is now known to be all it takes to turn “on” a celiac gene that had been heretofore turned off.

As an interesting corroboration to the above, I was reviewing with our M.D. this morning the case of a young man in his 30s whose father died very young from complications of celiac disease. His doctor recently ordered a “standard celiac panel” of tTG and AGA (both IgA) and there were negative. Fortunately the young man did not give up there and on his own got one of the lab tests that we’ve been speaking about. These tests were highly positive for celiac disease and we are now beginning to work with him to hopefully prevent in him the early demise suffered by his father.

Do you begin to see why only 5% of our celiacs ever get diagnosed? We certainly don’t make diagnosis easy.

I truly wish it wasn’t so difficult to get accurate lab testing. I’m sure it won’t always be this way, but right now it takes tenacity and some gumption to ensure that you get properly cared for.

6. What about a pretty ‘sure-fire’ test that is not only done without the need of a doctor but is also free?  That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it.

What is this free test? A 30 day gluten (and I would recommend dairy also) elimination diet. The cells of the small intestine take 30 days to renew themselves which is why you want to do it for that period of time. Many people notice changes sooner, but it’s best to give it the full 30 days to be sure.

We do this with all our patients, while running lab tests also. Why? Because lab tests, as we have discussed, are currently far from perfect and I can think of little worse than deeming a person gluten tolerant, when they are not. It would be like sentencing someone to a lifetime of ill health while concurrently shortening their lifespan.

Some of our greatest success stories have occurred in patients who had negative or equivocal test results but who proved to themselves during an elimination diet that they were gluten intolerant. I shudder to think would what have happened had we not included that step.

So while lab testing is excellent if you can get it, a necessary additional step is a perfectly gluten-free diet for 30 days – no cheating!  It’s free and it requires no permission from anyone to do.

I hope you found this informative and please do feel free to contact me regarding any further questions that you may have. Discovering if you have gluten intolerance is just not a straightforward experience in our current society. But I believe the new tests that have come available will go a long way to improving diagnosis and I am more than happy to help guide you through the experience.

We became a destination clinic for that very reason and treat patients from across the country as well as internationally. We are here to help!

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen

Founder of HealthNOW Medical Center

Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

References: www.CyrexLabs.com

www.Enterolab.com

Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 2009 Jun 15;29(12):1299-308. Epub       2009 Mar 3.

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Katie was kind enough to submit a guest post for “G” day. Katie and I are on the same page that eating gluten-free naturally is a very healthy and wise decision. I am so glad I no longer eat processed foods or fast food and even thought it is mainly from my gluten-intolerance diagnosis, I feel I should have been eating this way all along. I am so very proud of how I eat now compared to how I used to.

With that said, I now introduce you to Katie Humphrey…..

Going gluten-free could be one of the best decisions you make for your diet and overall health. While some people cannot tolerate gluten because of Celiac Disease, most people seem to benefit through weight loss and feeling healthier by choosing not to eat foods containing gluten.

The reason gluten-free diets are usually a fantastic choice for your health is because most processed convenience foods (a.k.a. “junk” foods) contain wheat gluten of some kind. Most fast food restaurants contain gluten or are cross-contaminated with gluten in the cooking agents. So, just by avoiding convenience foods and fast food restaurants your consumption of excess calories, fats, and carbohydrates will decrease. You’ll be substituting any previously fattening foods with wholesome, delicious and satisfying foods.

The best way to eat gluten-free foods and nourish your body is to choose whole vegetables, fruits and good sources of fat. Eating leafy greens and low glycemic veggies and fruits will give you radiant skin, better energy levels and positive moods, weight loss, improved digestion and increased immunity. You will find that eating good sources of fat such as oily fish (like salmon), raw nuts and seeds, and oils (olive oil and other nut/seed oils) will also give your hair, skin and nails a boost, as well as help you burn excess body fat.

Eating a gluten-free diet promotes weight loss, immunity, vitality and overall health by keeping you from indulging in foods that are harmful to your health and increasing the amounts of whole, natural foods you eat. You’ll not only look and feel better when eating gluten-free, you will create long-term health as well.

Katie Humphrey is a professional speaker, international health and empowerment coach and author of Freedom from PCOS. If you’re a woman who feels overwhelmed, stressed out and unfulfilled, download Katie’s FREE report, “8 Secrets to Revolutionize Your Life” at www.katiehumphrey.com.

Katie Humphrey

It’s amazing what can contain gluten and we just aren’t aware. Some soups even use gluten as a thickener so you have to be careful with those too. I know right away that any soup that says “Cream of” in the name is pretty much off limits.

It is important to know where these hidden glutens can show up and under what names they may appear under when checking a label.

For a complete list, I recommend visiting Celiac.com but let me touch on a few of these now.

Watch out for anything containing the following as they MAY contain hidden gluten:  Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP), Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), Modified Food Starch, Monosodium Glutimate (MSG), Malt, Malt Flavoring, Malt Vinegar, Matzo, “Natural” flavor, Emulsifiers, Teriyaki Sauce, Soy Sauce (unless you know it does not contain wheat) , Edible Starch, Binders, Fillers, Maltodextrin, Yeast Extract, Cyclodextrin and the list goes on….

To be safe, I always recommend a Google search for the name of the product and then the words “gluten-free”.  You can always contact the manufacturer too if time permits.

There are also places where hidden gluten can be that we may never think of, such as the glue in envelopes and stamps, some soaps, toothpaste, mouthwash, lipstick, shampoo, sunscreens, makeup, lotions, hair gel. Remember that anything you put ON your body can also go IN your body.

We also have to watch medications because not only can they have gluten fillers in them, they may have been dusted with flour on the outside. Again I recommend visiting Celiac.com for a list of safe medications.

There are miscellaneous items too like rubber gloves that are powdered…be aware when you go to the doctor or dentist! PlayDoh contains wheat and some children like to eat it. Some art supplies like paints and glue may also contain hidden gluten.

Bottom line is when in doubt check into it first. It is better to be safe than sorry!Tweet

Here are some tips for making your Christmas meal more enjoyable:

1. Contact the person hosting Christmas dinner. If you are the one hosting then you are in the driver’s seat. Find out everything on the menu including appetizers and desserts.

2. If the main dish being served is turkey or ham, find out what brand it is and check the company’s website or contact the manufacturer.  Some turkeys have gluten injected into them. This will not be obvious to the person who bought it nor will it be on the label.  With hams, a lot of glazes have gluten in them so it is best to be safe.  Butterball Fresh Turkey, Butterball Fresh Breast of Turkey and Honeysuckle White Turkey Breast are some good suggestions. Aldi stores also carry a ham that is gluten-free.  In the Chicago area, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods are excellent stores to shop for turkey or ham.

3. Bring your own dish that is gluten-free. Woodman’s in Kenosha, WI carries Tinkyada gluten-free lasagna noodles. A gluten-free lasagna can easily be made with a meat sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. Tinkyada makes an excellent lasagna noodle.

4. If any dips are put out as an appetizer, make sure to spoon out the dip on your own plate first before anyone dips their cracker in it! A good suggestion is to bring your own gluten-free crackers. Glutino makes an excellent gluten-free cracker in a wide variety of flavors.  For side dishes, mashed potatoes made from scratch are the way to go. A lot of packaged mash potato mixes do have gluten in them.  Mashed potatoes made from scratch taste way better anyways!

5. There are plenty of options for a wonderful gluten-free dessert. Betty Crocker has now come out with gluten-free cake mixes and cookie mixes. Bob’s Red Mill makes an excellent chocolate chip cookie mix. Rose’s Wheat Free Bakery in Evanston, IL has a variety of baked goods to choose from as well if you would prefer to buy an excellent dessert versus having to bake.

6. Wine is gluten-free! Beer is a big no-no now unless you are fortunate to locate one of the gluten-free brands on the market like Redbridge. Riesling or Gewürztraminer are excellent choices to compliment turkey or ham.

7. Relax and have fun! With enough due diligence on your part you should be all set. Enjoy the holidays!Tweet