Triumph Dining is excited to be appearing at a bunch of fantastic gluten-free events this year, including these Gluten & Allergen Free Wellness Events, hosted by ECHO Event Solutions.

These events are happening in Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC; Raleigh, NC; and New Orleans, LA. Each event is open to the community, and caters to those who avoid multiple allergens, such as gluten, dairy, soy and nuts. Sampling of gluten-free/allergen-free foods starts Click to continue reading »

As I’ve admitted on this blog before, while I love my smart phone, I don’t always put it to good use. I have about three apps, two of which are solitaire and the other is often left untouched. But this latest app I heard about might just deserve top ticketing on my phone – a gluten-free grocery app!

Two sisters in Canada are working to develop an app that will help Celiac’s around the world. The team started their product development after one woman’s 13 year old son was diagnosed with both diabetes and Celiac disease. Overwhelmed by the grocery store and list of “safe” vs. “unsafe” food, the women decided to take action to help others.

The app would allow users to scan a list of ingredients on any given packaged food item to determine whether or not it was safe for gluten-free eating. The app would be particularly useful to shoppers who want to avoid the over-hyped “gluten-free” labels that more and more companies are using as a means to increase advertising revenue and hike up pricing.

Though I think the app is a great idea, I am still wary about cross contamination risks. Those “gluten-free” labels are there to ensure that there is absolutely no risk of gluten sneaking in the product. Unfortunately I’ve found out the hard way that even if an ingredient list appears gluten-free, that’s not always the case.

The women are still developing the app, which could do a lot to help new gluten-free eaters explore the world of food beyond gluten-free specialty items. The app is set to be released in May. For more information, check out their website, http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/glutenguru-app?c=home to support their efforts!

The symptoms of celiac disease differ from person to person, which is one of the reasons it can be so difficult to diagnose in the first place. Some celiacs suffer from terrible gastrointestinal symptoms, others psychological symptoms and some, no symptoms at all. Now, what if your nationality were a factor in the type of symptoms you suffer? Recent research suggests it’s possible.

Researchers in Iran compared the symptoms of celiacs in Iran, Romania and Italy and found variations between the three. This study worked with 323 women and 127 men, all confirmed celiac by endoscopy, small bowel biopsy and positive serology. The study was published in the Archives of Iranian Medicine this month.

The study suggested that upper abdominal symptoms were most common with the European patients whilst Click to continue reading »

At the Gluten & Allergen Free expo in San Francisco last weekend, we spotted lots of kids wearing great gluten-free and allergen-free wristbands. Some of them were so fun and colorful that I’m thinking of getting one for myself!

As adults suffering from serious allergies and intolerances we are usually able to convey our dietary needs to other people – but what about children who don’t have the vocabulary to explain these things? Getting your child one of these wristbands or bracelets is a great way of getting across the severity of an allergy to family, Click to continue reading »

Examiner.com recently published an article of celebrities avoiding gluten. The author writes that she’s still amazed that a number of celebrities who continue to tout eating gluten free as a way to lose weight, but she also concedes that as long as they are talking about the gluten-free diet it benefits those people who eat gluten free for medical reasons.

The lists are broken down into five groups: Celebrities with Celiac Disease, Celebrities with gluten sensitivity/wheat intolerance, Celebrities who eat gluten free by choice, Athletes with Celiac Disease, and Athletes who eat gluten free by choice. Here’s the list:

Celebrities with gluten sensitivity/wheat intolerance

• Malin Ackerman (Actor)
• Bill Clinton
• Miley Cyrus
• Dana Delany (Actor)
• Zooey Deschanel (Actor)
• Cody Gifford (son of Kathie Lee Gifford reportedly needs to avoid gluten)
• Elizabeth Gillies (Actor on Nickelodeon)
• Geri Halliwell (Singer)
• Mariel Hemingway (Actor)
• Juliette Lewis (Actor)
• Ryan Phillipe (Actor)
• Ian Somerhalder
• Terence Stamp
• Billy Bob Thornton (Actor)
• Rachel Weisz (Actor)

Celebrities with Celiac Disease

• Avery Aames (Author)
• Neil Boortz (Radio personality)
• Sarah Joy Brown (Actor)
• Meg Cabot (Author)
• Chelsea Clinton
• Heidi Collins (former CNN anchor)
• Jennifer Esposito (Actor)
• Susie Essman (Actor on Curb Your Enthusiasm)
• Shannon Ford (Miss USA 2011)
• Scott Michael Foster (Actor)
• Rich Gannon’s (NFL Quarterback) daughter, Danielle
• Thom Hartmann (Air America Radio)
• Elizabeth Hasselbeck (“The View”)
• Katherine, Duchess of Kent
• Laura Kaeppeler (Miss America)
• Jilly Lagasse (Daughter of Emeril Lagasse)
• Jessie Lagasse Swanson (Daughter of Emeril Lagasse)
• Dean McDermott (Actor)
• Tenley Molzahan (Bachelorette contestant)
• Dannii Minogue (Younger sister to Kylie Minogue the singer)
• Keith Olbermann (TV personality)
• Emmy Rossum (Actor)
• Aarti Sequeria (Food Network)
• Joe Stanton (Cartoonist who draws Batman, Green Lantern, Archie & Scooby-Do)
• Jane Swift (former Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor)
• Sarah Vowell
• Brandy Wendler (Mrs. Alaska International)
• Amy Wheaton (Wil Wheaton’s Sister)
• Deb Wheaton (Wil Wheaton’s Mom)
• Deborah Ann Woll (Actress) Click to continue reading »

King’s Delight of Georgia is recalling 1,572 pounds of frozen chicken nuggets labeled as gluten-free because they contain wheat.

The product is 8 ounce cartons of “APPLEGATE® Naturals Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets.” The nuggets were packaged on September 19, 2012. The establishment number “P-2617″ is found on the side of each carton. The lot number is 210864 and best before date is 8/28/13. The UPC Click to continue reading »

If you’re ‘lucky’ to have had an official celiac diagnosis, do you feel as though you have received adequate follow-up from your doctor?

Follow-up care is important for testing for t-TG antibodies, ensuring vitamin and mineral levels are normal and anything that tested abnormally prior to diagnosis has gone back within the normal range. It’s also important to ensure that patients are sticking to and coping with their strict gluten free diet. Recent research suggests that the follow-up care celiac patients are receiving is often inadequate and inconsistent.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota collected data on 122 patients with biopsy diagnosed celiac disease between 1996 and 2006 to look at what kind of follow-up, if at all, they received between 6 months and 5 years after diagnosis. Patients were classified according to how the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) categorizes follow-up procedures.

From 1 to 5 years after diagnosis, the number of people receiving follow-up appointments decreased each year. Of the 113 patients who Click to continue reading »

Though I wasn’t diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity until halfway through college, I remember actively NOT participating in a meal program at my university because of my allergy. I knew that one of the major draws of the dining hall lifestyle included smuggling bagels in paper towels for the following morning’s breakfast, or grabbing one (or three) extra cookies for the road. I was “getting my money’s worth.” But being relegated to an untrustworthy salad bar and questionable hot food changed my view of unlimited buffet dinners. I felt the suspect dining halls were not worth the health risk, and embraced a more “grown up” grocery shopping lifestyle instead.

Interestingly and recently, however, college students decided to speak out about their limited options at full price. Students at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts expressed their discontent with a required meal plan that could not sufficiently meet their gluten-free needs. In an inspiring gesture of support, the Department of Justice came to determine that these gluten-free students are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act, arguing that the insufficient meal plan was “preventing people from eating,” which in turn prevented “them from accessing their educational program,” as advocated by a member of the Justice Department’s civil rights division, Eve Hill.

Click to continue reading »

We have seen celebrity after celebrity going gluten free for the purposes of losing weight recently and it’s driving a lot of us who need to keep to a strict gluten free diet for serious medical reasons pretty nuts!

For this reason it’s nice to get back up from researchers that there really is no evidence that a gluten free diet would benefit the general population who don’t suffer from health issues related to eating gluten or wheat.

Arizona State University professor Dr. Glenn Gaesser is an exercise physiologist and advisory board chairman of Grain Foods Foundation. He says that there is no evidence at all that a gluten free diet is effective for weight loss and it may even lead to weight gain as a result of eating gluten Click to continue reading »

Popcorn is one of the easiest and fastest gluten-free snacks. It’s a mainstream product that is delicious and almost synonymous with movie-going, which is popular now as Oscar season approaches. Unfortunately, however, as with most commercial products, gluten-free goods that are packaged and processed can often lay victim to gluten contamination. One of the biggest questions I have faced is whether or not movie theater popcorn, that buttery, irresistible snack, is gluten-free.

After doing some research, I found this article that summarizes the major movie theaters and their response to whether or not their popcorn is gluten-free. In short, the verdict seems to indicate that the popcorn itself is gluten-free, but the butter on the popcorn (which is increasingly an optional addition) is gluten-filled (thus contaminating the whole product). As with all things, it is important to follow your own reaction to whether or not the popcorn is gluten-free. Additionally, theater chains can vary from city to city. So although an AMC in one part of the country may still use butter with gluten, your local AMC may be keener to the gluten-free demands of their audience. Reassuringly, most movie theaters use commercial products that are subject to product labeling, which you can look at to determine whether or not the popcorn is a go!

If you’re craving popcorn, and don’t trust the microwave kind either (some celiacs are sensitive to all packaged products that are not manufactured in gluten-free facilities), try popping your own from the whole kernels! Just heat ½ cup of kernels with 2-3 tablespoons of oil (like canola or olive) over medium heat. You can sprinkle on Click to continue reading »