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MyFox Philly on celiac disease. Highly entertaining!

I must admit that I had no idea that watching a video about celiac disease could be so entertaining and educating at the same time! It starts great and only gets better :-)

Dr. Mike at MyFox News in Philadelphia educates about celiac but also shares his thoughts on the gluten-free diet as a weight-loss diet: “You need to eat less and exercise more.” Makes sense, doesn’t it? He continues to say “It’s a matter of caloric accounting!” Watch the entire highly entertaining video below, you will learn (and laugh) quite a bit!

WSJ corrects gluten-free article

We at Custom Choice Cereal were thrilled to see a very well researched article on celiac disease and living gluten-free in last Tuesday’s Health Journal. It was great to see that such a big paper as the Wall Street Journal covered this important topic in such depth.

Despite author Melinda Beck’s thorough research, the article incorrectly listed envelope adhesives, distilled alcoholic beverages and vinegars, ketchup, ice creams, and lipsticks as products that celiacs should avoid. It speaks for the integrity of the Journal that they printed the following statement of corrections in Saturday’s paper:
The Wall Street Journal

“Envelope adhesives do not contain gluten, and the distillation process removes the gluten from alcoholic beverages and distilled vinegars that are made from gluten-containing grains, according to registered dietitian Shelley Case, member of the Celiac Disease Foundation Medical Advisory Board. Ketchup and most ice creams are also gluten-free, and the amount of gluten in some lipsticks is too small to pose health problems. A Tuesday Health Journal incorrectly included all these products among those that people with celiac disease should avoid.”

We at Custom Choice Cereal are time and again amazed how the gluten-free community spots these tiny little mistakes and almost instantaneously corrects them. We were told by MarylandCeliac that envelope adhesives are gluten-free and corrected this in our blog entry.

Thanks for helping us learn every single day!

Customized cereal, creative names

Another week here at Custom Choice Cereal has just flown by! We take that as a good sign though since being busy is good ;-)

Two events in particular stand out for us: the very well-researched article in the Wall Street Journal on the gluten-free diet and the fact that the Gluten Intolerance Group wrote about how to customize your own gluten-free cereal (of course Hajo’s mugshot in this article was another highlight).

Enough said, on to what’s become a good tradition here at Custom Choice Cereal: recognizing a few of the most creative names you gave your gluten-free cereal creations this week!

5. Wendy Chia Granola (Using your name. Another classic.)
4. Gluten-free Cereal for Diabetics (Type1Rider approves!)
3. Bakery Boost (The breakfast boost for the day!)
2. All Mixed Up (That’s exactly what it was.)
1. And this week’s winner is Diva’s Delight (Clearly Diva-worthy, mix ID d0a67e)

Be encouraged. Customize your own gluten-free cereal. Give it a great name. Enjoy. But for now just have a great weekend!

Customize your own gluten-free cereal

Wohoo, I am super excited! Custom Choice Cereal is featured in the GIG Quarterly, the magazine of the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America!

Custom Choice Cereal in GIG MagazineThe GIG and their website is extremely helpful and informative, so we include it in on our page of useful links for anyone new to the gluten-free diet. Besides the fact that our young company is featured in such a highly regarded publication, I am particularly happy that they mentioned the various measures we take to ensure the safety of your customized cereal: we source only naturally gluten-free ingredients, test each ingredient for potential gluten contamination, and hand-mix each cerealization in a dedicated gluten-free facility.

It’s great to see my mugshot in the magazine… What I really hope for though is that this article will help more people realize that they can enjoy a tasty gluten-free cereal by simply creating their own. Having to follow a gluten-free diet is tough enough, let’s try to make it an enjoyable experience!

WSJ on who needs a gluten-free diet

A significant part of my work at Custom Choice Cereal includes staying up to date on research around celiac disease and the gluten-free lifestyle. Just yesterday we wrote about why we think that those who have to eat gluten-free can benefit from the recent developments of the gluten-free “fad” diet.

Melinda BeckThe Wall Street Journal’s Health Journal columnist Melinda Beck wrote a great article on who has to stick to a gluten-free diet (celiacs, people with a wheat allergy, and those with a sensitivity to gluten). I was pretty impressed by the thoroughness of the research that was done and wanted to share it with you as part of our customer service. It particularly struck me that

  • gluten can be found in lip gloss (but not in envelope adhesives)
  • Melinda described many of the most common symptoms that ‘glutened’ celiacs experience
  • it is not well understood how gluten can cause psychiatric and behavioral changes (keyword: leaky-gut)
  • 7% of the population has anti-gliadin antibodies (‘AGA’), as do 18% of people with autism, and 20% of those with schizophrenia

The article also points out that much more research is needed to understand why the various conditions that benefit from a gluten-free diet are so much more prevalent today than several decades ago. While celiac disease was initially believed to begin only during childhood, it is now know that it can start at any time during the life of a person with the genetic predisposition.

In a little video, Melinda Beck also explains that the gluten-free diet is not a weight-loss diet, and that one should not embark lightly on a gluten-free diet.

Gluten-free diet “fad” is good!

The fact that The Today Show covered the gluten-free diet earlier this month was regarded by some as proof that it has reached the status of a “fad diet”.

It’s not that we at Custom Choice Cereal disagree. Trying to look at the bright side of life however, we think that there are pretty good reasons why everyone should be happy about this trend. Even if some of the information provided through mass media turns out not to be very accurate, here are our top 3 reasons to appreciate the buzz on eating gluten-free:

  • More consumers realize that they might benefit from a gluten-free diet. As one reader of the Toronto Star – who by the way stresses that it is not a fad diet – writes: “For years I suffered with debilitating eczema and spent thousands of dollars seeking treatment. It wasn’t until I tried going gluten-free that I got relief from the eczema, along with several other health issues I never considered being related to gluten. And I am not a celiac. One doesn’t need to be a celiac to notice positive health changes when gluten is eliminated from the diet.”
  • As more people hear about eating gluten-free, it will very likely increase the rate of diagnosis of celiac disease and gluten sensitivities. Considering that 97% of celiacs remain undiagnosed, that’s a great thing, at the very least for the folks who suffer (often for years) without knowing the reason
  • As you can already tell, increased awareness for gluten-free foods results in positive reactions from the food industry, bringing everyone more choices and making living gluten-free much easier

We fully sympathize with those of you who are infuriated by inaccurate reporting on celiac disease and know that it can be tough to see the positive in some of the media coverage. Give seeing the positive a try though, it’s just not worth your energy being mad!

Did you find another reason why everyone benefits from the buzz about the gluten-free diet? Don’t be shy about it, let us at Custom Choice Cereal and everyone else know about it and leave us a comment!

Gluten-free cereal names. Be inspired.

This was a pretty busy and interesting week: we at Custom Choice Cereal always observe ‘waves’ of certain ingredients being a hot item, and this week could have been dubbed Macadamia week. Can’t blame ya’, it gives your gluten-free cereal a nice and very unique crunch.

By the way, in case you haven’t watched it yet, we highly recommend that you take a few minutes to see NBC Chicago’s video on celiac disease. It’s by far the best mass-media coverage we’ve seen so far!

But now on to what’s become a good tradition here at Custom Choice Cereal: honoring your creativity in naming your gluten-free cereal creations.

5. MangoBlues (Ingredient-derived. A classic.)
4. Drive Me Nuts (We’re trying not to…)
3. bis4ding mix (Cryptic. But we like it.)
2. ShaNayNay (Beautiful!)
1. And this week’s winner is Hey! Do You Want Some of Dis? (mix ID cd0aca)

Be inspired and have a great weekend!

Gluten-free fair season: upcoming events

Finding gluten-free food that tastes good is still a challenge in many areas. That’s part of the reason why we came up with Custom Choice Cereal – providing a fun gluten-free experience! If you are interested in finding out more about how our custom gluten-free cereal came to life you are invited to read our story.

Now that the summer break is coming to an end, there are a few gluten-free food shows and and vendor fairs coming up over the next two months. These are great events to find out about anything gluten-free. While I like food events of any kinds (every rule has an exception, mine is fish), these fairs are super helpful if you have celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity.

I am sure we have overlooked one or the other event, so please feel free to add to the list in the comment section. We at Custom Choice Cereal (and I am sure everyone else) appreciate your help!

Custom cereal that appeals to everyone

Pam, the blogger behind The Thrifty Things, writes that she wants her kids

“to start the day off with a healthy breakfast. It’s much harder when dealing with allergies or picky eaters. Luckily, I found a choice that will appeal to everyone – Custom Choice Cereal.”

The Thrifty ThingsShe made her personal gluten-free cereal and thought it was delicious. Hey, we’re just fulfilling what you tell us to, so all the honor is Pam’s! If you enter the giveaway on her blog, you might win and have a chance to create you own cereal.

Part of the experience of ordering food online is obviously fast delivery of your gluten-free cereal concoctions. Pam wrote about the order process and shipping that

“the mixing process was quick and easy. I had the whole order completed in under five minutes. [...] The shipping process was incredibly fast. I received my custom made and labeled cereal in two days.”

Feedback like this makes us really happy. But Pam was able to top this with her final sentence, because it showed us how what we do actually makes her life easier:

“For a mom who has children with allergies, this cereal has made breakfast preparation at my house much easier!”

Celiac disease on NBC Chicago: great!

It is a great start into the new week as celiac disease and gluten intolerance are getting more and more attention from main stream media!

Last week Custom Choice Cereal shared a video from the Today Show on the gluten-free diet. It mostly covered celebrities and had some inaccuracies but hopefully also drew some attention to celiac disease and the reasons why some people have to go on a gluten-free diet.

In Saturday’s “Living Well” segment of NBC Chicago, we are “straightened out a little” by Dr. Mary Ann Malloy. You can watch the entire video below, but this is hands down the best mainstream media coverage of celiac disease I’ve seen so far. Here are just a few of the highlights:

  • Celiac disease described as a greatly under-diagnosed condition
  • Great definition of celiac disease (autoimmune reaction damaging of small intestines)
  • Explains what happens to a celiac consuming gluten: damage of small intestines, preventing absorption of nutrients from food
  • Gives common symptoms, including long-term implications such as cancer
  • Explains how diagnosis works through blood test AND biopsy
  • Highlights that treatment is simple: a complete gluten-free diet!
  • Stresses the importance of constant education on celiac disease, i.e. working with a dietitian and reading labels
  • Clearly distinguishes between gluten intolerance and celiac disease!

Dr. Malloy also points out that the University of Chicago’s Celiac Disease Center offers free blood screening for celiac on October 9th. Registration for the free test starts today through the Celiac Disease Center’s website or by calling 773-702-7593.

Is there any crucial information that you would add to the video?