It is the nature of operating in the gluten-free food space that we at Custom Choice Cereal read about links between celiac disease and various other conditions. Most prominent are the connection of celiac disease and type I diabetes or the controversially discussed relation to autism (or the “leaky gut” as a symptom).

We just came across a article published on the blog RonPaulIsHope that discussed the possible relationship between celiac disease and asthma. It mentions that

• a 2005 study of (a small sample of ) 86 celiacs in the Maltese islands revealed that 27.8% of them also had asthma.  Asthma was thus was statistically significant more common in patients with celiac disease than in the general Maltese population
• asthma preceeded celiac disease in 16 patients, and a “gluten-free diet had led to improvement in asthma in 6 patients, possible improvement in 2 patients, and no change in 8 patients” in the 2005 study
• a 2001 study in Finland looked at the 1987 Finnish Medical Birth Register data of 60,254 births and concluded that “the cumulative incidence of asthma in children with celiac disease (24.6%) [...] was significantly higher than in children without it (3.4%)”

We can only reiterate the conclusion that is drawn at the end of the article: the studies do not prove a causal relationship between celiac disease and asthma. However, they suggest that they might be correlated. Hopefully this will be the subject of further research.

The main take-away is that if you suffer from celiac disease or gluten intolerance and have asthma, going on a gluten-free diet can help reduce the severity of your asthma.

Custom Choice Cereal came across a great resource providing nutrition information and access to registered dietitians that we absolutely had to share with you. The website of the American Dietetic Association is very well organized and provides a wealth of guidelines and advice on how to eat right. It is their mission is to provide “Food and Nutrition Information You Can Trust”.

We were especially intrigued by a particular service they provide: finding a registered dietitian in your area. The search mask allows you to filter by zip code or State, a certain mile radius, and also gives an option to specify the service you are looking for (individual consultation, group consultation or programs/workshops). Custom Choice Cereal thought that the best part is the selection of 26 “specialties”, including

• Alternative Nutrition
• Digestive Disorders
• Gastrointestinal Diseases/Disorders
• Celiac Disease
• Diabetes/Hypoglycemia
• Food Allergies/Intolerances
• Weight Control
• Sports Nutrition

Search results display names, addresses, phone numbers, areas of expertise, a list of services provided and languages the services are offered in. Overall a great site that we highly recommend!

The team at Custom Choice Cereal is overwhelmed by the flood of daily news on celiac disease, new research findings, information about new drugs under development, and the wealth of tips and tricks for living a gluten-free life. It is part of our mission to filter this information to some degree and pass on the bits and pieces that we find particularly interesting and or helpful.

As you can probably tell from the title of this post we want to share a couple of our findings in no particular order.

• The Philadelphia 76ers will host their 3rd Celiac Awareness Night on March 26th.  Their opponent that night will be the Atlanta Hawks.  We say “Thank you!” for helping to raise awareness for celiac disease!  A special discount for the game is available on the 76ers website with the code “CELIAC”
• Researchers from Columbia University’s Celiac Disease Center studied the Body Mass Index (BMI) of 369 patients proven have celiac disease from 1981 until 2007.  “Classical” femal celiacs were all revealed as predictors for low BMI.  Once on a gluten-free diet, over 50% of the overweight and obese patients lost weight, and of the group who initially had a low BMI, 42.4% attained a normal weight
• Triumph Dining’s Essential Gluten-Free Grocery Shopping Guide is now available as an iPhone application

These are just a couple of items we came across, please feel free to share your findings by commenting on this post!

Our neighbors to the North are also concerned about celiac disease and are researching potential drugs that celiacs can use to treat their condition. Custom Choice Cereal was very excited when we came across a pill that showed promising results in the first clinical trials.

Dr. Richard N. Fedorak from the University of Alberta has helped to develop a drug called Larazotide Acetate.

The drug comes in form of a pill and has shown to prevent some of the damage to the small intestine that gluten. While it is not meant as a cure for celiac disease it can provide some freedom and relief after an accidental ingestion of gluten. The drug could become available as early as 2012.

It’s a small step but at least a step in the right direction. As part of our customer service we will as always keep our ears and eyes open and update you in case we hear about any new developments!

Custom Choice Cereal came across a review of a book describing what seems to be a very interesting approach to a healthy diet. The book is called “Going against the Grain” and was reviewed by Liz Schau on the Tampa Gluten Free Examiner.

Author Melissa Diane Smith challenges the common advice that grains should be the foundation of our diet. She writes that quite the contrary is true as grains are connected to a variety of conditions, including celiac disease, gluten intolerance, obesity, diabetes, Syndrome X, autoimmune disorders, allergies, and digestive problems. She therefore takes a rather radical view, addressing the nutritional problems of grains and suggesting their elimination from our diets.

One of our New Year resolutions was to read a book every month, so we are very happy to have another candidate that makes it to our list. It will beyond doubt be an interesting read!

Custom Choice Cereal feels privileged that Dr. Stephen Wangen agreed to answer your questions on celiac disease, gluten intolerance, wheat allergy and anything around a gluten-free life once a month. The good news: you can still post your questions as comments to yesterday’s third Q&A session with Dr. Wangen blog entry.

We mentioned before that Dr. Wangen wrote the book “Healthier without Wheat”. Tina Turbin from GlutenFreeHelp coincidentally reviewed Dr. Wangen’s book on her blog yesterday. She writes that “My highest respect goes to Dr. Wagnen for his straightforward approach to clarifying the test available for determining celiac disease as well as the testing for non-celiac forms of gluten intolerance. In the end, anyone reading this book will have a full understanding of how wheat can affect one’s life…”

We think that this is a great encouragement to ask Dr. Wangen your questions. It’s a rare opportunity to be able to interact directly with such a high-profile expert, so please don’t be shy!

It’s time again for Custom Choice Cereal’s monthly Q&A session with Dr. Stephen Wangen. Dr. Wangen co-founded the IBS Treatment Center in Seattle and also blogs under the name of The Gluten Free Doctor. You are invited to ask anything you’ve always wanted to know about celiac disease, gluten intolerance, wheat allergy, or the gluten-free diet.

We are very thankful that Dr. Wangen has agreed to provide this outstanding service to you. Out of respect for his busy schedule and because Dr. Wangen informed us that he is traveling this week, we decided to limit the number of questions to a total of 4. Questions will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis.  Since he has only limited access to his emails, it will also take Dr. Wangen a little bit longer to provides his answers. Otherwise everything will work as before in three easy steps:

1. Post your question as a comment to this blog entry
2. Dr. Wangen will answer your question and post it as a reply
3. You read the answer. Simple enough

We hope for your understanding and encourage you to post additional questions at any time to Custom Choice Cereal’s facebook page. We aren’t doctors but will do our best to answer your questions as soon and as best as we can. Please join us in thanking Dr. Wangen for taking the time to answer your questions!

Erin Elberson writes the blog gluten free fitness, focusing on “eating well to be well” and “nutrition, fitness, and fun with a celiac spin”. When Custom Choice Cereal came across her blog we immediately said to ourselves that we have to try anything to be featured on it.

In addition to writing a stellar review of our custom gluten-free cereal, Erin mentioned that we are an “advocate for awareness of celiac disease and the gluten-free lifestyle”. She is also the first blogger EVER to mention our Quest for The Hoff, something that is very dear to my heart (Germans loooove David Hasselhoff in case you did not know this). Erin thought this to be “absolutely hysterical and made me almost fall of my chair and spit my coffee onto my keyboard. I love the humor. Points for that!”

Thank you Erin, we definitely like to look at the humorous side of life and appreciate your encouraging words! But honestly, how cool would it be if we could really personally hand a bag of our customized gluten-free cereal to The Hoff??

They say that there is a first time for everything, and it is so true! This “first timer” is related to a review of Custom Choice Cereal’s tasty gluten-free cereal. Our friend Kati started the page GF Milwaukee – Gluten Free in and around Milwaukee, WI on facebook and posted a great review of our customized gluten-free cereal on it. You can also become a fan of Custom Choice Cereal on facebook!

As many celiacs she had a craving for Raisin Bran because she has not been able to have it since she found out that she had celiac disease. Kati therefore creating a simple blend by combining our Good Morning Flakes with raisins. She writes that “the raisins are some of the biggest I’ve ever seen! I had to watch myself that I didn’t eat the entire bag in one sitting!”

If you are missing a specific kind of cereal from before your gluten-free days you can re-create it at Custom Choice Cereal. Please contact us if you are missing a certain ingredient that you would like us to offer!

Custom Choice Cereal had a day packed with meetings yesterday. While we usually rather spend time talking with our customers (about new gluten-free ingredients) and cerealizing your gluten-free creations, it is helpful to learn other’s people perspectives on our business. And trust us, it is too early to reveal, but we have some tricks up our sleeves…

Most of you have probably heard of professional road racing cyclist Lance Armstrong who won the Tour de France seven consecutive years from 1999 to 2005 after an amazing story of successfully battling cancer. Most of you probably also know that he subsequently founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation to fight cancer. He also started LIVESTRONG.COM as the “the definitive daily health, fitness and lifestyle destination”.

LIVESTRONG.COM actually has a very informative section on celiac disease that is worth browsing through. While we feel that some of the background information on celiac disease is better presented for example by the Celiac Sprue Association, we really like the many articles on celiac disease that are listed there. Check it out and let us know what you think!