It happened: since we at Custom Choice Cereal try to keep you informed about everything that is going on around gluten-free food and celiac disease, today is the first time we feel obliged to publish a second blog entry. Both our entries are related and contain pretty crucial information, so here we go.

The great Q&A series with Dr. Sheila Crowe in The New York Times that recently wrote about some answers on the ways to diagnose celiac disease (our first blog entry today) published another set of answers yesterday. This time it covers questions about celiac disease running in a family and genetic tests that might confirm diagnosis.

Her answers include the confirmation that the Irish in fact do have a higher disposition to celiac disease. The genes that predispose for celiac (human leukocyte antigens H.L.A. DQ2 and H.L.A. DQ8) can be tested with a simple sample of cells from inside the mouth. She also points out that there is an important differentiation to make between IgE (tests for food allergies, NOT celiac disease) and IgA and IgG (which are used in checking for possible celiac disease).

Dr. Crowe’s best advice that runs through the article: get tested with a TTG IgA test! Custom Choice Cereal’s best advice: read the article!