Free Online Gluten eSummit

Gluten and its role in autoimmune disorders is a frequent topic of discussion amongst alternative medicine practitioners. And, for me, eliminating gluten (and dairy and several other foods I'm sensitive to) from my diet has changed my life.

At one point I was on 9 drugs, plus chemotherapy, transfusions, and Procrit shots to treat congestive heart failure, kidney failure, neuropathy and anemia, all caused by lupus. Now, my diet choices have allowed me to stay healthy with ZERO immune suppressants for the last 6 years.

So, when I saw the information about a free e-summit, I knew that I had to share it here.

http://theglutensummit.com/

Dr. Tom O’Bryan of theDr.com has gathered 29 of the world’s experts and opinion leaders on the topics of gluten-related disorders, nutrition and healthy living for a series of online interviews taking place for FREE from November 11-17, 2013. (Don't worry- it's not all day, every day! One video per day will be posted).

During the summit, you will:

• Learn about the latest research on gluten-related disorders
• Gain knowledge of proper diagnosis/treatment methods
• Ask, “Could this health issue be due to gluten?”

The Gluten Summit is targeted towards both doctors AND patients (really, anybody), so that we all have a better understanding of the issues.

The goal of The Gluten Summit is to shift the discussion and recognition of gluten-related disorders forward by five years. Meaning, lets get the "gluten" conversation between patients and doctors that will be happening five years from now to happen now.

For a lot of patients, discovering and eliminating any food sensitivity, including gluten, can mean more control over their health, fewer ( or zero!) drugs, and feeling better. That is what it has meant for me!

Carla Ulbrich

The Singing Patient: Author, Health Speaker, Humorous Songwriter and Entertainer

http://www.thesingingpatient.com
http://www.facebook.com/TheSingingPatient
http://www.twitter.com/singingpatient

Man cannot live on gluten free bread alone

Gluten. Whatever it is, it sure is tasty, because when you take it out, you find yourself saying "where's the flavor?" And texture? Fuggedaboutit.

I've been eating gluten-free for two and a half years. I'm a lousy cook to begin with- I have literally burned a pot of water, set both the oven and the stove on fire (not on the same day) and ruined jello instant pudding. But adding to my disaster in the kitchen track record the restriction of "no wheat"- and not just no wheat, but nothing with any trace of wheat- well, now we've got a "recipe" for a long string of unappetizing meals.

So I'm always on the lookout for anything that makes GF (gluten-free) cooking easier and TASTIER.

The first time I went gluten-free was 1994. It was suggested to me by a doctor or a healer- I don't remember which- because of my several autoimmune conditions, the scariest of which being lupus (SLE). The lupus was attacking my vital organs, including my kidneys and lungs. The drugs were nasty and I was willing to do anything that might help me get off of them.

Well in 1994, there were not many choices for gluten-free snacks, bread, dough, etc. It was rice cakes, rice cakes, and - oh look, more rice cakes.

I've since learned that rice cakes, while gluten free, are cooked at such a high temperature that they contain toxins. Great. Now I can't even have rice cakes. I WANT MY CARBS!

Man cannot live on bread alone. But woman cannot live without bread. And man does not want to be near woman who is living without bread.

Perhaps that's why I eventually fell off the gluten-free bandwagon. My health was stable, and I was tired of not being able to eat pizza, pasta, sandwiches, pretzels, cookies (there were gluten free cookies on the market, but it was all I could do not to break my teeth on them).

Fast forward to 2008, when I decided again to go gluten free after another lupus crisis, more drugs, more side effects, and more resolve to get back off the drugs.

For a year, all I ate for dinner every night was 2 heads of romaine lettuce with caesar dressing. Once in a while, I'd mix it up and have one head of lettuce for dinner- and the other for lunch. Finally, I got tired of that and started shopping for something else to eat.

Well, bless my lucky stars there are a *lot* more choices out there now, and some of them actually taste *good*.

- Bob's Red Mill homemade wonderful gluten free bread mix
 (he also makes a GF pizza dough- it's really good if you have the time to make it)

-don't feel like making bread? me neither. Udi's makes GF bread that tastes and chews like bread.

- Amy's has a bunch of GF frozen entrees, including palak paneer, mexican casserole, rice crust pizza, amy's vegetable bowls, and even GF mac n cheese (she also makes regular mac n cheese, so you gotta read the box!!!)

- pacific foods makes a *fantastic* carrot cashew ginger soup. just heat and serve. YUM!

- there are other frozen entrees popping up that are labeled gluten free- just look in the health food aisle of your grocery store, if there is one. Bob's red mill can be ordered online.





These items are all completely gluten free- and aside from the pizza dough, require no culinary skills whatsoever. Just my speed.

I've learned if you're *really* going to go gluten-free, you have to read labels. You've got to look for any trace of wheat (regular soy sauce has *&^% wheat in it! So I buy Bragg's Amino Acids- soy sauce, no wheat. Things with barley and oats are usually not gluten-free- no "whoppers" candies).

It can be tougher to eat out. Here is a tool that will help you: dining cards with various kinds of foods (indian, mexican, italian, etc) telling you specifically what to avoid in each place:



Is it worth it? For me, yes. I would suggest anyone with an autoimmune disease give it a try for a month. You can try tracking your symptoms and see if they improve. I kind of like not having migraines or joint pain, and fatigue only when I've earned it. It's not going to harm you, so you have nothing to lose but annoying symptoms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carla Ulbrich, The Singing Patient, is a comedic performing songwriter and the author of "How Can You *Not* Laugh at a Time Like This?"
http://www.thesingingpatient.com
http://tinyurl.com/348hroc

The Sin of Gluten-y

Just before New Year's I went back on the gluten-free dairy free (GFCF) diet. I'm making great progress with regaining my health. I have almost no headaches anymore- didn't even get my pain meds refilled last time.

I'm also doing Chi Gong, which is somewhat similar to Tai Chi. It is a healing art, adn you don't need to be strong or young or even flexible to do it.

So when I posted on facebook the other day that I was making a tasty batch of gluten-free dairy-free bread in my bread machine, i got lots of questions about gluten - what is it, why am i not eating it, should they stop eating it, and what's my recipe for bread.

My recipe is to buy a bag of Bob's red mill bread mix (available in many grocery stores in the organic food section or at www.vitacost.com ), add rice milk instead of milk and olive oil instead of butter, put it in the machine and wait 3 hours for extremely tasty bread. So much easier (and tastier) than when i went gluten free in 1994!

Many people assume I have celiac disease when I mention I'm eating a gluten-free diet. I do not feel obligated to tell them that I have a lupus diagnosis, and I prefer not to mention that diagnosis, esp. since my blood tests now say otherwise. So I just say (because I think words matter),"No I don't have celiac, but i have a history of other autoimmune problems, and this helps prevent a recurrence." It's not that I think I'm cured, I just believe that I am free from disease at this moment and i want to stay that way- and I know I have to be vigilant in order to stay that way. Not just in what I eat, how I manage stress, but also what I say.

But the interesting thing is Celiac is *also* an autoimmune disease! And according to the book "Alternative medicine" (future medicine pub.) 100% of lupus patients have food allergies.

As to why I chose the gluten free/ dairy free diet, it was originally suggested to me by an MD (who is a pretty progressive guy, is into nutrition and chelation therapy and other stuff that other doctors would give him a hard time for). I had a food allergy blood test and i did come up sensitive to wheat- and cheeses and milk. Other practitioners have since brought it up (after I fell off the wagon). I've done it 3 times now, about a year the first and second times, and it really works. My energy returns, my face clears up, my headaches disappear and other symptoms improve as well.

So if you're intrigued and wondering whether you might have a gluten sensitivity, and therefore could improve your health b y eliminating gluten from your diet, here's an article to check out:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Gluten-Intolerance-Symptoms---How-Do-You-Know-If-Gluten-Is-Making-You-Sick?&id=479404

and here's Bob's wonderful bread mix:







Carla Ulbrich

The Singing Patient: Author, Speaker, Humorous Songwriter and Entertainer
www.thesingingpatient.com
www.facebook.com/TheSingingPatient
www.twitter.com/singingpatient
www.youtube.com/user/carlaulbrich
www.linkedin.com/in/carlaulbrich

http://tinyurl.com/348hroc - Carla's book "How Can You NOT Laugh at a Time Like This?"