The Cooking Channel My Life in Food

Ironically, since I was diagnosed with food allergies, I have become a bit addicted to watching The Food Network and The Cooking Channel; I watch things like Cupcake Wars and Iron Chef and the occasional Ina Garten show. Sometimes I even pick up tips on the side - for instance, watching Iron Chef Morimoto and Bobby Flay in the big old kitchen stadium taught me techniques like tempura battering, no joke! This weekend I chanced in a viewing of a show called "My Life in Food," and this particular episode dealt with celiac disease and food allergies. Jennifer Esposito, an actress, talks about her celiac diagnosis, and Sloane Miller, whose "Allergic Girl" blog Please Don't Pass the Nuts was one of the first to try to raise awareness for food allergies, talks about going to restaurants and dealing with food allergies there. It was really nice to have something like this on a food network, giving some guidance as to shopping, eating out, etc. I wished they had regular programming that addressed needs like wheat-free eating and allergy-free recipes!

Wall Street Journal Article

A fascinating Wall Street Journal Article on the difference between celiac disease and gluten intolerance, and how a non-celiac immune response to wheat might cause a variety of odd symptoms.
My own allergy developed in my mid-thirties, and is a full-on anaphylaxis response. Imagine my surprise the first time that happened! I also lost about forty pounds in the four months after I stopped eating wheat. I just throw that out there because I think that was part of my inflammation response to wheat, which I was eating every day (to calm down stomach problems! which were probably also caused by wheat!)
Anyway, responses to wheat can be varied and strange. I now encourage my family and friends to try stopping gluten for a couple of weeks, and see if they don't feel better overall. It doesn't help everyone, but you never know!