Celiac Project Podcast

Cam has finished the training with his dog Lacy to be a gluten detection dog. Their journey has been amazing, with plenty of ups and downs and some unexpected hurdles to overcome. One thing is for sure, it has been absolutely life changing for Cam and how he deals with his celiac disease, helping him to stay completely gluten free!

We love all the new studies coming out and discuss two in particular on the podcast. The first study indicates that folks with first degree relatives may may have a much larger chance of developing celiac disease.  The second study shows that there could be a higher incidence of celiac in children who consume more gluten when they are young.

Last Friday was National Celiac Awareness Day, but did you know that it shares the date with lesser known days such as, "Blame Someone Else Day?" Mike and Cam discuss a myriad of this somewhat strange and sometimes arbitrary group of special days. We also talk about the meaning of Celiac Awareness Day, and some of our hopes for better celiac awareness and understanding.

Real life celiac superhero, Priyanka Chugh, creator of the blog, The Adventures of Anti-Wheat Girl, joins us. Priyanka, currently in medical school, shares her challenges growing up with mostly asymptomatic celiac disease in a family with a celiac brother and non-celiac sister, leading to some unique challenges. Ironically, Priyanka's mother, Dr. Ritu Verma, happens to be one of the top pediatric gastroenterologists in the world.  Priyanka illuminates us as to how celiac disease is being taught now (still not great), and her efforts to help educate her fellow medical students about celiac and other chronic health conditions.

Mike has made two trips to Madison, Wisconsin this summer. The second was with the great crew from GIG Chicago. He shares fantastic tales of other-worldly gluten free treats including refreshing beer from Alt Brew, tasty poke bowls, the most amazing waffles ever (?), and wait for it...gluten free deep fried cheese curds, Tachos (think nachos, but with tater tots) and FUNNEL CAKES!

It's back to school time again, so Mike and Cam decided to sit down with Mike's daughter, Jessica. Jessica is starting middle school this year and there will surely be new challenges. They talk to her about some of her strategies that have been helpful up to this point and what she is looking forward to and nervous about in the upcoming year.

New studies show that their might be a link between childhood trauma and the development of celiac disease. Mike and Cam discuss these studies, and open up about the toll that trauma and stress has had on their own lives, both pre-diagnosis and post.

Wouldn't it be amazing if there was an app for finding 100% dedicated gluten free establishments around the world? Well now there is and our friend Carrie Veatch from "For Gluten Sake" made it happen! We find out what inspired Carrie to make her app and why she wanted to include only dedicated gluten free businesses.

Pull up a bar stool and sample along with us a few gluten-free summer "adult beverages." We also reminisce about the fantastic 4th of July vacation that Mike and Cam and our families went on together, which included Cam's first ever wine tasting and an out of this world #PizzaFriday. Cheers and happy summer to all!

Jessica Hanson is back! Jessica had a great approach to simplifying the process of making her wedding gluten free.  She t shares her amazing gluten free culinary adventures on her honeymoon in Italy. We knew that Italy was an incredible celiac destination, but you won't believe just how accommodating they are. After this conversation, Mike and Cam are ready to pack their bags!

After finding that Nexvax2 did not provide, "meaningful protection from gluten exposure when compared with placebo," ImmusanT pulled the plug on their trial. Mike and Cam share their thoughts and also discuss a highly informative article written by Kelly Carter, a participant in the study. In the end, we are optimistic that more good will come out of this down the line, and we talk about why trials like these are so important to help us hopefully find a cure for celiac disease.

Our guest, Kristen Adam, at age 11 is the author of the book "Dear Celiac." Kristen tells us about her celiac journey and what inspired her to write her fantastic book. The story unfolds beautifully due to her bold imagination and amazing illustrations, and she shares her insights on how and why she decided to put pen to paper.

Taylor Miller, of Hale Life Blog talks candidly about his diagnosis, plus some of the huge challenges that he faced in his teens and what inspired him to share his experiences at such a young age. Taylor shares his thoughts on a variety of topics including how he handles some of the awkwardness of broaching the topic of celiac and being gluten free on the first date.

All seemed bleak for the prospects of the boy (known as J.D.) and his father who were forced out into the rain to eat their own food while on a school trip to Colonial Williamsburg. After an appeal, however, a panel of 3 judges has ruled 2 to 1 that the case will go to trial after all. Mike and Cam share their thoughts of why this is such a monumental case for the celiac and allergy communities.

In part 2 of our summer mailbag we dig into more of your heartfelt emails and comments. Hear about two listeners (and former guests) who connected in Berlin through the podcast. We also talk a little about how to advise friends and relatives who are looking to get tested. In addition, inspired by all the amazing comments we received about Jessica's appearance on a previous podcast, we discuss the next generation of up and coming young advocates.

It's mailbag time again! We love hearing from you, our loyal listeners, so we are digging into the mailbag to talk about some of your incredible emails and social media questions and comments. In part 1 we hear from a newly diagnosed baseball executive, talk about safe gluten free alcohol choices and also revisit some of the reactions from the controversial "Know Celiac" campaign.

Worlds collide for Cam as the guys are joined by Paintball Pro, and fellow celiac, Matt Kling. Matt is 21 and currently plays professional paintball for the top team, San Diego Dynasty (the Yankees of paintball). His celiac diagnosis coincided closely to his rise to the top of his sport.  Matt shares some of the struggles that he endured along the way. His team has traveled all around the world and some of the destinations have been much easier to navigate than others. He ultimately has not let these challenges slow him down or get in the way of his passion for paintball.

Mike and Cam talk a little bit about some of Cam's favorite podcasters. They also talk about an article written by an inmate with celiac who is not getting treated well by the prison system. Finally, they talk about gluten in their dreams. Do you have dreams that you are eating gluten (both fantasy and the nightmare variety)? If so, please share them with us!

Mike and Cam get to know Matt Hansen, celiac traveler and blogger at Wheatless Wanderlust. Matt's celiac story doesn't start in a typical way. He would get food caught in his throat and eventually was diagnosed with both EoE and celiac at the same time. Matt talks about his early struggles to find the courage to travel with these two auto-immune disorders, eventually learning to slowly push out of his comfort zone. Matt is now a celiac world traveler and has made gluten free guides for many cities around the world. Matt shares his top tips for celiac travel as well as his favorite destinations around the world.

Mike and Cam are pleased to be joined by Bob Goodman, founder and CEO of Goodman Gluten Free. Bob shares his fascinating experiences in the food industry spanning a lifetime. From his early years as a butcher to his training in pastry in France, we hear what ultimately inspired him to come out of retirement to start a gluten free company for the first time.