Celiac Project Podcast

Each year during Celiac Awareness Month, Mike and Cam take the pulse of the celiac world by putting out their "Celiac State of the Union." This year's episode is extra large and especially interesting as they look at the now very controversial "Know Celiac" campaign put together by many of the top celiac groups. They also share their thoughts on the Columbia Study that found that 32% of food tested at restaurants were found to contain gluten, and find out which states are Googling "celiac" the most.

Hot off the trails of her first school over-nighter, Mike's daughter, Jessica (10), shares the ups and downs she encounters as a first time solo celiac traveler.  Even well planned trips like this one have some mishaps, and Jessica handles them like a champ!

Our guest, Maureen Basye, is taking the world of cruising by storm, creating the first ever Celiac Cruise! Maureen tells us how and why she was inspired to make this dream of a Celiac Cruise a reality. Despite some of the challenges that she has discovered along the way, Maureen's passion for safe travel for those with celiac disease and gluten intolerance can't stand in the way of making this awesome vision come to life.

Mike and Cam are joined by pilot and fellow celiac, Marcia Wescott. Marcia talks about the specific challenges that she faces in her career as a professional pilot. Hear how she prepares for her 8 day trips and her often frustrating experiences with airport catering.

We check in with Cam on the way back from a road trip to St. Louis where he and his sister Peyton were on a quest for comedy.  One of their favorite comedians, Tony Hinchcliffe, does a unique show called "Kill Tony", where audience members are able to put their names in a hat for the opportunity to get critiqued (or roasted in many cases) by Tony himself. We talk about how Cam prepped for his trip foodwise and find out if Cam or Peyton had the nerve to put their names in the hat!

In part 2 of our talk with scientist, Craig Hardgrove, we get deeper into some of the psychological effects of dealing with pre and post diagnosed celiac. On a lighter note, we also talk about our shared love of Chicago style beef sandwiches, and debate how to prepare the perfect sandwich--just don't forget the giardiniera!

In part 1 of our talk with Craig Hardgrove, Craig shares his story of how he used his ill health and angst to propose an audacious plan to NASA using tiny spacecrafts to find hidden hydrogen on the moon....spoiler alert...they accepted it! Mike, Cam and Craig discuss how their celiac (both pre and post diagnosis) have at times motivated them while other times they've held themselves back due to celiac.

Inspired by the bizarre New York Times interview with Gwyneth Paltrow, where she takes credit for popularizing the gluten free diet (among other things), we examine that brand of crazy plus some of the other celiac and gluten free myths that are being perpetuated.

As if adjusting to a gluten free diet isn't enough of a challenge, the loss of enjoying a variety of great beer can be a bummer...unless you're gluten free home brewer extraordinaire and founder of Zero Tolerance Homebrew Club, Joe Morris. Morris is a gluten free brewing dynamo! We learn about how Joe first started the club, made the transition from traditional home brewer to gluten free, and recently became an award winning brewer himself. Joe also gives some tips on how you can get started with gluten free home brewing!

It is hard for anybody getting diagnosed for the first time with celiac disease to navigate a new way of life. Now imagine that you just moved to another country when that happened. Our guest, Leah Davis, who joins us from Berlin, Germany, did just that. Leah got her diagnosis just a few months after moving there. She talks about the multitude of challenges she faced getting diagnosed all while navigating a new language and a new country.

Dr. Peter Green and Dr. Benjamin Lebwohl, both of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University, served as editors on a recent journal publication updating some long held beliefs on celiac disease. Mike and Cam share their thoughts, and are hopeful that the changing face of celiac will lead to higher diagnosis rates and even more breakthroughs in research as better treatments and a possible cure draw nearer.

It's been a long time since Mike's nephew, Sam, has been a guest on the podcast. He joins the show to talk about his recent trip to Israel with a group from college. As a vegetarian with celiac disease, Sam often has increased miscommunications, especially when ordering a meal in advance. We talk about some of the challenges he faced on the trip  as well as his top tips for eating gluten free in Israel.

We talk to Jani Tuomi, co-founder of Imaware, the first ever home celiac blood tests. One test is given if you suspect that you have celiac and another (that Mike and Cam took) is for follow up testing to ensure that you are not getting cross contamination. Imaware assembled an impressive team including Dr. Guandalini and Dr. Schuppan to make sure that they were focusing on the most important details and metrics. We talk to Jani about the overall vision for Imaware and how they are helping to blaze and new trail, allowing patients to take a more active role in managing their health care.  Mike and Cam also share the results of their recent Imaware blood test.

In part 2 of Mike's incredible adventures at Disney World, he highlights many more amazing gluten free treats to be found in the parks. In addition, there are some bumps in the road including a hotel breakfast that nearly goes wrong and a Chicago ice storm that prolongs the trip. Mike and his family quickly turn lemons into lemonade as the one day extension allows them to stay at a Disney run hotel and compare and contrast the experience.

Besides having way too much fun on the Pirate's of the Caribbean ride, he and his family attempted to sample as many of the amazing gluten free treats and meals as they possibly could. Some highlights in part 1 include Mike's new addiction, the amazing Dole Whip, and the boys don't see eye to eye about one of the classic Disney rides.

Friend of The Celiac Project, and one of our favorite guests, Erin Smith, Gluten Free Globetrotter, joins us to talk travel! We share many tips including planning a trip plus smart first steps to take while traveling when newly diagnosed. Although it happens infrequently to us, we also share some of the ways to keep moving forward if you get glutened on a trip.

We're starting this year with news of some promising breakthroughs in celiac treatment and diagnosis. This week we share information tests and products that are either newly on the market or in the late testing stages including ImmusanT and Imaware.

We have such fantastic listeners and are so inspired by hearing your stories that we are sharing more great emails in part 2 of our special New Year's mailbag.  Inspired by one of these listener emails, Cam is inspired to take action on his own health.

We love our listeners, so what better way to start of the New Year but to celebrate you with a special 2 part mailbag? Mike and Cam talk about some of last year's episodes and events that have made the most impact on you.

In the conclusion of our 2 part "Holiday Cheers" series, Mike and Cam sample some truly unique spirits in order to get in the holiday "spirit!" We consider all of you listeners to be our extended celiac and gluten free family and wish you the happiest of Holidays and an amazing New Year!