Celiac Project Podcast

It has been an strange celiac awareness month for Mike and Cam, including Mike's struggles to find safe options on a trip to California. They had a number of takeaways about the current state of being gluten free in this day and age. If you are playing the celiac project podcast drinking game at home, you can drink every time the guys say "celiac awareness month." Bottoms up!

Mike and Cam are happy to be joined this week by Katie Jones. Katie shares her dramatic story about her celiac diagnosis and brittle bone disease that ultimately led to her down the road to getting Piper, and training her through Willow Service dogs, to detect for gluten. In addition to talking more about the process of training a gluten detecting service dog, we talk to her about the challenges Katie faces as a teenager living with celiac. Katie's story is amazing and she is a true inspiration and fantastic celiac advocate.

Mike hits a snag eating out on the first day of Celiac Awareness month. Mike and Cam reflect on the challenges of staying safe eating out while traveling. They also go over a new infographic put out by Beyond Celiac that illustrates some of the larger frustrations experienced within the celiac community.

Edwin Liu, MD of Children's Hospital of Colorado, completed a recent study that shows that celiac disease may be much more common in children than previously thought. We're confused by how the celiac diagnosis rates can differ so much across the board.  Mike and Cam also talk a little about their experiences and takeaways at the recent Gluten Free Allergen Friendly Expo.

We're kicking off celiac awareness month with our interview with Mary FioRito. Mary has three daughters and the way that they find out about celiac disease in their family is highly unusual. The story of the FioRito's is amazing and you don't want to miss this important and informative episode.

Mike's nephew Sam joins the show to talk about a couple of recent "speed bumps" he had over spring break.  The most harrowing story has to do with his trip to China town, with a new group of acquaintances, that didn't end so well for Sam. Mike and Cam help Sam break it all down and they discuss what could be done differently to avoid such pitfalls and some useful tools to turn to when thrust into these kinds of situations.

Mike and Cam discuss the U.S. panel's decision to forgo universal celiac testing and what the repercussions might be for the gluten-free world and our society in general. We also take a look at some other hot celiac health topics including the relationship that has been found between CD and anorexia and an the common virus that may trigger celiac disease. The latter is a huge breakthrough, could it ultimately lead to a vaccine?

Cam gets "glutened" by a product that doesn't contain any gluten ingredients. This leads us to a "deeper dive" into the things that make us feel safe or less safe when buying products at the store or going to a restaurant. We also talk about a couple of Nima posts that our friend Jessica Hanson of Tasty Meditation and The Gluten Free Watchdog have shared.

New article tracing some of the history of celiac disease and the gluten free diet. Another article that, somewhat disturbingly, tries to make a connection between the gluten free trend and eating disorders. Starbucks announces their first gluten free breakfast sandwich (the sandwich in a plastic bubble).

Excited by some of the first research done on the subject, Mike and Cam take a close look at gluten free vs gluten removed beer. We look at some of the missteps that the restaurant and retail world, and discuss a recent webscast on the topic that GIG (Gluten Intolerance Group) sponsored. Pull up a cold one and have a listen.

Mike and cam are excited to be joined this week by Brandy Trafman. Brandy is a kindergarten school teacher who has celiac disease. Brandy has been a celiac advocate ever since she was diagnosed in college. She talks to us about the challenges of being truly gluten-free from the perspective of a teacher and as someone with celiac disease. Brandy shares her amazing tips on navigating the school system with celiac or food allergies including her thoughts on 504 plans. This is a hugely informative interview that you won't want to miss.

Mike talks to Cam about all things colonoscopy. He talks about some speed-bumps in the prep, how the test went, and what the results were. Cam also talks more about some of his conclusions from a few of the dietary tweaks that he has made recently.

On the eve of his colonoscopy/endoscopy prep, Cam shares with our listeners how he is feeling both physically and emotionally. We also share some of the great emails and posts that we have received from our fantastic listeners. In addition, we find out that pet food is not the culprit of his recent elevated celiac blood test, and we learn more about his dog Lacy and her amazing health and diet.

Mike and Cam do an on air taste test, inspired by finding a whole new adult beverage category. Tasting choices are based on beverages neither Mike or Cam have ever consumed. They start with hard seltzer and also try a few ciders and a unique beer with ginger.  This is HARD work...bottoms up!

Cam is slightly disturbed by the results of a positive celiac blood test even after being hyper-vigilant about his gluten free diet. He talks openly to Mike about the test and they speculate on what might be the cause. Cam also talks about the more extensive tests he has coming up and his hope to get some answers about some of his ongoing health issues.

Cam's dad, Brian, sheds light on some of the struggles the entire family endured as well as triumphs they encountered once Cam was diagnosed with celiac and on the long road to recovery. He also shares with us some of his best gluten-free cooking tips.

Mike and Cam discuss the need for more consistency for gluten free labeling, and the need for a worldwide standard level of accepted parts per million. They look at the fact that there are some promising changes on the horizon as scientists have come up with a "universal gluten cross-contamination checklist" for use in the food service industries.

A couple of weeks ago (on EP 52) Mike and Cam discussed a new column on Tampa Bay's Creative Loafing website called, "#BecauseGluten: Me? Celiac? Impossible!" This week we have the and Arts and Entertainment Editor, Cathy Salustri on to discuss her frustration being diagnosed with celiac disease and the challenges she faces adapting to the gluten-free lifestyle. She talks candidly to us about how she went from not wanting to share her diagnosis with anyone, to deciding to make it the focus of her column.

Ellen joins the podcast to tell us what it is like to be severely gluten intolerant and living gluten free without having celiac disease. We also talk about a new acronym that has burst onto the scene, PWAGs: "People without celiac disease avoiding gluten." We dig into a Washington Post article talking about PWAGs and the idea that the gluten free movement is less of a fad than was previously thought. You don't want to miss the fascinating discussion that ensues.

We love following Mike's nephew, Sam, through life's twists and turns.  Today, Sam talks about his transition off the college meal plan (freshman year) and into an independent cooking environment this year. He shares some of his top tips for gluten-free college survival and we also talk about our recent family travels.