Celiac Disease News Coverage on the Rise

When an episode of the Dr. Oz show devoted almost 25 minutes to  celiac disease on Dec. 10th, it did a lot to promote celiac awareness. Regardless of whether or not all the information on the show was 100% factual, it did more good than harm. Thankfully, Dr. Peter Green, of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University, shared correct information, as always. The day after the show aired, Google reported that searches for celiac disease were up a whopping 368%! 

Well, it seems that the spark of interest about celiac has fired up a lot of mainstream websites to post new articles on the condition and the best part is that some of them are mostly viewed by medical professionals. As most of us know, those are the people who really need an education about celiac since about 95% or so of people with the condition are walking around undiagnosed today.

Until medical professionals know what to look for in terms of celiac conditions, the diagnosis rates will not increase as quickly as they need to. As Dr. Green has explained many times, if doctors are taught in school that they will rarely see a patient with celiac, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. You have to be looking for something in order to find it. The average doctor in this country knows little about celiac and unfortunately, much of what they do know is outdated information.    

• This Reuters article is a good start to get people talking celiac disease testing methods. It explains the increase in the diagnosis rates after the introduction of the antibody tests several years ago.       
• Medical News Today did a nice piece on the new General Mills gluten-free website, Live Gluten Freely. It’s interesting that it posted on December 10th, the day of the Dr. Oz show about celiac.
• This New York Times article might be the most read of all, due to the fact that they have a larger audience than the other online sites.   
• The article from The Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants website highlights why celiac symptoms are so often overlooked by doctors. Every doctor should understand the information in the below excerpt from that article. I’ve had more than one doctor tell me that untreated celiac does not in any way increase one’s risk of any type of cancer.  

Complications associated with celiac disease include iron deficiency anemia, osteoporosis, and a modest increase in the risk of GI cancers and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Everybody Eats Sticky Bun

Last but not least, this article about one of my favorite  gluten-free bakeries, Everybody Eats, in NYC was posted on YourNabe.com. If you have not tried the amazing Sticky (cinnamon) Buns from this bakery yet, you might want to treat yourself for the holidays. The product is better than T.J. Cinnamon’s and Cinnabons gluten buns.  We’ve tried seven gluten-free brands of similar products at our house and have determined that the Everybody Eats version is not just the best gluten-free cinnamon bun – it’s the best cinnamon bun we’ve ever had!