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Should all Autistic Children be Screened for Celiac Disease?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Several years ago some naturopath doctors began speaking out about how some children with supposed Autism might, in fact, have celiac disease instead. As reported in an earlier article on this site, there is presently no scientific evidence linking Autism to celiac disease. But now it is painfully clear that some children thought to have Autism actually have celiac disease, and never had  Autism in the first place.

Actress Jenny McCarthy, the founder of Generation Rescue, is probably the best-known mother of an Autistic child who was “cured” by following a gluten-free/casein-free diet and nutritional therapies. Jenny’s latest book “Healing and Preventing Autism: A Complete Guide“, written with Dr. Jerry Kartzinel, helps parents of Autistic children think outside the box in terms of healing this baffling learning disorder.

When Jenny McCarthy went on Oprah and spoke out about the healing journey with her son Evan, the Autism medical community was in an uproar. Certainly, people should not totally ignore their doctors and listen to a celebrity with no medical training. But they are not going to harm their children by trying a gluten-free/casein-free diet. Maybe it could help some of their children too. Surely it will help kids who actually have celiac and not Autism at all.

Treating Autism is big business with 1 and 150 children being affected by the disorder in the U.S. Those numbers indicate the problem is bordering on being an epidemic. Why not test every child with Autism for celiac disease? Is the Autistic medical community concerned with helping patients or worried about how losing some of them to nutritional therapies would affect their bottom line?

Here is an interesting story about Eamon, a child who was thought to have Autism but really had celiac. Be sure to watch both the videos posted, one of which includes comments by Dr. Peter Green of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. How many more kids just like Eamon are out there?

Find Gluten-Free Groceries at Hy-Vee Foods

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

For most of us who find ourselves living in the Midwest, we don’t have many of the gluten-free grocery luxuries that the rest of the country enjoys. Most notably, we don’t have any Trader Joes or Whole Foods Markets. One thing we do have, however, is a major grocery chain that has worked hard to become very friendly to those who follow a gluten-free diet. This major grocery chain is of course Hy-Vee Foods.

A few years back, Hy-Vee added a health food section to their stores which included several of the essential gluten-free packaged items. This is very convenient because our small town doesn’t have a health food store as an option.

In addition to the new health foods section, they’ve also gone through their shelves and built a mammoth list of confirmed gluten-free products, which they’ve made available for anyone to download on their website here (scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the PDF link). I didn’t link directly to the list as it changes a few times each year, so I figured it would be better to link directly to the source. Because Hy-Vee is our primary grocery store, I went through the list and built a smaller list of gluten-free products which would fit on one page, then my wife or I will take that with us when we go shopping.

If that convenience wasn’t enough, I know my local Hy-Vee store and many of the other Hy-Vee stores also staff dietitians which are available to Hy-Vee shoppers. In addition to performing their normal roles, these dietitians will also accept feedback on existing gluten-free products and often bring in requested products to their stores (our location now stocks Chebe products!).  Overall they have been great to work with!

To our readers who live in the Midwest, have you had the pleasure of working with a Hy-Vee in your area?  I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below!

Ted’s Montana Grill Gluten-Free Menu

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 8 Comments

Several years ago Ted’s Montana Grill created a gluten-free menu. Some locations did fine with gluten-free service and some did not. We can not expect the gluten-free service at every location of a chain restaurant to be equal, though it would be nice if we could.

Official Website Menu Information: Ted Montana Grill Gluten-Free Menu
Location Finder: Find a Ted Montana Grill Location Near You

Ted’s Montana Grill was founded by media giant and environmentalist Ted Turner and acclaimed restaurateur George McKerrow Jr. The menu features classic American grill entrées including beef, bison, chicken, shrimp, and fish. The atmosphere is decidedly masculine, invoking thoughts of a rustic retreat in the middle of Montana.

Previous visits to the Ted’s near us (Atlanta area) have gone well, though it was annoying that there was no real gluten-free menu. The booklet that contained the safe gluten-free menu selections was often hard for the staff to find so I just printed the menu from Ted’s website and took it in to save time and aggravation for all.

During a recent visit to Ted’s, we found out that our location now has one bound gluten-free menu. You still have to cross-reference it with the regular menu for descriptions and prices, but to my delight, I saw French fries listed on the menu in “sides”. Some companies are actually not aware of the cross-contamination issues regarding fryers that cook gluten-containing foods. Therefore, I never order anything fried without confirming there is a dedicated fryer first – no matter what the menu says.

Sure enough – Ted’s Montana Grill has a dedicated fryer  – at least at the Lawrenceville, GA location. Their fries are simply made from real potatoes and are excellent! Unfortunately, Ted’s corporate office could not confirm which locations have dedicated fryers at this time. They ask that people call their local Ted’s Montana Grill to inquire about the issue. They also warn customers who can’t eat gluten not to order French fries at Ted’s without confirming they have a dedicated fryer.

You can view the complete gluten-free menu here. You’re going to see French fries listed but please heed the request above to order safely. With or without fries, there should be something to satisfy everyone’s tastes at Ted’s. The only gluten-free menu limitations are the dessert options. Ted’s can certainly step up their game there. Even something as simple as chocolate mousse with fresh whipped cream (that everyone can enjoy) would be a nice addition.

So the food at Ted’s Montana Grill is made with real ingredients, is very tasty, and gluten-free options abound. That alone is worth giving the restaurant a try if there is one in your area. But there is a bigger picture going on at Ted’s. Their serious commitment to the environment led them to implement the following standards in all their restaurants:

  • Each location is 99% plastic-free – they even use paper straws.
  • To-go cups are made of cornstarch that bio-degrades in just 50 days.
  • Menus are printed on 100% recycled paper.
  • Take-out food goes in Bio-Plus Earth Containers, which are high-quality, bio-degradable containers that are microwavable.
  • Low-wattage lighting is used at all locations.
  • Regardless of the state laws where they operate, all Ted’s Montana Grill restaurants are non-smoking.

The first Ted’s opened in January 2002 in Columbus, Ohio, and has grown to over 50 restaurants in 19 states. If every location had dedicated fryers, they would do well to add more delectable gluten-free options in the future. Gluten-free onion ring anyone?

My absolute favorite item at Ted’s is the “Chicken Brick” entree. If you’ve been to a location near you, please tell us what you enjoy at Ted’s in the comment section below!

Note: It is possible that not all Ted’s Montana Grill locations already have the new menu, so please call ahead first if you plan to visit one in your local area to confirm the menu is available.

As always, when dining out gluten-free, do your due diligence and make sure the staff understands your needs. There are very few restaurants that are 100% gluten-free, so cross-contamination is always a risk. If you don’t feel comfortable with what you are hearing from the staff, perhaps it is best to dine elsewhere.

For information about other gluten-free restaurants menus, check out our gluten-free restaurants page.

Let’s Talk About Gluten-Free Pasta

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 19 Comments

Pasta is part of the average American’s diet – for some a large part – but since traditional pasta is made with wheat, it is off-limits to those who can’t tolerate gluten. The thought of never eating pasta again doesn’t sit well with most people so when they find out that gluten-free pasta exists, they are apt to let out a big sigh of relief.

All gluten-free pasta is not created equal and different brands contain different ingredients. Even though there are rumors abound that the best-tasting gluten-free pasta is not even sold in the United States, there are plenty of wonderful options here. In fact, the sheer number of choices might overwhelm someone new to the gluten-free diet. Several of the best versions sold here are even made in Italy.

Through much research about every brand of gluten-free pasta sold in the U.S., the brands listed below are my personal Top 5 picks. These are not necessarily the best-selling brands, in part due to the cost and/or the limited availability of some of them.

  • Bi-Aglut – a blend of corn, potato, and lupin (lupin may cause allergic reactions for those with peanut allergy)
  • Schar – a blend of corn and rice
  • Bionaturae –a blend of rice, potato, and soy
  • Ancient Harvest– a blend of quinoa and corn
  • Andean Dream– a blend of Bolivian quinoa and rice (also dairy-free, corn-free, soy-free, egg-free, nut/peanut-free, and Kosher)

Tinkyada gluten-free pasta is the most widely available gluten-free brand in the U.S. It is made of white or brown rice and rice bran, and there are organic and non-organic versions of each. Rice pasta is not the most flavorful product on the market, but it’s often the lowest-priced option. Because Tinkyada is also corn, soy, and dairy free, it appeals to a larger market than many of the other gluten-free pasta.

The brands listed in my Top 5 list tend to offer a taste closer to wheat pasta than plain rice pasta. But it really relates to how particular the gluten-free consumer is. Many people are “foodies” and plain rice pasta will not excite their taste buds. However, the majority of people living gluten-free love absolutely love Tinkyada pasta.

Andean Dream is the most nutritious gluten-free pasta on my list, with Ancient Harvest coming in second. This is due to the quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) those brands are made with. Because of its fiber, iron, and protein content, Quinoa is one of the most nutritious grains available in the world today. Only recently has it become more widely discovered (and used) in the American food market.

Please tell us what your favorite gluten-free pasta is in the comments section below!

Celiac Disease Statistics

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

With things like Celiac Disease, I am always skeptical when it comes to statistics. Statistics are supposed to be factual, but medical statistics are usually projections or guesses in my experience. As a result, I always take these types of statistics with a grain of salt, but at the same time, I feel they can offer some value.

There are a number of Celiac Disease statistics scattered all over the internet, but Mike of Switch 2 gluten-free did a great job of collecting these statistics in one convenient location.  Here are my two favorite statistics:

1 in 4,700 people is ever diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

  • 97% of Americans estimated to have Celiac Disease are not diagnosed.
  • The average length of time it takes for a symptomatic person to be diagnosed with Celiac Disease in the US is 4 years (11 years 6); this type of delay dramatically increases an individual’s risk of developing autoimmune disorders, neurological problems, osteoporosis, and even cancer.
  • The average cost of misdiagnosis is $5,000 – $12,000 per person per year.
  • Improving the time to diagnose Celiac Disease could save the healthcare system millions of dollars annually in unnecessary medical care.
  • 60% of children and 41% of adults diagnosed during the study were asymptomatic (without any symptoms).

There are no signs or symptoms typical for all people with Celiac Disease. Signs and symptoms can vary greatly from person to person.

  • Celiac Disease has over 300 known symptoms although some people experience none.
  • Only 35% of newly diagnosed patients had chronic diarrhea, dispelling the myth that diarrhea must be present to diagnose Celiac Disease.
  • 30% of the US population is estimated to have the genes necessary for Celiac Disease.

You can check out the complete list of Celiac Disease statistics here, as well as the sources of where they come from.