Lows and Highs - Independence Day for Celiacs...

With marathon training season upon us in Houston, this Celiac was feeling a little down as I tried to schedule my July 20 appointment for post operation review. Every time I had, the scheduling screen did not show up, leading to delays while the clinic staff consulted with the tech support, etc. I told them that not running was absolutely killing me (see my post on the Ironman).

Finally, the answer was that the doctor was going on vacation, until the 29th. Three hours of "Oh no..." and then - "If you can come in tommorrow, he'll see you." Sweet - please pray I get cleared for at least jogging.

In other big developments - The rumor is that Jason's Deli will roll out gluten free bread system wide! This weekend! I'm so excited - the only thing is that you have to ask for the special prep area. Happy July 4th.

M Resort doing great job with Celiac diet

The Celiac diet is always a concern when traveling. I've been at the M Resort in Las Vegas for a conference, and they are doing a great job taking care of my meal needs. Usually, I give a report on the athletic facilities and so on. I can say that the ice machine always seems to be full enough for me to take the provided shoe bag and make really big ice packs for my knee. Usually, I don't like to be close to the ice machine or elevators, but this trip I made an exception. It's worked out pretty well.

Foodmakers, beware your labeling...

Now that someone has been arrested for making people sick after knowingly providing gluten-containing food to celiacs while labeling it, "gluten-free," I wonder how far this line of logic would go..

Let's say you make cereal or flour. You test it, and it comes back at 20 ppm or 200 ppm. Then you slap a "gluten free" label on it in, because that is a definition somewhere. So far so good, right?

But then you have some Celiacs get sick from eating the product. Which law would "win"-- the law that defines what you can call gluten free or the law that says you can't sell products that make people ill? Could someone follow the definition and still end up arrested?

Celiacs involve AG in NC suit against "GF" breadmaker.

Well, this time gluten-free/celiac legal action has come to the United States, in the form of a company that sold "gluten-free" bread at the North Carolina State Fair. This blog reported in November 2009 that this a good trend for Celiacs in the long-term.

The facts are unclear. The company says the bread was gluten free when they sold it. The consumers say it was contaminated when they bought it. The state AG has asked a judge to shut the business down.

The message is clear to manufacturers, however. Label something gluten-free when it is not, and you put your entire business at risk.

UPDATE: The gluten-free statement was allegedly fraudulent and the business owner was arrested.

Gluten-Free lawsuit was just a matter of time...

Over the long term, there was a very good development for the Celiac community. A maker of gluten free mixes sued their supplier when they tested the supposedly gluten-free flour and found 60+ ppm gluten in it, prompting a recall.

The good news is that the gluten-free business is big enough now that real money and reputations are at stake. With this lawsuit, manufacturers also have real choices to make.

• Do I process gluten-free goods in their own dedicated facilities?
• Do I exit the gluten-free market?
• Can I effectively mitigate risks if I choose the middle path?

Just so you know, manufacturers -- Celiacs, given the choice between two products, are going to choose the ones made in facilities that do not process gluten as well.

Celiacs - check your freezer

I just saw this voluntary recall of Van's Pancakes. I keep telling my wife that just because it says wheat free on the box doesn't mean it is really gluten free. Now I can say that just because it says gluten-free on the box, it doesn't mean that it actually gluten-free, either.

Humana won't take Celiacs in Texas

My wife was trying to price health care packages for our family. Humana had a big ad on the television, so she called and told them as part of the quote process that they would not cover Celiacs. The Humana representative admitted that "Celiac can be controlled through diet." but went on further to say that Humana did not cover Celiacs because "Humana can't monitor compliance with the diet."

This argument uses flawed logic. Using the same logic, they should not cover anyone who takes medication, either. Blood tests suffice. A little underwriting sanity appears to have gone missing at Humana.

Brilliant Celiac video from Mayo

Here's a great Celiac video from Mayo explaining the results of the Celiac study they published. He discusses the findings very clinically and very understandably.

At the end, he broaches the idea that one implication is that perhaps we should screen for Celiac in the general population, like we do for high blood pressure or cholesterol. I'm very much on board with that idea. It may happen on its own, anyway, because life insurers will start testing for the antibodies if they can.

Not every Starbucks...

I'm in the process of starting a business and had the opportunity to fly through DFW on a trip. I know the DFW airport pretty well, including knowing that there are three Starbucks in the main terminals. I thought-- Aha -- Lunch!

Alas, my hopes were dashed. It turns out that there are "degrees" of Starbuck-ness, and these outlets did not carry the new GF cake. Be warned and carry food appropriately.

Gluten Free Cake available at Starbucks

I had occasion to go into Starbucks today, so naturally I had to try the Gluten Free cake in the individual wrapper. It was good - 290 calories good. But it was small for the price, I thought. It's a great, widely available option for Celiacs.

Flying? Pack your own food

What happened to the workouts?
I spent this week on a business trip touring some of the major airline hubs (one flight delayed, the other canceled). I can say this with certainty. If you want to find a gluten free meal at an airport, it's most likely going to be in your carry on baggage. First, there's nothing on the plane. I flew American going out and their new snack menu is "all gluten." Skull and crossbones for them. Second, the terminals are only slightly better and you have to hunt. I managed a bunless burger and fries (separate fryer!) at a pub. At the Atlanta airport I went to the Chik fil a, hoping to pick up a salad. They were "too small for salads" (or fresh lemonade), so I ended up with waffle fries and a Coke (hey - It was Atlanta after all). Delta's in flight offered peanuts with an acceptable mix of eatable dextrins.

What to pack?
I had stopped by the grocery store to pick up provisions, and I'm glad I did. I took along about 6 packages of tuna/salmon, assorted nuts and 5 GF Larabars. (Cereal in the suitcase) My usual policy is to "forage" as best I can and then dip into my backpack for the rest. Some trips I don't even touch the food I bring with me, but this time around I ate about half my fish and bars. Other good airline trip food includes apples and applesauce in those little packages.

Celiac Stoplights

In my celiac world, there's three kinds of food -- red, yellow and green. It's how I tell people about whether or not I can eat a food. "Red" is the 'no way don't even check' category. This would include stuff like bread and cookies, flour mixes, etc. "Green" is food that is obviously okay - fresh fruits and vegetables, pure meats and the like. "Yellow" foods are those foods that are in the "unclear" category, sausage, au gratin potatoes and refried beans.

It just so happens that the last three foods showed up on my breakfast plate at the Mariposa Ranch, where my wife and I are staying on vacation. The eggs were okay, but the rest? So, even though I had gone through the whole "diet thing" twice already, I did it again. They didn't have the ingredient label for the sausage, the beans were okay, and the potatoes had mushroom soup as an ingredient, and the second ingredient on that can was, you guessed it - wheat flour.

I always send back plates that have been contaminated with wheat, but of course that most important item - trust - goes away, and with it a good part of the enjoyment of the meal. I try not to let it bother me.

On the celiac front, I may have found a local here in Brenham with symptoms, so I had the opportunity to talk about that.

For training, it turns out that Brenham has an aquatic center, which I used for my swim workout. I ran right by the Blue Bell ice cream factory (but didn't go in). It turns out there's an M&M lane behind the factory that smelled like fresh chocolate chip cookies. Mmmmm.

Finally! a good workout

You can probably gather from the lack of recent postings that I've been a little under the weather. I either took a bug with me to New York, or I picked it up at there. In any case, it just made me tired and unable to concentrate, so I've been sleeping a lot. In fact, I skipped Friday's workout and slept most of the weekend and most of yesterday too. Although I wouldn't wish it on anyone, one silver lining is that I did lose 7 pounds this week, mostly because I just didn't feel like eating. I aim to keep that off and lose some more.

Another indication that I have been sick is that it's been really easy for me to hit my target heart rate range for my workouts. It was the same story today. I made sure I got in a full day's work and did my running workout. It didn't help my energy level, but it didn't hurt either. At nine o'clock, I almost didn't go to my swim workout, but now I'm glad I did. My swim is the weakest leg of my triathlon, and tonight I did 800 yards with good form in good time. Plus, I came out of the water with more energy than I started with. It just goes to show you that it makes sense to give the workout a try and see how it goes.

There was some interesting Celiac news. The people who brought you the Pillcam for upper GI endoscopies announced that a major insurer (United Healthcare) will be covering the Pillcam under one of their insurance policies. My hope is that more and more insurers (payors) will realize the importance of Celiac as a chronic condition and insure it and treat it as such, especially right after a diagnosis.

Sometimes I want to live in a bubble

There's a new survey out for those who want to chime in on the proposed FDA ruling. I took it, in the interest of adding my voice to that of the crowd. I wasn't happy with it, because it didn't ask about my habits now, and then how they would change under the proposed ruling. Personally, I think I'll buy less prepackaged food and more "pure" foods if they go with the ruling as it is, which is probably the opposite of what the manufacturers want. It's been a tough week (having traveled), so at times like these sometimes I feel as if I'd rather be in a bubble.

But then I wouldn't have sat next to a GI surgeon on the plane today, so I keep plowing ahead.

Some quick tie-ups. The "dangerous" ride director sent out an email that, while not quite an apology, did give the impression that 1) He got an earful 2) the hurt riders would live and 3) they won't be doing that route again.

I went to the Risotteria in NY for dinner. It was good, and it turns out that it's pretty close to the subway line. They said lots of people have been having trouble getting Redbridge up there. Kinda makes me feel guilty to have a sixpack in the fridge...

The Hilton where I stayed made it up to me with a GF breakfast this morning. It would be better to have GF processes in place, but I'll take it.

Workout round up: I did the two workouts Wednesday and my workout when I got home. I'm pretty bushed.

The mean streets of New York

I am posting this from NYC, where my Celiac day was mostly funny and my exercise mostly non-existent. One of the things I like about occasional travel is that I often get to ask people if they have gluten-free options for me. Of course, my backpack is full of packaged tuna, salmon, and nuts in case I run into trouble, but it's fun to see reactions.

The concierge desk at the hotel where I am staying was baffled. They suggested a "healthy" restaurant, but when they called, the restaurant was clueless. The next place, a vegetarian place, said they had gluten-free food.

Armed with an address and a map, I hiked (my exercise) to the Whole Foods just off the southwest corner of Central Park. It's in Columbus Circle and you have to go downstairs to find it. It was packed to overflowing. The line for the express lane was halfway around the store, and it had a person with a pre-fab sign that said "5 minutes from here" (just like Disney World)!

Now armed with Mesa Sunrise Flakes and Lil'Milk, I made my way to the restaurant. Have you ever been to a place where you know you could get some food, but you're still not comfortable? This restaurant was such a place. Besides, I just couldn't see paying $15 for a plate of steamed vegetables with rice.

Then I decided to call a friend who might know a good GF option in Midtown Manhattan - and my cellphone promptly froze. Just turned off. Wouldn't turn back on. I decided it wasn't my day.

I also decided cereal for dinner was looking pretty good. Maybe I'll do a two a day tomorrow.