Today while scouring the internet for Celiac news, I noticed a quick article in the Jewish Press about restaurants in Israel. It appears that many are going healthy, including many gluten free alternatives:
Jerusalem – The website of 2Eat, (www.2eat.co.il) a popular Israeli Hebrew restaurant, reports that 85 percent of Israel’s restaurants now offer healthy or dietetic options to diners that often include a salad bar.
Restaurateurs who were polled said that more than one-third of their lunchtime customers order a green salad or some other salad with their meal compared to 20 percent last year.
Noam Shaked, who manages the website, said that some 8 percent of the restaurants offer a separate healthy foods menu including calorie counts of items. Even fast food chains such as McDonaldsand the popular coffee chain Aroma are providing options for diabetics and celiac sufferers. Shaked said that out of the 100 restaurant owners polled, one third said there is an increasing demand from customers for healthier menu choices.
Based upon the nature of Celiac Disease and its relationship with the immune system, it seems that some people with Celiac Disease are not adequately protected by the Hepatitis B vaccine. Here is an excerpt from About.com’s post:
When you receive the hepatitis B vaccine series, your immune system is supposed to respond by producing antibodies to the hepatitis B virus. In addition, some of the immune cells that are involved in the body’s response to the vaccine become what’s known as “memory cells.” Many studies have shown, however, that in patients with celiac disease, the vaccine does not always produce adequate (or “protective”) levels of antibodies or memory cells.
Click over to check out the rest of the post.
Popular European cruise lines Costa Cruises has announced that they are now offering a gluten free menu to their guests. According to the post:
Costa Cruises is to cater for people who have the long-term digestive disorder celiac disease.
A special menu has been devised for those with celiac who have to maintain a strict gluten-free diet
The initiative has already been started on Costa Concordia and Costa Serena and will soon be extended to 11 other ships deployed in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.
Anyone with celiac disease has to make their special dietary requirements known when they make their booking.
The line has an agreement with the Italian Celiac Association (AIC) for the provision special meals.
The collaboration includes the careful selection of products, a dedicated menu, specific training for food handlers involved in the preparation and serving of gluten-free dishes, and an internal procedure dealing with passengers affected by celiac disease.
A special gluten-free menu will be available for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Eating is generally a big focus on cruises, making many Celiacs feel discouraged from going on cruises. I think this is a great move by Costa Cruises.
Today I noticed that food allergies were featured in the Washington Post and figured I would share. Though it isn’t specific to Celiac Disease, it certainly applies to us. Here is an excerpt from their post:
The market for food-allergy and intolerance products is projected to reach $3.9 billion this year, according to Packaged Facts, a New York research firm. And the market for gluten-free foods and drinks is expected to hit $1.3 billion by 2010, up from $700 million in 2006, according to research firm Mintel.
An estimated 12 million people in the United States have food allergies, and another 2 million have celiac disease, a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks itself when exposed to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. Those figures are expected to rise. The number of children with peanut allergies alone has doubled in the past decade. Food-induced anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal allergic reaction, causes about 30,000 emergency room visits and 150 to 200 deaths annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
Medical experts don’t know why the number of people with food allergies is increasing. Theories include reduced contact with germs, exposure to certain environmental pollutants and, in the case of peanut allergies, the way peanuts are processed and when they are introduced into people’s diet. None of the theories is backed by much research.
“We don’t know if some of them are true or there’s some truth to all of them,” said Marshall Plaut, chief of the allergic mechanisms section at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Until scientists learn more, the prescription for people with life-threatening food allergies or celiac is to avoid the foods that make them sick, a task that is getting easier.
Whereas a decade ago, the “free from” food market consisted of small manufacturers whose products were sold mainly in health-food stores, today it encompasses an ever-growing list of start-up companies, mainstream retailers such as Safeway and Giant Food, and some food industry giants such as General Mills.
Here is the latest batch of interesting notes regarding Celiac and the gluten free Diet from around the internet:
- AJC.com takes a look at how to get rid of gluten while still being a glutton. This post covers how far Celiac awareness has come and talks a bit about Gluten Free Girl’s cookbook.
- US News and World Report talks about how advances in science have aided in the treatment and diagnosis of Celiac disease. It is interesting to see what things they are working on.
- Non-Celiacs going gluten free? At first I thought they were talking about the fad that has swept the United States of non-Celiacs being on a gluten free diet to lose weight. After reading, though, it looks like this article is about family members of Celiac sufferers going gluten free.
