Being gluten-free is so difficult...

I've been on my gluten-free diet for 6 weeks now but have found that I am STILL getting into unexpected sources of gluten EVERY DAY:

- My 100% natural pear juice has "natural flavors" in it. Natural flavors frequently uses gluten.
- Lay's Plain Potato Chips are contaminated. The only brand I can eat is Kettle's potato chips if I get a craving.
- All my vitamins say "wheat-free" but not "gluten-free" - the manufacturers said I need to find a gluten-free brand.
- All orange juice at quick stops in Canada are contaminated with gluten so if I go there, I need to drink water.
- All gluten-free rice noodles are contaminated. That is because the rice is stored in grain silos which are also used for wheat and are never cleaned out before the rice is stored. The factories don't wash the rice before making them into rice noodles. I now eat fresh zucchini noodles.
- I must wash my rice 3-4 times before cooking it because of all the white dust from wheat, barley & rye when it is stored in the same silos and on the same grain trucks.

Anyone else having unexpected problems?

At-Home Candida Test (Glass of Water) - Does It Work?

I found this at-home candida test.

For those of you with Candida, can you tell me if it works?

Simple Test You Can Do at Home

First thing in the morning, before you put ANYTHING in your mouth, get a clear glass and fill with water. Work up a bit of saliva, then spit it into the glass of water. Check the water after a moment or within 2-3 minutes, then within every 15 minutes.

If you have a candida yeast infection, you will see strings, like cloudy legs, traveling down into the water from the saliva floating on the top, or "cloudy" saliva will sink to the bottom of the glass, or cloudy specks will seem to be suspended in the water. If there are no strings, the water is as clear as it was before you spit in the glass and the saliva is still floating after at least one hour, you are probably candida yeast free. The more strings and cloudiness there is and the faster it develops, the greater the overgrowth.
Source: http://www.road-to-health.com/am/publish/article_150.shtml

New Study: GMO corn linked to organ damage

The Huffington Post writes:

"In a study released by the International Journal of Biological Sciences, analyzing the effects of genetically modified foods on mammalian health, researchers found that agricultural giant Monsanto's GM corn is linked to organ damage in rats.

"Effects were mostly concentrated in kidney and liver function, the two major diet detoxification organs, but in detail differed with each GM type. In addition, some effects on heart, adrenal, spleen and blood cells were also frequently noted. As there normally exists sex differences in liver and kidney metabolism, the highly statistically significant disturbances in the function of these organs, seen between male and female rats, cannot be dismissed as biologically insignificant as has been proposed by others. We therefore conclude that our data strongly suggests that these GM maize varieties induce a state of hepatorenal toxicity....These substances have never before been an integral part of the human or animal diet and therefore their health consequences for those who consume them, especially over long time periods are currently unknown."

Monsanto has immediately responded to the study, stating that the research is "based on faulty analytical methods and reasoning and do not call into question the safety findings for these products."

The IJBS study's author Gilles-Eric Séralini responded to the Monsanto statement on the blog, Food Freedom, "Our study contradicts Monsanto conclusions because Monsanto systematically neglects significant health effects in mammals that are different in males and females eating GMOs, or not proportional to the dose. This is a very serious mistake, dramatic for public health."

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/12/m...d_n_420365.html

Corn Gluten damages Celiac Patients

I have recently found I have Celiac Disease and found that corn gives me symptoms. My friend said she had read that GMO corn frequently causes celiacs to have symptoms and even non-GMO corn is contaminated because the wind blows the seeds to other fields.

Here is what I found:

A Study published in the journal Gut identified that corn gluten caused an inflammatory reaction in patients with celiac disease.

The observation that corn gluten challenge induced an abnormal NO reaction in some of our patients with CD is intriguing as maize is considered safe and is recommended as the substitute cereal in a gluten free diet.

Okinawa Diet - Healthiest and longest living people on earth

Most of you have probably heard of the Okinawa people and their diet. They were featured on the front page of National Geographic. They frequently live to 110 years, rarely have our age-related illnesses and the elderly are not dependent but actively participate in the community.

Although the Japanese have long been the healthiest and longest lived nationality in the world, five times as many Okinawans live to be 100 than the rest of Japan. This has been shown not to be because of genetics because studies show that younger Okinawans are eating more American-like� and are beginning to experience the same health problems as Americans.



A summarization of the the Okinawa diet:

• One of the major principles of the Okinawan approach to eating is to only eat until 80% full. If after 10-20 minutes you are still feeling hungry it is acceptable to eat more of the recommended foods if desired.
  
• Okinawa people eat on average 500 calories less per day than other social groups however the diet is not simply about calorie restriction but also emphasizes the selection of highly nutritious foods, such as peaches, blueberries.
  
• The concept of the diet plan is on limiting calorie intake by emphasizing high volume, high nutrient foods with a low caloric density so the featherweight and lightweight foods will make up the majority of the diet.
  
  * Featherweights e.g. green tea and asparagus
  * Lightweights e.g. fish and brown rice
  * Middleweights e.g. hummus and lean red meat
  * Heavyweights e.g. fried foods and desserts
  
  
• Broth based soups such as miso soup are eaten before each meal so as to reduce the tendency to overeat.
  
• Sweet potato is a staple food and is recommended for its high content of antioxidants.
  
• Other foods that are particularly recommended include green vegetables, edible seaweed, tofu, fish, brown rice and green tea.

The Nitty Gritty of the Okinawa diet: The average citizen consumes at least seven servings of vegetables daily, and an equal number of grains (in the form of noodles, bread, and rice, many of them whole grains). Add to this two to four servings of fruit, plus tofu and other forms of soy, green tea, seaweed, and fish rich in omega-3s (three times weekly). Sweet potatoes, bean sprouts, onions, and green peppers are prominent in the diet. Vegetables, grains, and fruits make up 72% of the diet by weight. Soy and seaweed provide another 14%. Meat, poultry, and eggs account for just 3% of the diet, fish about 11%. The emphasis is on dark green vegetables rich in calcium (Okinawans, like other Japanese, don't eat much dairy). Okinawans do drink alcohol, but women usually stick to one drink a day, while men average twice that. Moderation is the key.

Health effects of the Okinawa Diet:

*Okinawa people have remarkably clean arteries and low cholesterol.
*Heart disease, breast cancer and prostate cancer are rare.
*They have 80% fewer heart attacks than Americans.
*Breast and prostate cancer are so rare as to be unheard of among the older population.


More information on their diet based on mostly featherweight and lightweight foods:

* Featherweights are foods with a CD of less than 0.7. You can eat as much of these foods as you want to--guilt free. This group includes foods like water-based vegetable soup 0.3; apples, berries, peaches, and most other fruit (~ 0.6), broccoli, squash, green peas, and most other veggies (~0.5); fat free yogurt 0.6; and tofu 0.6.
* Lightweights weigh in with a CD of between 0.8 and 1.5. They can be eaten in moderation--that is, normal medium-sized portions a few times a day. These are foods like white flaky fish 1.0, cooked grains such as rice and pasta 1.4; sushi 1.4 and cooked beans 1.5.
* Middleweights have a calorie density of 1.6 to 3.0. You want to have relatively small portions of these foods. Middleweights are items like hummus 1.7, red-fatty fish 1.8, whole-wheat bagel 2.0, soy cheese 2.5 and raisins 3.0.
* Heavyweights, as the name suggests, are the most dangerous. They have a calorie density of more than 3.0 and usually have other negative nutritional traits associated with them. You have to eat these sparingly--less frequently or in very limited amounts. This group includes foods such as full fat cheddar cheese 4.0, graham crackers 4.2, plain rice cakes 3.8, bacon 5.0, smooth peanut butter, 5.9, butter 7.2, vegetable oil 8.8, etc. All these foods are either high in fat and sugar, or low in water content or fiber. Many of them are processed foods like doughnuts (CD 4.3) and corn chips (CD 5.4)--both processed grains; or French fries (CD 3.2), which are processed potatoes. Processing removes the fiber (non-digestible carbohydrate), often removes water, and frequently adds sugar or fat, making these foods the most calorically dense of all, and the most detrimental to your waistline and health.