My Wellness Plan has changed. Based on feedback I received from my clients, I have modified my Wellness Plan so it is now a packet of three Follow-Up Nutrition Consultations that must be used within 18 months instead of a packet of five Follow-Ups used within 30 months, as it used to be. The change makes it less money to pay upfront for clients who want regular nutrition tune-ups during these still-difficult financial times. But by purchasing the plan and investing in their health, clients on the Wellness Plan get 20 percent off the regular price of three Follow-Up nutrition counseling sessions. Because the new Wellness Plan lasts a shorter time period, it also makes it easier for me to keep track of bookkeeping-wise. If you have had at least one previous consultation with me and are interested in the Wellness Plan, you can learn more about it at my Nutrition Services for Existing Clients page.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

Three types of genetically modified (GM) corn that have been approved for human consumption have been linked to organ damage in mammals, according to a new study.

Researchers from the Committee of Research and Information on Genetic Engineering (CRIIGEN) and the Universities of Caen and Rouen in France analyzed data that had been previously obtained to assess the effects on various organs in rats of three approved types of GM corn eaten for just 90 days. The corn varieties studied were NK 603, which had been genetically engineered to tolerate Roundup herbicide, and MON 810 and MON 863, which had been genetically engineered to produce two new insecticides. According to the researchers, these types of GM corn are potentially eaten by billions of people and animals worldwide.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

(Opinion) There are many positive signs that there is a growing movement of people trying to get healthy: More people are eating gluten free, more are buying organic foods, more are paying out of their own pockets for complimentary and alternative medical treatments, and more are growing their own food in their own gardens.

But amidst those encouraging trends, there are several key health and nutrition concepts that most people, including many who eat gluten free, are missing or have never even heard. Part of my mission for this site is to inform you about health information you don’t hear elsewhere. So, to provide food for thought for the new decade, here is my list of the top concepts people need to understand to protect their health in the next decade and beyond:

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by Melissa Diane Smith

(Opinion) The decade of 2000 to 2009 was a breakthrough decade in our awareness and understanding of gluten intolerance.

In 2000, celiac disease was considered very rare and non-celiac gluten sensitivity was hardly on anyone’s radar screen (except for a few researchers’ and doctors’ – and mine as well. I published Going Against the Grain in 2002.)

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by Melissa Diane Smith

If you know wheat bothers you but have never been tested for gluten sensitivity or celiac disease and continue to eat wheat, you likely are putting your life at risk. A large 2009 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that people with diagnosed, undiagnosed and “latent” celiac disease (also called gluten sensitivity) have a higher risk of death, mostly from heart disease and cancer.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

Do you eat gluten free, but gain weight or end up feeling not well during the holiday season? If so, consider this: There’s a little-known secret to enjoying the holidays with health, energy and no weight gain: Eating against the grain. Preparing low-grain foods and even no-grain foods may be unknown to most people (even many people who eat gluten-free). But it is an overlooked strategy for making delicious holiday meals quicker, easier and with far less fuss.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

If your doctor thinks there is no research to support gluten sensitivity that is not celiac disease, three new scientific abstracts published in a Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition supplement and presented at the annual NASPGHAN pediatric gastroenterology scientific meeting in mid-November might change his or her mind. Leading gluten researchers Alessio Fasano, MD, of the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research was involved in two of the research reports, and Rodney Ford, MD, of the Children’s Gastroenterology Clinic in Christchurch, New Zealand, authored the other.

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What fun it was to meet and chat with another practitioner who is as enthusiastic about spreading the word about gluten sensitivity as I am! That’s exactly what happened when Dr. Rodney Ford, a pediatrician, gastroenterologist and allergist from New Zealand, came to Tucson with his lovely wife Chris. We had animated discussions about current and future research on gluten sensitivity, and we enjoyed several gluten-free meals, including particularly good ones at El Charro Café (loved that Shrimp Topopo Salad!) and Feast, two Tucson restaurants with gluten-free menus.

Dr. Ford had a flip videocam with him and, after a long day of sightseeing, he decided to film a quick public service announcement with me about gluten sensitivity. Check out our youTube video and be sure to send the link to others who may not be aware of gluten sensitivity and how common it is.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

Gluten sensitivity is much more than celiac disease: It is ten times more common than celiac disease and it is a brain and nerve disease, not a gut disease, New Zealand’s Dr. Rodney Ford said at the Southern Arizona Celiac Support Group general meeting in Tucson on November 7th.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

Turn on the TV and flip through various news stations these days and you likely will be bombarded with information on flu and H1N1 (swine) flu vaccines and antiviral drugs as defense against a devastating flu pandemic. The news we hear about getting vaccines (and antiviral drugs at the first signs of flu) seems so relentless and definitive, it must be based on solid, universally agreed-upon science, most of us think. But the news we don’t hear is that some top flu experts have serious questions about the use of vaccines and antiviral drugs. We also don’t hear much about nutritional and natural ways that may boost immunity as a defense against flu because companies and health professionals who convey that information get warnings from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) not to.

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