by Melissa Diane Smith

The hottest story in tennis and perhaps all of sports right now is Novak Djokovic who has had a spectacular record of 43-1 up to this point this year, winning the Australian Open and six other tournaments, and losing only to 16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the French Open. With win after win and a few key victories over the world’s No. 1 player Rafael Nadal, Djovokic became the No. 2 men’s tennis player in the world this spring. Many factors have been attributed to the dramatic transformation in Djokovic’s play – including a change in racquet, a change in motion on his serve, and a change in confidence – but perhaps the most notable is his change to a gluten-free diet.

Because of the no-gluten diet, “I have lost some weight but it’s only helped me because my movement is much sharper now and I feel great physically,” Reuters quotes Djokovic as recently saying.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

There are good reasons for men to pay attention to symptoms early.

Every single person I meet or hear about with gluten intolerance is female. I feel like the only guy who has it, writes one man on a celiac forum. Do men really have gluten intolerance far less often than women, or do they pay less attention to symptoms that are common signs of gluten intolerance?

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Not sure what changing your diet can do for you? My client Marcia who wrote the following testimonial wasn’t sure at the beginning either but she has been completely won over by what my individualized nutrition coaching program is doing for her. So are her doctors, including one who wrote me, congratulated me on the wonderful results she has had, and said “Way to go!”

I am so grateful that I am able to help people like Marcia in this way! Keep in mind that this is a person who was eating gluten free to begin with, but still needed some fine-tuning to her diet. Here’s Marcia’s story:

I originally contacted Melissa about how and what to eat because of multiple food sensitivities I was recently diagnosed with (I have been gluten-free for almost 9 years). Working with Melissa has taught me to eat properly for me. She set me up with a personalized diet for my sensitivities, symptoms and conditions. I definitely eat against the grain! In addition to grains, I avoid dairy, eggs, beans, processed foods and all GMOs (genetically modified organisms). Eliminating the GMOs has made the most impact for me.

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Need a quick rundown on the difference between celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, and how to test for the two conditions? Check out my less than ten-minute radio interview on April 13, 2011, on the Buckmaster Show, hosted by long-time Tucson news and information host Bill Buckmaster. In advance of the Gluten-Free Food Faire on April 30, the interview also covers some of the main highlights of the upcoming faire, including my book signing featuring my new book Gluten Free Throughout the Year. To hear the interview, go to this link, listen to or download the MP3 audio file, and advance the podcast to 16 min, 35 seconds, to start the section with my and Bill’s conversation.

by Melissa Diane Smith

Would you like to explore the world of gluten-free living? Would you like to get a copy of my new book personally autographed by me? Or, if you know you’re sensitive to gluten (found in wheat, rye, and barley), would you like to go to an event where you can sample good food, have fun, and relax knowing all the foods there are gluten free?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, you’re in luck. The Annual Gluten Free Food Faire, a special day of health information and food sampling including a book signing by me, will take place on Saturday, April 30^th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Palo Verde, 4550 S. Palo Verde Rd., in Tucson, Ariz.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

I absolutely loved this sign that I saw while walking the show floor at the natural foods convention, Natural Products Expo West! As you probably know, I’ve been writing for quite some time about how gluten-free junk food is making people who eat gluten free fat and unhealthy. In fact, getting that message out to more people is a big reason that I started this blog (see my original story “The Gluten-Free Diet – A Recipe for Unhealthy Weight Gain?”). It’s also one of the main reasons for my new book, Gluten Free Throughout the Year: A Two-Year, Month-to-Month Guide for Healthy Eating.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

“Ingredients for change” was the theme of a media luncheon this year at Natural Products Expo West, the largest natural foods and products convention in the world. It also symbolized what I saw at a number of talks, receptions, and food booths at the convention March 10-13, 2011.

I wrote a few months ago about growing trends toward gluten-free, organic, and sustainable foods in the restaurant business. I’m glad to report that those trends are evident in the natural foods industry, too. There is also growing awareness about the hazards of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and an increased push from many health food manufacturers and retailers to remove GMOs from their products and stores.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

A group of Italian researchers has written in the most clear medical language so far that non-celiac gluten sensitivity exists and affects many more people than celiac disease. But gluten sensitivity lacks definitive blood tests to diagnose it, so the best test right now to determine it is seeing if there is relief in symptoms from a gluten-free diet trial.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

If you’re confused about how you can find out if you’re gluten intolerant or not, here’s a rundown on the subject from three top experts.

Walk into your doctor’s office to try to find out if you’re gluten sensitive and you’ll almost always have trouble getting an answer. For one thing, your doctor may not want to run blood tests to test for the condition. If he does, he’ll probably only pay attention to tests that screen for tissue damage in the gut, an indicator of celiac disease. If the tests for tissue damage are negative, it’s common for a physician to ignore the test results that indicate an immune reaction (IgA and IgG gliadin antibody levels), even if those immune reaction tests come back positive. Many doctors simply tell their patients that they don’t have celiac disease and should keep eating a diet that contains gluten.

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I am happy to announce that I am now accepting clients not just from throughout the United States, but also from other English-speaking countries including Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. I continue to emphasize integrative holistic nutrition focusing on the whole individual, the particular health conditions and health history a person has, the habits/lifestyle he or she has, and the health goals he or she wants to achieve. I specialize in customizing gluten-free diets, grain-free diets, and/or low-carb/low-glycemic diets for the individual and am increasingly educating and counseling clients on the dangers of genetically modified foods (often called GMOs or genetically modified organisms) and how to avoid them in their diets.

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