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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by Melissa Diane Smith

Dr. Rodney Ford, who is known as “Dr. Gluten” because of his expertise in gluten sensitivity, will present evidence to support his breakthrough idea that gluten sensitivity is caused by neurological harm, not gut damage as is commonly thought, at the Southern Arizona Celiac Support Group meeting in Tucson, Arizona, at 9 a.m. on Saturday, November 7, 2009. The event will take place at the Pima Community College District Office Campus, 4905 E. Broadway, Building C, and it is free and open to the public. To view a map of the location, click here.

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A reminder: My Coaching Program Special continues through October 31, 2009. When you purchase any nutrition coaching program on or before that date, you will get an extra 45-minute coaching session over the phone (a $100 value) absolutely free. That is in addition to a free online Going Against the Grain Group membership (a $24.99 value) and a free Healthier Holidays Going Against the Grain E-book (a $15.95 value). The E-book is perfect for getting you prepared for the upcoming holiday season.

Still wondering about nutrition coaching? Here is a testimonial from one of my new coaching clients who has recently taken advantage of the Coaching Program Special:

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by Melissa Diane Smith

People with gastrointestinal symptoms who test negative for celiac disease have long known that they are apt to get a diagnosis of “irritable bowel syndrome” (IBS) from a doctor rather than a diagnosis of gluten sensitivity. But gluten sensitivity provides a trigger that can explain at least part of the spectrum of symptoms that constitutes IBS, a group of doctors from the Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute in Canada and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota propose.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

(Opinion) - It used to be that I was the only one writing about non-celiac gluten sensitivity, a condition largely dismissed by mainstream doctors. Major newspapers wouldn’t come close to touching the subject. Now, seven years after my Going Against the Grain book came out, the Los Angeles Times, a newspaper with a circulation of three-quarters of a million people, has run a story “Gluten sensitivity: A long road toward discovery” and a follow-up story a few weeks later, “Going gluten-free – for many reasons.”

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Last week Natural Products Expo West, the country’s largest natural, organic, and healthy products trade show, was marked by gluten-free products at virtually every turn and an astounding array of new products sweetened with agave nectar. The trends toward more gluten-free and agave-sweetened products both sound like positive developments, but consumers need to beware of the unadvertised pitfalls of these foods.

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On his second full day in office, President Barack Obama surprised members of the White House press corps by unexpectedly visiting their work area in the West Wing, saying hi and commenting on the lack of healthy snacks in the vending machines in that area.

After passing by vending machines that had soda, candy bars and chips, Obama suggested that we “might want to have healthier snacks,” according to TIME magazine.

So, what does the svelte president snack on? Mostly against-the-grain snacks, such as fruits and nuts. According to USA Today, Obama likes Planters Trail Mix: Nuts, Seeds and Raisins. He also drinks a lot of bottled water.

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What’s coming in the new year? Plenty of changes, most of which were put into motion in 2008. A new U.S. president is the most obvious change, but there will also be changes in foods and drinks on supermarket store shelves, finance-driven modifications in eating and lifestyle habits, and research and news about health topics that used to be so underground that they were only covered on blogs on the Internet such as this one!

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