May is Celiac Awareness month! What does this mean? It means that we hope to raise awareness of celiac disease and all the work that organizations do to help support those with the condition and supports all the research that is being done.
What is Celiac disease? Sure, we hear about gluten free foods all the time, but do you know what Celiac disease is? Celiac disease is a genetic autoimmune disease which damages the small intestine. The small intestine is part of the gut which digests & absorbs nutrients from food. When the small intestine is damaged, the rate of nutrient absorption from food is reduced. Celiac disease can affect people in many different ways and symptoms vary in severity.
People with celiac disease are sensitive to gluten which triggers symptoms. Gluten is a protein found in grains such as barley, wheat and rye. Consumption of gluten can affect the whole body, not just the gut. It is estimated that 1 in 133 people have Celiac disease. There currently is no cure, but can be managed by following a gluten free diet. 

Here are 7 things you may not have known about celiac disease!

1- First degree relatives have a 5-15% chance of developing it

2 – It is a hereditary autoimmune intestinal disorder – NOT an allergy

3 – There is no magic pill or enzymes that can “cure” Celiac Disease – the only treatment is following a strict gluten free diet for life

4 – Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity is in fact a condition and it seems that about 0.5-13% of the general population may have this condition

5 – Alcohol distilled from grains like wheat, barley and rye are gluten free – the gluten proteins don’t evaporate into the liquid. Therefore safe for a person with Celiac Disease.

6 – Gluten Reduced Beers that are being marketed as “Gluten Free” cannot be considered safe for people with Celiac Disease. This is because the enzyme that is being used to “break down” the gluten seems to affect the way we can test for gluten detection.
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7 – Not all ciders are gluten free. People with celiac disease need to pay attention as some ciders contain barley malt.

Stay tuned later this month for more information on Celiac Disease!

Well, that’s a hard question to answer honestly. But there are many ways to help improve your gut bacteria. Why? Having a healthy gut can help with SO many different things! It’s still being researched but we know that it can have an impact on our immunity, overall health, mental health, metabolism…just to name a few.

I’m continuing my talk on IBS (since it’s still IBS awareness month) and specifically addressing our to get and maintain good gut health by using fermented foods. What are fermented foods you ask? These are foods that have gone through a fermentation process – a way to preserve foods. Through this process healthy bacteria and some digestive enzymes are created that can essentially help with digestion and help to rebuild good gut bacteria!

As mentioned in previous posts, IBS can be caused by many different things and one could be lack of good gut bacteria. Now as easy as it could be to say let’s just take probiotics, I like to focus on rebuilding foods, as it’s not recommended to be always be taking probiotics. We need to learn how to use foods and probiotics in their natural state to help our bodies out. Not that I am against the use of probiotics but they definitely have an appropriate time and place.

So what are some options for fermented foods? There are many!! The ones I’ve included in the picture are yogurt and kombucha! But there are foods like miso, soy sauce, tempeh, kefir and quark. Or from vegetables and fruits like sauerkraut, kimchi, pickled vegetables/fruit and even mead, beer and wine! But there are many other obscure options that you can choose from too!

But how much should you be eating to get the benefit? In fact, there isn’t a recommended amount set per day but ideally if you were to have a few servings per week, you’ll definitely see the benefits! What would like look like? Add a few forkfuls of sauerkraut or kimchi with a few meals. Have a couple glasses of kombucha tea mid-day or even. Just remember that cooking will kill the bacteria – so don’t heat them up! Also, there is always that saying of too much of a good thing can be bad, so don’t overdo it!
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What sort of fermented foods do you like?