Celiac Disease is prevelant-how many people do you know who have a gluten intolerance?

May is already here, can you believe it?  Each month a number of health issues are recognized for national awareness and May is National Celiac Disease Awareness Month.  With the dramatic rise in gluten  related issues including 1 out of 133 Americans that have Celiac Disease I want to use this week’s blog to help spread the word.

Celiac Disease can be defined as a permanent intolerance to the gliadin fraction of wheat protein and related alcohol-soluble proteins (called prolamines) found in rye and barley. Celiac Disease is found in genetically susceptible individuals who eat these proteins, leading to an autoimmune disease, where the body’s immune system starts attacking normal tissue. This condition continues as long as these food products are in the diet.   

For those who have been diagnosed with the disease or intolerance there are many resources today to help in all aspects of living with celiac/gluten intolerances. Blogs are dedicated to gluten-free recipes  and living tips.  You can also add gluten-free cookbooks to your kitchen , ask local restaurants for gluten-free items as many now can accommodate if they do not already have a separate section on their menu, and  gluten-free iPhone apps  are available and this one is on sale for May in recognition of Celiac Awareness Month.

Hanna Kroeger  developed a formula many years ago that promoted good digestive system maintenance and to keep the intestinal wall and villi healthy.  People with Celiac Disease can have damaged intestinal walls resulting from auto-immune disorders that attack the intestinal lining and villi and this product, called Healthy Gut, helps to address those issues.  Since this nutrients from our food intake are absorbed in our intestinal walls,  it is essential to a healthy system to maintain functioning intestines.                                                        

Whether your friends, family or you have or have not had experiences with gluten issues please take some time to spread the word  and do your part.

Share on Facebook

Gluten intolerance isn't a problem with this specail recipe for Millet Sesame bread!

Warm, fresh from the oven bread is something that many of us make take for granted. For those of you who can’t have gluten due to intolerances, here is a special recipe for Millet Sesame Bread that was an original recipe of Hanna Kroeger!

Directions for Gluten Free Millet Sesame Bread

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Combine 2 cups fine millet flour , 1/2 cup brown rice flour, 1/3 cup sesame meal, 1 tsp. salt and 2 tsp. baking powder.

Add 1 tbsp. oil, 1 tsp. honey and enough water to make a medium thick batter.

Pour batter into a bread pan or muffin tin, filling 2/3 full, and bake for 15 to 20 min.

If not well browned, put under the broiler for 1 min.

This is a fantastic Hanna Kroeger recipe!  A good one to help people who are concerned about gluten!

Share on Facebook

Is gluten undermining your health?

It seems like everyone is allergic to some sort of food these days. The most common is gluten, which is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. It’s estimated that at least 1 out of 133 people is gluten intolerant (Celiac Disease) or gluten sensitive. 

Gluten is in almost all processed foods and can even be found in our shampoo, lotions and other beauty products like lipstick! Cutting out wheat isn’t enough if you have an allergy to gluten and we need to be careful with what we purchase. If you’re buying a product off the shelf, it needs to say ‘gluten-free’ so you can be sure you are not buying a product that contains the protein. Also, do your research to understand the difference between a gluten allergy and a gluten sensitivity. People with gluten sensitivities may not show gluten as an allergy if tested with regular allergy tests because the body isn’t producing antibodies to gluten, it just doesn’t process it well, causing inflammation in the intestines.

Not processing gluten well may sound simple but it’s actually a major underlying issue for many health problems including: autoimmune diseases, bowel cancer, arthritis, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, glandular disorders, acne, autism and many more. Gluten intolerance and sensitivity is associated with absorption problems as it damages the villi in the small intestine which enable digestion. A compromised ability to absorb nutrients will undermine the health of the whole body. If you are having a health issue that you feel like you’ve tried everything to balance out and it just isn’t working, you may want to try a gluten-free diet; give it a month and see how you do.  Kroeger Herb also has a product called Healthy Gut that promotes health of the intestinal villi and keeps the gut happy while promoting proper absoption. Take a look at a previous blog post about Healthy Gut here and learn more about health conditions that Healthy Gut can address in a post here.

Educate yourself in your sensitivies and intolerances with food so that you can live a healthy life. Don’t let gluten undermine your health!

Share on Facebook