Ep 175 June 2021 Roundup

A Conversation with Ellen Bayens

Let’s start the blog with the show notes for this Episode –

It’s the beginning of June and that means another informative conversation with Ellen Bayens of theceliacscene.com.  This past month Ellen has brought us a great deal of information. We start out with a couple of studies, the first into attitudes among celiacs towards dating.  There is much hesitation, social anxiety and a tendency towards risky behaviour (gluten-wise).  Although Ellen and I are not in the target age group for this study, we can relate to many of the hesitancies from our own lives that are amplified in the dating scene.  The second study is an eye-opening look at the awareness of celiac disease in the dental profession.  Dr. Melissa Ing, whom I have interviewed for this podcast, surveyed a group of dental professionals before a celiac information session and then again after.  She was able to teach them a great deal in a short time regarding questions to be asked when certain symptoms are identified. 

Ellen has once again brought us new resources, we didn’t even know we needed.  Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto has come out with new teaching modules about celiac disease and the gluten free diet.  These modules are interactive and suitable for young children to do with parents, or for older kids to do on their own.  The information is set out in an easy to use format that would be useful to educate other family members and friends.  Ellen shows us a novel way to use the restaurant translation cards from celiactravel.com.  On a different level Honeycomb.ai brings us an artificial intelligence solution to finding just the right meal at just the right restaurant to meet your specialty diet needs.  Ellen introduces us to Desiree Neilsen RD, who has started a new podcast called The Allsorts Podcast, in which she gets down to earth with practical diet knowledge that will help us all make better food choices.  She is a proponent of a plant based diet, and that suits Ellen just fine.

Two related topics are discussed – the 10 biggest challenges faced by the gluten free community, and how to order a gluten free meal at a restaurant.  There’s lots of overlap here.  Finally Ellen tells us about a study that is being done for US patients on atopic dermatitis, and you can get paid to participate.  So much news, I think this is my longest interview episode yet.  Thanks Ellen.

Here are the links to more information –

68% Celiacs Report Disease Has a Moderate to Major Impact on Dating

Dental Practitioners’ Awareness of Oral Manifestations of Celiac Disease Improves with Education

AboutKidsHealth Adds 2 New Teaching Modules to their Celiac Disease Resource

Celiactravel.com Restaurant Cards Make Local and International Dining Easier

Introducing the Honeycomb.ai Restaurant App – Never Get Glutened Again

Our Mia Makes it into Medical School!

Introducing Your New Fave Nutrition Podcast: The Allsorts Podcast

Top Ten Challenges Facing the Gluten-Free Community

How to Order a Gluten-Free Meal

Atopic Dermatitis Study Seeks US Residents – Earn $50
Study of Caregivers to Celiac Children Seeks US Residents – Earn $225

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com

Facebook – @acanadianceliacpodcast

Twitter – CeliacPodcastCA

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com

Instagram – @suesgfbaking

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL

Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com

Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com

My Thoughts –

I find it interesting that there are so many different groups taking surveys of how we feel about having celiac disease or being gluten sensitive.  Lots of different angles – young and dating, eating in restaurants, our pain points, how parents can cope with kids.  The topics we’ve been asked about are endless.

When I read the results of these surveys, there are certainly common threads. 

Yes, eating out is difficult.  You think it gets easier, but I think we actually get used to the issues.

Yes, explaining to our friends and family why are lives and meals are different is never easy, but as we get older, there are fewer people to hear our explanations, so maybe everyone else is getting used to that.

Yes, we are all hoping the next generation doesn’t have the same struggles.  For the most part gluten free food is so much easier to find now and we don’t usually get a crossways look when we ask questions in a restaurant because they do know what we’re asking about, even if they don’t have the correct answers.

Yes, testing is getting better and more widely available, so hope is still there that more of those suffering will find the answers they need to feel better and get healthy.

Yes, doctors are becoming more aware, slowly, and often from their own personal experiences of having a friend or acquaintance with a gluten issue.

Yes, pharmaceutical companies are seeing opportunities to try and help us manage our diets or at least deal with the prospect of “being glutened”.

So many answers say the same thing.  Celiac disease is best once its diagnosed.  The gluten free diet is not easy and a financial burden.  We hope for better for our kids and grandkids who have inherited our genetics.  We don’t often get asked about the positive side of a celiac or gluten sensitivity diagnosis. Celiac is different from many autoimmune conditions in that there are no medications or difficult ongoing medical procedures.  The treatment is a gluten free diet; the prognosis, once on the diet is good and only gets better with adherence.  I’ve said it before, and I like repeating it – being diagnosed with celiac disease was the best thing that ever happened to me.  Now there’s an answer to a question I’d like to be asked.