Ep 179 July 2021 Roundup

June 30, 2021 /

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

On this episode I speak with Ellen Bayens of theceliacscene.com to discuss the many topics and articles she brought to our attention over the past month.  To begin the conversation, I invited Tamir Barzilai from the company honeycomb.ai.  Tamir’s company is developing an app which will allow you to set a profile with your dietary restrictions, and give you specific meal suggestions at restaurants to meet your needs.  The app will be released in late summer or early fall, and will charge for use on a monthly basis.  Tamir invited our listeners to sign up for the app prior to release at a cost of $14 (US) to own the app for life, without monthly charges.  There are other advantages to joining the beta testing for the app when it releases.  Tamir explains what makes this app with artificial intelligence different from other data based and often crowd sourced information apps.  You can sign up as an early adopter for the app at –

http://get.honeycomb.ai/celiac/

COMPANIES THAT USE OUR PRODUCT EVERYDAY The mobile app comes stocked with the following strong features to help you find food no matter your need. Combine a celiac diet with preferences, allergies, and/or other diets. Curate your own personalized lists and share with your friends.

Ellen and I go on to chat about three online medical resources that provide indepth information on celiac disease and other related gut health issues.  One of the resources compares celiac disease to IBS, a condition many of us have been diagnosed with.

Ellen and I talk about a recent article on money saving strategies for the gluten free diet, and a study performing a new type of mass screening of children in Italy for celiac disease.  As well, Ellen talks about our unique ability to host visiting students who require a gluten free diet.

Expert Tips on Saving Money on Gluten-Free Groceries
IBS vs CD | Similar Symptoms | Different Causes, Triggers & Treatment
Canadian Digestive Health Foundation | Celiac Disease Resource
Badgut.org Gastrointestinal Society | A Resource for Celiac Disease
Study Makes Case for Mass Screening of Children for Celiac Disease
Ladysmith & Nanaimo! Would You Host an International Student with Celiac Disease?

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 was fascinated speaking with Tamir about his concept for a meal search app using artificial intelligence (AI).  It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was thrilled to find an app that had other people’s suggestions for meals they’d eaten that seemed safe and gluten free.  The bar was lower, sometimes the suggested meal didn’t exist on the current menu, or the chef had changed, or staff weren’t completely onboard with the knowledge about gluten free.  Human error often gets in the way.

Maybe that’s why I was excited that this app was utilizing AI, which simply means that the app is programmed to do some of the thinking for the user.  It makes sense.  The gluten free diet is rule based:  no wheat, rye or barley as ingredients; no cross-contamination in a shared fryer; no questionable ingredients in sauces etc, etc.  This would seem to suit artificial intelligence quite nicely.

The real surprise with honeycomb.ai is the extent to which AI works for both data capture and data search.  The AI is set up to make the job of the restaurants easier, with the app already knowing what goes into many dishes.  As well, when the user sets up a profile, AI “learns” about your preferences and is able to make very specific recommendations.

I spoke with Tamir about his motivation for creating such a complex app, and he said, with his knowledge of the power of AI, he was surprised it had not yet been done.  We often think of ourselves as the “questioners” when we sit down in a restaurant.  We have different levels of questions depending on how comfortable we are with the answers.  I’d like to think that honeycomb.ai will be our “questioner”, paving the way with an accommodating restaurant.  This is exciting!