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

Iron deficiency or anemia is more complicated that I realized.  The Canadian Celiac Association recently presented a webinar on celiac disease and iron deficiency.  Dr. Frances Scully gave us information on the treatment of iron deficiency, along with other medical and scientific information.  Nicole Byrom, Registered Dietitian with the CCA spoke about how iron deficiency related to celiac disease and its symptoms, as well as changes we can make to our diets to increase our iron intake.  We also heard from Malorie Otton, who was diagnosed as a young adult with iron deficiency, that led to other complications and was her main symptom prior to her celiac diagnosis.  Nicole and Malorie join me on the podcast to explore more about iron deficiency and celiac disease.

You can watch the webinar at the following link –

Anemia and Celiac Disease

We discuss anemia and risk factors with celiac disease with Hematologist Dr. Frances Scully of Memorial University.

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

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

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Celiac Kid Stuff – https://www.celiackidstuff.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 –

Looking at iron deficiency on its own is something I had not done before. I remember vividly when, at a CCA conference years ago we were treated to an animated account of someone’s life before diagnosis.  She described curling up under her desk at work for a quick nap, and wondered how her co-workers were able to make it through the day without dozing off.  It was a very funny presentation, and by the audience reactions, her symptoms were shared by many.

We would like to think that the gluten free diet will magically reverse all our symptoms.  Over time, for the most part, our symptoms either clear up, or we learn to live with them reduced and more manageable.  Iron deficiency, or anemia is different.  Once we are established on the gluten free diet, we can still be susceptible to low iron. 

Most people don’t have to make a conscience effort to get enough iron, but we do.  Yes, after our gut heals, we will absorb more of the iron we ingest, but that still might not be enough.  The idea of fortification of our flours could play a big part in our overall health.   We think we are doing everything right, but unless we are more aware of our proper nutrition, particularly as we get older, and maybe less active, we will have health issues associated with celiac disease, but not caused by celiac disease.

I’ve been on many diets in my life, mostly for weight loss.  I became very adept at counting calories.  At this point in my life, I see the need to also count iron and fibre.  It would be nice to think we didn’t have to, but the reality is, our nutrition should be more on our radar.  Thanks, Nicole for helping us get a handle on this.  Gluten free is our medicine, nutrition is our health. 

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

I was able to attend the second webinar presented by the CCA during the month of May, Celiac Awareness Month. The subject of this webinar was IBS and Celiac Disease. There were two very engaging speakers, and I had the privilege of speaking with both of them for this podcast.

Meghan Donnelly is a Registered Dietician who works for Dr. Schar, as Senior Manager of Nutrition Services. We know the company as Schar gluten free.  Megan works with individuals who could benefit from a specialized diet.  She has worked with many patients who are celiac, as well as those who have IBS. She explains the low FODMAP diet, which is meant as a resource to identify specific foods that may be causing IBS symptoms in the gut. Megan explains the process of working through the diet as well as other forms of dietary treatment. Megan has some great slides in the webinar. The link is below.

Dr. Maria Ines Pinto-Sanchez is the Lead at the Adult Celiac Clinic at McMaster University’s Farncombe Digestive Disease Centre. Dr. Pinto-Sanchez gave a great description of both the similarities and differences in both the presentation, testing and treatment of IBS and Celiac Disease. I speak to her about the patient journey when presenting with symptoms that could be IBS or Celiac. She very well defines the differences of how the gut is affected in both conditions. There are some great slides and charts in the webinar presentation that illustrate these differences.

Also, Dr. Pinto-Sanchez would like to encourage everyone to fill in the international survey about covid and vaccines. You can find the survey at https://bit.ly/redcapCovid19VaccineSurvey. Best to have your vaccine certificates handy, as the survey is collecting that information as part of the survey.

Webinar link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3zFALsvUcI

Schar links – www.schar.ca

@scharglutenfree on Facebook and Instagram

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

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

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Celiac Kid Stuff – https://www.celiackidstuff.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 –

IBS is a tender subject for me.  As I have mentioned in the past, I was diagnosed with IBS, and thought it just meant I had recognized symptoms, and all I could do was try not to eat things that caused problems. I went on that way for years. My celiac diagnosis ended my vague treatment plan for IBS. With celiac disease, I knew I had to avoid gluten completely. I had a plan and rules.

I suppose what made the diagnosis of IBS so difficult was that everything was “try”, and “maybe”, and “see how you feel”. Well, I felt lousy.  It took a while after my celiac diagnosis to realize that IBS was an “un-diagnosis”.  I have stayed away from discussions about IBS ever since.

That’s why I was so fascinated when Dr. Pinto-Sanchez identified clear, unmistakable, differences between celiac and IBS. No more “vague”, “it might be”, “stay away from”. There is now a recognized specific set of circumstances that make up a proper IBS diagnosis. Now that the mystery of what’s going on in the gut is becoming more clear, therapies can be developed to target those specific gut issues.

It was near the end of my conversation with Dr. Pinto-Sanchez that I realized there may be other people, as I was, diagnosed with IBS years ago and just trying to make it through with some of our own tricks and food omissions. There is now a proper diagnosis and there are different treatments.

I’ve moved on from my IBS diagnosis, but I hope everyone who believes they have IBS has undergone the new regime of first being blood tested for celiac disease (while eating gluten), then defining what is actually going on in their gut.  With proper diagnosis comes new and life-changing therapies like the FODMAP diet. If you think you have IBS, now is the time to find out more, maybe lots more!

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

The CCA presented a webinar the first month of May, Celiac Awareness Month, about Neurology and Celiac Disease.  Nicole Byrom introduced the two guests for the webinar, and now, I have been able to record a podcast with both of them.  I first speak with Sonia Jones, who was also featured in an article in the Canadian Celiac Magazine. Here’s the link –

www.celiac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CCA-May-Magazine-1-May-2022.pdf

Sonia’s story is one of a very quick onset of neurological symptoms, followed by a prolonged journey to diagnosis. With all the tests Sonia was given, she’s confident she’s the million-dollar patient.

I then speak with Dr. Ian Croall. Dr. Croall is a Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield in England. He is not a medical doctor seeing patients, but during the course of his research, he has studied the brains of many people with celiac disease, gluten intolerance, and gluten ataxia. You can find out more about his studies by watching the webinar. I speak to Dr. Croall about the impacts of his research on other celiacs and on those yet to be diagnosed.

You can watch the webinar at this link –

Neurological Complications and Celiac Disease

The Canadian Celiac Association chats with Dr. Iain Croall, PhD from the University of Sheffield, and Sonia Pereira, patient, to discuss the neurological complications of celiac disease. Dr. Croall explains the link between gluten exposure and celiac disease.

You’ll also hear in the podcast about the “Could it be Celiac” Checklist. Here’s a link –

Symptom Checklist

Think you or your child may be having issues with gluten? Take our symptom checker to learn if you should get tested for celiac disease. Here are the next steps we recommend: First, take the checklist below and share the results with your doctor to see if you need to be tested.

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

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

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Celiac Kid Stuff – https://www.celiackidstuff.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 –

This podcast was tough for me.  The link to profound neurological symptoms was something I’m not very familiar with.  Over the years, people have told me about relatives with celiac disease and some of the odd symptoms they suffered prior to diagnosis.  I remember one lady who came into my bakery.  She was from a large family.  Once she received her celiac diagnosis, she encouraged her siblings to be tested.  She told me one sibling was in and institution, unable to function on their own.  After the diagnosis of celiac disease, this sibling started the gluten free diet, left the institution, and was able to carry on a relatively normal life.  Certainly, stories like this are anecdotal, but somewhere in there, there is, I believe at least a thread of truth.

As time goes on, I’m hearing more stores that involve the brain, as opposed to the gut, and gluten.

After all the things Dr. Croall said, one of the important nuggets I took away from our conversation was that rarely do scientists find something that helps the brain to help itself. The brain is stubborn (maybe that’s good), and often re-circuits itself in an attempt to heal (also good), but rarely reacts positively to something like a gluten free diet (that’s problematic).

When most of us receive our diagnosis of celiac disease, we often hear the term “the gluten free diet is our medicine”.  It would appear this phrase is more important than we might have originally thought.  Not only is it our medicine, but it will work to protect our brains, and those of others who may not have celiac disease.  The gluten free diet and the brain – both complicated.

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

It’s May, which means it’s Celiac Awareness Month.  On this episode I speak with Julie Greene and Nicole Byrom RD, both, of the Canadian Celiac Association about events for this busy month.

There will be webinars and light up events, as well as two limited attendance cooking sessions. To find out more or sign up for the cooking sessions with Nicole, visit the CCA events page at www.celiac.ca/news-events/events/

To find out more about international light up events visit https://shinealightonceliac.org/

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

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

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Celiac Kid Stuff – https://www.celiackidstuff.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 –

It’s been a few years since I’ve been able to get together with my fellow celiacs in person.  We’ve had virtual meetings and I’ve done some recipe videos.  We have also collected gluten free food for our local foodbank.  But, it’s the personal contact that I miss.  Recently, I was contacted by one of our members who was having issues with the diet.  I met with her and it was so nice to actually sit across a table from someone and talk without screens or microphones.

I miss our community.  Later this month, on May 29^th, I will be attending the Gluten Free Garage in Toronto at the Canadian Celiac Association tent with Jessica Danford and others from the CCA.  I will be there helping to collect food donations and raise awareness about the “Save Me For Gluten Free” campaign.

If you are in the Toronto area, plan to attend the Gluten Free Garage https://glutenfreegarage.ca/.

Please stop by the CCA tent and say Hi! I’d love to see you all again!