Video: Dr. Fasano Receives $45 Million

The University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research received an astonishing $45 million donation to create a special institute!  The detailed EurekAlert provided information about the donation from "a grateful patient," her husband, and their foundation.

"Forty million dollars of the donation is coming from a private foundation in which the Caffertys are key stakeholders. The remaining $5 million comes to the School of Medicine directly from the Caffertys, and will fund an endowed distinguished professorship that supports a director position in perpetuity for the research enterprise."

Watch this video to hear Dr. Fasano's comments about the donation.  For more details, read this article in The Baltimore Sun.

"Fasano said the money will be used to create a first-of-its-kind institute that could eventually employ up to 200 doctors and researchers. They will not only study the often-misdiagnosed celiac disease but use it as a model to study other related diseases, including diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis."

My 200th Blog Post: Looking Back, New Favorite Foods, and an Important Jennie-O Alert

I can’t believe this is my 200th blog post, and it has been almost 2 years since I started blogging in December 2008! It is amazing how much has changed in the gluten-free world in the past two years. If you also count my DC Gluten-Free Examiner articles and my Gluten-Free Social Media Tips blog posts, that adds up to over 360 gluten-free articles! So, what gluten-free news did I blog about in December 2008?

• Chicago Tribune investigation found high amounts of gluten in "gluten-free" Wellshire Farms chicken bites & corn dogs.

• Emeril Green aired three gluten-free episodes in Fall 2008 on Planet Green.

• The regular price of Rice Chex at Target was only $1.67.

• Gluten-Free Fox, the first gluten-free search engine, was launched.

One of my first blog posts was a funny one: My own “You know you have celiac disease if…” list. Some of the items are a little outdated now, but I hope some of them are still funny.

In January 2011, it will be four years since I was diagnosed with celiac disease. I definitely have a more positive outlook about gluten-free and life in general than when I first started blogging and a big part of that is the amazing online gluten-free community!

My list of favorite foods that I first posted in December 2008 and last updated in October 2009 is also outdated. Here are some of my new favorite foods.

• Udi’s Gluten-Free whole grain bread

• Udi’s granola

• Deboles corn pasta

• Nature’s Path Sunrise Cereals

• Chobani Greek Yogurt

• Larabar Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

• KIND Pomegranate Blueberry Pistachio plus Antioxidants

• Gluten-Free Café Pasta Primavera

• Food Should Taste Good Cheddar Chips

Sadly, one item that I intended to include on this list was Jennie-O Turkey Meatballs Italian Style, which used be clearly marked on the website with the no gluten icon. When I went to the website today to link to it, I discovered the new red packaging and that the no gluten icon had been removed. I called and it turns out that the new bags have new ingredients that now include oat bran. They aren’t gluten-free and have been removed from the Hormel gluten-free list. I really hope I can still find some of the old bags that are gluten-free.


As some things change over the years in the gluten-free world, some things remain the same. It is essential to always keep reading labels each time you purchase a product!

Video from Lifetime: Celiac Disease on The Balancing Act

If you missed the celiac disease segment on The Balancing Act yesterday on Lifetime Television, watch this great video. It is almost five minutes long and packed full of good information!  I loved this part. "If you have symptoms you can't explain...ask your doctor about it."

Watch the Celiac Disease Foundation on Lifetime Television

On Monday, October 25 at 7 am ET/PT (6 am CT/MT), watch The Balancing Act on Lifetime. The show will feature Phyllis Kessler, President of the Celiac Disease Foundation South Florida Chapter and a doctor. They will discuss awareness efforts and celiac resources.

Read the press release and watch the preview video. If you miss the celiac segment, it will probably be added to their YouTube channel next week.

Top 10 Gluten-Free Blogs for News

There is so much gluten-free and celiac disease news each week that it is hard for any one blogger to keep up with it all. While I hope you will continue to rely on the Gluten-Free Optimist for gluten-free news as well as my tweets, these blogs do a fantastic job of covering news, including information about new products.

1. The Savvy Celiac

2. Celiac-Disease.com

3. Gluten-Free Living blog

4. About.com Celiac Disease

5. Celiac Princess

6. Gluten-Free Is Life

7. Gluten-Free Works

8. Gluten-Free Fun

9. Sure Foods Living

10.  Gluten-Free Philly

With hundreds of gluten-free blogs, I am sure there are some blogs that I missed that do a great job blogging about news. Thanks to the above blogs, gluten-free Examiners, and the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness for keeping us informed of the latest gluten-free news.

View the Transcript for the Celiac Episode to Air on Second Opinion

Recently, I blogged about the Celiac Disease Episode to Air on Public Television on October 15 or 16.  The transcript can now be viewed online. This great episode includes Alice Bast from NFCA and Dr. Daniel Leffler.  The patient, a 42-year-old man, presents with swelling in his hands, joint pain, and lactose intolerance. Later, he develops GI symptoms.

This episode is truly amazing awareness! One of my favorite parts is this quote from Alice.

"Yeah, malignancies, and I ended up seeing twenty-two doctors before I was diagnosed, but in my case I also had reproductive health issues.  So when you say how can it affect you, I had a full-term stillborn child, I had three miscarriages, and my youngest daughter was two pounds when she was born.  So she fit into the palm of my hand.  I’m five foot nine and I weighed a hundred and thirty pounds now.  I was down to about a hundred pounds. My hair was falling out, my teeth were breaking, and the doctors were telling me that I had postpartum depression and telling me I had psychiatric problems, you name it, anemia, so a lot of this — I had, you know, swelling in my joints.  I had such diarrhea that I couldn’t even go to work."

All aspects of celiac disease are discussed, including testing, related conditions, complications, and the gluten-free diet. Celiac is even referred to as "a multi-symptom chameleon disease." 

A Great Katz Gluten-Free Coupon

Visit healthesavers.com to print this great Katz coupon.  The coupon expires on December 30, 2010, and you save $2 on any one item! Check the box next to the coupon, enter your email address, and the coupon will be sent to you to print. Read my review of two Katz Gluten-Free products.

For more gluten-free coupons, register for Mambo Sprouts, the Live Gluten Freely newsletter, and BeFreeforMe. Also, read Money Saving Tip: Coupons at Whole Foods. Visit my Gluten-Free Social Media Tips blog to read Locate Discount Codes in Two Clicks.