February 2019 Meeting Summary

The Prescott Area Celiac and Gluten Free Support Group had a terrific February meeting.  

Whenever we have done a "round table" testimonial and discussion so much is learned and received on the varied journeys ours member have led living gluten free.  We find that once gluten has been identified as a disturbance to our well- being, other food items seem to make many, if not all, of us unwell.

One of the major discussions was about the situation with gluten free Thyroid medication.  Many of us have been taking Nature Throid because it  is gluten free. It is derived from pigs. I have taken NatureThroid for years.  Unfortunately, it was bought out by BIG PHARMA and is no longer available on the face of the earth. Rumor has it that all the pig farms were bought up by some person or corporation. Any of you out there that have any information on this, please email me.  Anyway, my doctor is putting me on WP Thyroid. Hopefully, I do not have any reactions.  Please be aware that most synthetic thyroid medication have gluten fillers in them. Caveat Emptor. Check out gluten-freedrugs.com   I will be emailing Steve Plogsted, a pharmacist in Columbus, Ohio, who is an expert on gluten in medications

Because February is also known as "heart healthy month" Linda had  terrific, if not terrifying information on the relationship between gluten and heart health.  Hopefully she will speak more on this at future meetings.  Suffice it to say that statistics about Gluten Intolerance show there is a much higher risk of heart disease and stroke in those that consume too much gluten.  Keeping in mind that 2 traditional slices of wheat bread has a higher sugar content than 6 tsp of sugar or a snickers bar.  For you all to verify and study this on your own, she recommends going to WellnessMama.com and search for the interview with Dr. Davis.  Dr. William Davis is a cardiologist who has written the highly successful Wheat Belly Book. He has a great cookbook called Wheat Belly Cookbook  with 150 recipes to Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight & Find Your Path Back to Health. It is also at the library for check out. Sugar is the major source of Inflammation and sugar causes arteries to narrow. 

In my new Gluten-Free Living magazine (which is my personal subscription) there was an amazing article about gluten sniffing dogs!  There are at least 2 dogs in America that have been trained to sniff out gluten so as to protect their owners from eating gluten items.  One gal in the article trained her dog herself and the other person has a dog trained professionally.  Now this is something I would love to be able to do.  I love dogs ...we shall see what the future holds.

I have personally subscribe to the website Gluten Free Watchdog. Do any of you out there subscribe to this site???   Anyway, there is an overload of information, but I will send you bulletins that come to me in emails because I can just forward those easily.  I hope this is okay with you all.
  
Renee & Linda

All information presented or discussed by the Prescott Area Celiac & Gluten Free Support Group members at its meetings, on its blog, or sent by email is for informational & educational purposes only.  It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.  Persons with any health issues should consult a qualified, licensed medical professional for diagnosis & treatment.

Note: The Prescott Area Celiac and Gluten Free Support Group meets the second Tuesday of each month. Call Renee Richey @ (928) 443-0399 for info about meeting locations and times. 

Notice:
There will be NO meeting in March!