11/29/2012

Dr. Drew, Shame On You! Celiac Community Takes Offense at Poorly Handled Interview with Jennifer Esposito


If you have not seen the interview with Dr. Drew and Jennifer Esposito which took place 11/27/12, it has caused quite a stir in the community. The misinformation and total mishandling of celiac disease and leaky gut syndrome, not to mention Jennifer Esposito's claims of illnesses, was unacceptable.


Gluten Dude wrote about it first on his blog:
Dr. Drew Has No Clue
The Twittersphere responded quickly with outrage!

Erin, my daughter, was so angry from watching it, she has written the following letter which we sent to Dr. Drew's show:

Dear Dr. Drew,

Hi, I am an 11 year old girl that watched your show and hope to help you with your knowledge of celiac disease. First of all, not everyone has diarrhea, there is also constipation with celiac disease. They have to take your blood in tests or an endoscopy to diagnose celiac. Celiac disease is not a disorder it is a disease. When you called it only a disorder, that hurt my feelings because I am a celiac and I know what its like. It seemed like you have no clue what other kids and families go through when they find out they have it.

I was sick for many years but no one knew what was wrong. We went to doctor after doctor. They tried to tell me it was all in my head! On Halloween night, when I was seven years old and I went trick or treating,
I came home and was so sick to my stomach. I was throwing up all night long with my mom by my side. That same week I went to the doctors because I wouldn't eat anything and lost four pounds. My doctor did the same thing you did - example; "I think she has constipation nothing more, that would solve the hurting of the stomach." It kept on getting worse. My mom demanded that they do an endoscopy. They did and found out
I had Celiac Disease.

Mom started a R.O.C.K group. It stands for Raising Our Celiac Kids. One time when the kids and I were at one of our meetings, another girl came up to mom and said that she hadn't ever been able to eat a cake at a party in years. All the mothers were tearing up and mom felt joy in her heart. You see, we face people not believing our disease is as serious as it is all the time.

Please take the time to learn more about celiac disease and gluten free living, so you don't make anyone else as sad as your show made me. We need people like you to educate others and spread awareness about this horrible illness. No one should feel ashamed of this disease.

Thank you for reading!

Sincerely,
Erin Everett


We will be sending it in today and ask that you help us by signing and sharing the petition we have made on Change.org
http://www.change.org/petitions/dr-drew-show-on-headline-news-we-would-like-a-public-apology-to-the-celiac-disease-community


Let's stand together and let mainstream media know that they cannot discount the seriousness of this disease because so many still suffer needlessly and struggle to get diagnosis.

Thank you,
Nikki Everett
Director of Event Coordination
ECHO Event Solutions 
Gluten Sensitivity Seminars, LLC
Founder ROCK (Raising Our Celiac Kids), Charlotte, N.C.

11/14/2012

Giving Thanks Gluten Free Style


So much to be thankful for...

We are thankful there are more options which are now making our gluten free Thanksgivings easier and more enjoyable! 
We are thankful that all it takes is eating gluten free and we have a healthier family for it.
We are thankful this year for the ability to have raised awareness in cities across the U.S.
We are especially thankful that we can share knowledge with others in the gluten free community which makes all of our lives run smoother at the holidays.

Thankful for Turkeys
We are also thankful for living in the N.C. mountains where wild turkeys are in abundance. If you want an organic turkey close to Charlotte, we highly recommend our friends at Wild Turkey Farm.
But if you don't have that option or an organic farm to access and have to rely on grocery stores for your Gobbler, here is a list of GF turkeys:
Thankful for Stuffing
  • One support group member had a fabulous idea - She saves the end pieces of her Udi's bread and keeps them frozen  - Then uses them for stuffing once she has collected enough. If you don't have space for that in your freezer or need a faster option:
  • Aleia's Stuffing is fabulous, ready to mix, and already seasoned (just like my old fave Pepperidge Farms)
Thankful for the Ability to Convert Family Favorites
Most of the old family recipes can be easily converted and thanks to people like Gluten Free Girl & The Chef & other great food bloggers, the internet is full of tips and recipe sharing!
Gluten Free Girl even has a Thanksgiving iApp!

Here is our ROCK Charlotte favorites with recipe instructions provided including pie and stuffing:



Another great resource and one of our faves is Delight Gluten Free Magazine's Holiday Issue. Find it on stands or order today!


Hope this info helps you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Gobble! Gobble!



*Information on our site and shared by members of our support forums is not intended to be medical advice or to replace the relationship between a patient and his/her physician*