Gluten Free Winston-Salem: February 2011

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Submit a restaurant rating on AllergyEats, win a cool T-shirt!

Submit a restaurant rating on AllergyEats.com for a chance to win a T-shirt that is guaranteed to draw attention to allergy awareness. Wear it to your local eateries! Ratings must be entered by midnight on Feb. 28.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Gluten-free products to be highlighted at Whole Foods store tour on March 1

Next Tuesday, March 1 @ 6 PM Whole Foods (41 Miller St., Winston Salem 27104) is offering a 45 minute store tour of gluten-free products, including several items recently added to the store's ever-expanding gluten-free product list.

Please contact Whole Foods (336-722-9233) if you would like to attend. The tour will be organized by Jarrett Oliveri, the public relations manager at Whole Foods. Samples will be on hand for everyone to try!

Members of the NC Piedmont Triad Gluten Intolerance Group (NCPTGIG) will be available both before (5:45pm in the dining area) and after the tour to answer questions about the gluten-free diet, where to find gluten-free products, cooking, dining out, and where to find support. Please contact Grace Johnston if you would like to meet with one of our veteran support group members.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

The Charlotte Gluten Free/Allergen Free Expo: April 30, 2011

Charlotte Gluten Free/Allergen Free Expo

April 30th, 2011!

The Blake Hotel in Uptown Charlotte

555 S. McDowell St.

Charlotte, N.C.

9 :30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Click here for additional information and event registration

Schedule

9:45 – 10:30 am: Alessio Fasano, M.D., Director of the Center for Celiac Research (http://celiaccenter.org/), at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, will present the latest research on diagnosis and treatment of celiac disease.

10:30 am – 2:30 pm: Vendor Expo will be open.

2:30 – 3:30 pm: Jules Shepard from Jules Gluten Free and author of the new allergen free cookbook, “Free For All” will offer a cooking class at an additional ticket charge of $40.

List of gluten-free friendly restaurants in the Charlotte area

Celiac Disease by the Numbers

1 out of every 133 Americans (about 3 million people) has CD.
97% of Americans estimated to have CD are not diagnosed.
CD has over 300 known symptoms although some people experience none.
Age of diagnosis is key: If you are diagnosed between age 2-4, your chance of getting an additional autoimmune disorder is 10.5%. Over the age of 20, that rockets up to 34%.
30% of the US population is estimated to have the genes necessary for CD.
2.5 babies are born every minute in the USA with the genetic makeup to have CD.
There are 15 states in the US with populations less than the total number of Celiacs in the US.
CD affects more people in the US than Crohn’s Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease combined.
500,000 new Celiac diagnoses are expected to occur in the US by 2012 -- thanks to efforts to raise public awareness of the disease.
People with CD dine out 80% less than they used to before diagnosis and believe less than 10% of eating establishments have a 'very good' or 'good' understanding of GF diets.
It takes an average of 11 years for patients to be properly diagnosed with CD even though a simple blood test exists.
The average cost of misdiagnosis is $5,000 - $12,000 per person per year. Improving the time to diagnosis could save the health care system millions of dollars annually in unnecessary medical care.
A recent study by Packaged Facts projects that the sales of GF food will reach $2.63 Billion by 2012.
GF foods are, on average, 242% more expensive then their non-GF counterparts.
The smallest amount of gluten which has been shown by a biopsy to cause damage to a Celiac is 0.1 gram per day - or 1/48th of a slice of bread.
The Food Allergen Labeling & Consumer Protection Act became law in 2006 allowing for easier reading of food labels for those with CD. What took so long?
12% of people in the US who have Down Syndrome also have CD.
6% of people in the US who have Type 1 Diabetes also have CD.
Among people who have a first-degree relative diagnosed with celiac, as many as 1 in 22 people may have the disease.
There are currently 0 drugs available to treat CD.