Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Happy Celiac Awareness Day!

In honor of Celiac Awareness Day, I'd like to feature this great article I found about a local Pittsburgh pizzeria, Mandy's; who's breaking records to raise awareness about gluten-free living.

They baked and incredible 32" gluten-free pizza for a crowd of 300 people who suffer from Celiac disease and other food allergies.

If you're unfamiliar with Celiac Disease or gluten-free living, the first question you might ask yourself is what do those words mean?

So, in the true spirit of Celiac awareness day, I'm here to answer all your questions.

According to the
National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, Celiac Disease is an autoimmune digestive disease that damages the villi of the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food.

This essentially creates a situation where the body attacks itself when the person eats any foods containing gluten.

Since people with Celiac suffer from this scary reaction, they have to be careful about what they eat in order to avoid harmful effects like malnourishment since their bodies cannot absorb nutrients into the bloodstream.

This means people with Celiac often have to substitute wheat, barley, or rye (which contains gluten) with other types of fours like rice, corn or tapioca.

It's so important that anyone thinking they might have Celiac get treated because otherwise, it can worsen into other autoimmune diseases, or lead to osteoporosis, thyroid disease or cancer.

The symptoms for Celiac widely vary, and sometimes there aren't any at all, but gluten intolerance covers a wide spectrum. Not all gluten-intolerant people have Celiac; some people only experience side effects from eating gluten without having the disease. Gluten intolerance symptoms can range from bloating or gas to weight loss and anemia.

Treatment for Celiac and gluten-intolerance requires a lifelong gluten-free diet which can be hard to adjust to at first, but with over 3 million Americans with Celiac; there are many resources out there.

In the spirit of Celiac awareness day, many members of the gluten-free community have shared their news, recipes and tips, check out these sites for great finds!


I suggest you try and get connected in a community of other GF-ers. You’ll be surprised to find how many resources and groups are out there on Twitter and Facebook. Usually if you get plugged in with one person, they can help get you in touch with someone else and so on. So don’t feel all alone in this, there are so many people out there who can pass along recipes and GF restaurants.

It’s unfortunate that every day there are more and more people becoming gluten-intolerant, but with that increase, there is more awareness into what Gluten-Free means and how Celiac relates to that.

So, if you have any tips for others you’d like to see on this blog, let’s stay together in this and share your thoughts, I’d love to hear what you all have to say!

If you want to get started with GF followers on Twitter, check out my profile: @melissaayala12 and I have a list of GF resources and other users you can check out!
Udi's Gluten Free
95% of celiacs are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with other conditions. RT to win!

Whole Foods Market
Did you know we have our own separate, dedicated Bakehouse? Take a look behind the scenes! 

Celiac Central
Our new blogger friend reposted our 13 Ways to Celebrate Day. The community rocks!

Stubb's BBQ Sauce
Today is Nat'l Celiac Awareness Day! Luckily for those w/Celiac disease or gluten intolerance, all our products are gluten-free. :)

: Thought this was handy! - Cook It Allergy Free iPhone App Back-to-School from

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