January 2014 GIG Portland Events

Wednesday, January 8
Gluten Free Eats with the Dr. and the Chef 

Get Fresh with Us: Cleansing Foods

Oops! Have you indulged too much over the holidays? January is a perfect time to reboot and start fresh. Our veggie bowl with nirvana sauce (heavenly!) will cleanse your liver and slim your waistline. Poached pears will satisfy without the guilt.

Dishes
Veggie Reboot Bowl
Nirvana Sauce
Poached Ginger Pears

Charlee's Kitchen
NCNM's Helfgott Research Institute; Community Education Center
2220 SW 1st Ave, Portland, 97201 
Free Parking. 
Questions? Contact ceregister@ncnm.edu, 503.552.1517

Time: 6 – 8 p.m.

Mark your calendars (and register early for best pricing):
February 5: Let's Fall in Love with GF Desserts
March 5: Brunch for a Bunch

Register here: http://bit.ly/1h9AbGo

Chef Kimi Reid blends years of culinary training and experience with a passion for nutritional awareness.  Before arriving in Portland, Chef Kimi spent many years cooking everywhere from fly–fishing lodges in Chile, private yachts in Italy, cafes in Australia, and Michelin five–star restaurants worldwide. Here in Portland, she offers nutritionally–customized personal chef services, menu consulting, as well as providing “naturally gluten-free” weekly recipe plans atwww.realrecipeplans.com.  She is gluten–free herself and loves working closely with naturopathic physicians to ensure that her clients are eating well, and/or learning to cook for themselves. Chef Kimi is very excited to be sharing the fun secrets of a gluten–free way of life here at Charlee’s Kitchen!  

Dr. Lisa Shaver is a primary care physician at Everyday Wellness Clinic in downtown Portland whose practice focuses on chronic lifestyle diseases such as digestive disorders, IBS, celiac disease, non–celiac gluten sensitivity, SIBO (small intestinal bacterial disorder), intestinal yeast overgrowth, parasites, etc. Dr Shaver is trained in functional gastroenterology, endocrinology, neurotransmitter balancing, blood chemistry and neurology. She has been gluten–zero for six years. Dr Shaver volunteers as the branch manager for the Gluten Intolerance Group of Portland, a gluten–free support group which meets monthly. Dr Shaver loves to cook, and uses an emphasis on food and nutrition as her primary method of treating patients. She is also a licensed acupuncturist and incorporates Eastern medicine philosophies into treatment plans which are individualized for each patient.

Saturday, January 11
GIG of Portland - January Monthly Meeting 
First GIG of Portland meeting set for 2014 is Saturday Jan 11th, 10am to noon. It will be held at Emanuel Hospital, rm MOB - East. 

MOB stands for Medical Office Bldg 2. It is at the base of the attached medical office bldg between N Graham and N Kerby, at 501 N Graham, directly across from the free parking in Parking Structure 2. Walk up the steps or the driveway, at the valet parking area, and the door is immediately on your left, before you even enter the hospital atrium. If you go through the automatic glass double doors, you've gone too far. 10am to noon. 

Meeting topic: Gluten-Free 101, run by yours truly, Dr Lisa Shaver Portland, branch manager of GIG of Portland, and ardent gluten-free advocate. Bring your beginner, intermediate or advanced questions and we'll have the answers for you. Lots of samples to share as we had a potluck in Nov and a brunch in Dec.

All are welcome. Meetings are free, and open to anyone with curiosity about the GF lifestyle or those with celiac disease, non-celiac gluten-sensitivity, gluten intolerance, auto-immune disease, dermatitis herpetiformis, or anyone else who is gluten-free.

Here's a link to a map of Legacy Emanuel Medical Center Hospital.

http://www.legacyhealth.org/~/media/Files/PDF/Maps/EmanuelCampusMapWithAreaDrivingDirections%20313%20F.ashx

Tuesday, January 14

Diane Sanfilippo will be at Barnes & Noble in Tigard, OR (Portland/Bridgeport) for a SPECIAL JOINT EVENT book signing and Q&A with Michelle Tam and Hayley & Bill Staley.

I'll be talking about my new book, The 21-Day Sugar Detox (and of course I'll also take questions about Practical Paleo as well). If you would like to hear the talk and Q&A portion, please arrive at or before 6:30pm as we will be speaking for the first portion of the time, then signing thereafter. Michele will be talking about her new book, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans!

Tuesday, January 28

Join Chris Kresser, author of Your Personal Paleo Code, for a presentation, Q&A and book signing at CrossFit Portland. This event includes one signed copy of Chris's book, Paleo-friendly food, and the chance to get your personal Paleo questions answered! Chris's three-step approach is designed to be flexible and user-friendly, with helpful charts, quizzes, and effective action steps to help you lose weight, reverse disease, and stay fit and healthy for life. Reset your diet, rebuild your life, and revive your health. 90 Minute Presentation and Q&A w/ Chris Kresser @ CrossFit Portland Chris Kresser M.S., L.Ac Tuesday, January 28, 2014 from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM (PST) Portland, OR

Thursday, January 30

Q&A and Book Signing w/ Chris Kresser @ Powell's Books - Portland

Your Personal Paleo Code by Chris Kresser L.Ac - book signing in downtown Portland
Thursday, January 30, 2014 from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM (PST)
Powell's Books
1005 West Burnside Street
Portland, OR 97209

No GIG of Portland mtg Dec 14th - Brunch Instead at The Brooklyn House

December's GIG of Portland Meeting is Brunch Out

- no December meeting at Emanuel Medical Center - 

We have had brunch in our meeting rooms in the distant past, but the past few years, we all go out to eat. This year it's a gluten-free brunch in a 100% dedicated GF restaurant The Brooklyn House Restaurant. (see previous post)

We will celebrate the holidays with a safe GF meal with NO RISK of contamination. 

Erica, the manager, has whipped up a yummy gluten-free menu safe for celiacs, gluten-sensitive, SIBO, Fodmaps, Gaps, Paleo, vegetarian and vegans. 

Haven't yet tried The Brooklyn House? Oh, you are in for a treat! Rave reviews all around. Think you have a food sensitivity that keeps you at home? Think again!! They love cooking for any and all food sensitivies: low histamine, low fructose, low iodine, etc. Friends and family welcome. 

Saturday December 14th

10am to 12:30am

The Brooklyn House Restaurant

3131 SE 12th Ave Portland OR

Buffet and everything is safe! 100% gluten-free 

$20 each plus tip, plus alcoholic beverages

Seating limited available.

RSVP on our GIG of Portland Facebook page under the brunch menu or by messaging us.
Is this the first you've heard of this? Then follow us on Facebook where we post events, recipes, articles, news on gluten-free living every day. 

This Friday, September 27
Dr Tom O'Bryan of TheDr.com is a nationally recognized speaker on gluten sensitivity and celiac disease. As a gluten expert he is in town to talk to us! Exciting to have this national lecturer come to town. He will be fresh from the International Celiac Disease Symposium in Chicago to share the latest news on celiac disease and the gluten-free world.

“Put That Bread Down”

How Gluten May be Destroying Your Health and What To Do About It.

Auto-Immune Disease, Autism, Crohns, Hashimotos, Lupus, Schizophrenia, Depression, Migraines, Myopathy and MANY Other Chronic Health Conditions Have Been Linked to GLUTEN SENSITIVITY!

Find out why GS doesn't show up on standard blood tests, and what to do about it.

Tabor Space

Mt Tabor Presbyterian Church

Copeland Commons
5441 SE Belmont St
Portland OR 97215

6:00pm to 8:00pm

Doors open 5:45pm
$10 cash/check

Always look for updates and information on our Facebook page: GIG of Portland. 

The Gluten Intolerance Group is here to serve the gluten-free community of the Portland area. Hope to see you soon. 

The Gluten Truth: What Really Happened to the Bread of Life - this Sunday - Free!

Sunday Aug 18th

Tabor Space 5441 SE Belmont St

6pm - 7:30pm 
doors open at 5:45

Free! - sponsored by GIG of Portland!

Dr Kenneth Fine MD, Gastroenterologist, national lecturer, renowned intestinal researcher, founder of Enterolab (online celiac and gluten sensitivity diagnosis laboratory) and the Intestinal Health Institute, and musician will be speaking on:

"The Gluten Truth: What Really Happened to the Bread of Life": In this lecture you will learn when, how, and why the gluten sensitivity epidemic started, why it is raging, and what you can do about it! 

Dr. Kenneth Fine is an academic medical doctor, board certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology, and internationally recognized for his nutritional research and scientific publications (intestinalhealth.org/CV). He has been professionally involved in patient care, medical research, teaching, directing clinical laboratories, nutritional pioneering, and public health for over 25 years. 

Having been a professor his entire working life, in the year 2000, he converted his successful academic medical career into a public service enterprise to foster his professional passions for teaching and helping people. It was then that he founded, and he still directs EnteroLab.com clinical reference laboratory and the non-profit Intestinal Health Institute in Dallas, Texas (www.intestinalhealth.org), where he has furthered his ground-breaking research and offers diagnostic laboratory tests for intestinal disorders, and gluten and other food sensitivities.

Tabor Space

Mt Tabor Presbyterian Church

Copeland Commons
5441 SE Belmont St
Portland OR 97215

6pm to 7:30pm

Doors open 5:45

Sponsored by the Gluten Intolerance Group of Portland 

as a gift to the medical and gluten-free communities of the Portland metro area. 

This is such a big deal for the GF community of Portland! Bring your whole family and tell all your friends!!

In his musical persona, Kenny Davin Fine is a passionate singer-songwriter, guitar-harmonica player, and spiritual journeyman who entertains, educates, and enlightens with his original, professionally-recorded music. Combining lyrical mastery, vocal smoothness, and the musical sounds of classic rock, country rock, and blues, Kenny has created a sound noteworthy for both its ear friendliness and its spirit-touching quality. His current music CD release is titled "First DeKade", an anthology of the previous 10 years drawing from his 7 previous CD releases. Along with his achievements as a musician and prolific tunesmith, the good doctor is also a wonderful performer. He showcases his "Healing Voice" in both his live musical shows and his awe-inspiring lectures. He is the country's only "Physician-Musician on a Mission" (www.kennydavinfine.com).

For more information on Dr. Fine, please see www.SixSOS.com

New Guide to Who Really Shouldn't Eat Gluten - Wall St Journal Feb. 7, 2012

New Guide to Who Really Shouldn't Eat Gluten

Wall Street Journal February 7, 2012

You've got abdominal pains, bloating, fatigue and foggy thinking. You feel worse after eating wheat or other foods with gluten, and better when you avoid them.

Is it a wheat allergy, celiac disease or the power of suggestion, given all the buzz around gluten-free diets? Or might it be an ailment medicine doesn't officially recognize yet?

Aiming to clarify the situation, a group of 15 experts from seven countries is proposing a new classification system for the gluten-related disorders plaguing a growing number of people around the world for unknown reasons.

The proposal defines a spectrum of illnesses based on the kind of immune defenses people mount to gluten, from wheat allergies to autoimmune responses, such as celiac disease, in which the body mistakenly attacks its own tissue.

Other autoimmune forms include dermatitis herpetiformis, which causes itchy skin lesions, and gluten ataxia, which affects brain tissue, resulting in unsteady gait and lack of motor control.

The experts also propose a third category for "gluten sensitivity," in which patients report the same symptoms as celiac disease but test negative for telltale antibodies. Some doctors have dismissed such complaints as imaginary, or fueled by the boom in gluten-free foods.

U.S. sales of gluten-free foods grew to $2.3 billion in 2010, more than doubling from 2006, according to Packaged Facts. The market-research firm surveyed 277 consumers of gluten-free products in 2010, and nearly half said they perceived them as "generally healthier."

"Confusion about gluten sensitivity has been rampant," says Alessio Fasano, director of the University of Maryland's Center for Celiac Research and a co-author of the proposal, published this week in the journal BMC Medicine. "That prompted a few of us to say, 'Let's put some facts on the table to assess what's known and what's not known.' "

The proposal—partly supported by a maker of gluten-free products, Italy's Dr. Schär AG—also spells out diagnostic criteria to help physicians determine which, if any, disorder a patient suffers from. "It is well possible that many individuals are on a gluten-free diet for no sound medical reasons," the authors note.

The American Gastroenterological Association says that much more needs to be known about gluten sensitivity before official guidelines can be devised—including how many people suffer from it and to what degree.

About 1% of people in the U.S. have celiac disease, a fourfold increase over the past 50 years. Some gastroenterologists say that for every patient with celiac disease, they see six to eight who have the same symptoms, but without the tell-tale antibodies or intestinal damage needed to confirm celiac.

Evidence is mounting that gluten sensitivity does exist. Dr. Fasano and colleagues last year compared blood samples and intestinal biopsies from people with suspected gluten sensitivity to those with confirmed celiac disease and healthy controls, and found distinct differences in each.

And in a study published last year, researchers in Australia showed in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that subjects with suspected gluten sensitivity had substantially fewer symptoms on a gluten-free diet than control subjects who unknowingly ingested gluten.

"Many physicians would roll their eyes and say, 'God, another crazy person with food sensitivities,' " says Peter Green, director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University and a co-author of the proposal. "It's only now that studies are coming out showing that there's something real about gluten sensitivity." In fact, he notes that patients with gluten sensitivity often have even more severe symptoms than those with celiac disease, which is frequently "silent" or asymptomatic, even though antibodies to gluten are slowly damaging their intestinal tracts. That's partly why celiac disease is underdiagnosed, he says.

Confusing the picture further are private labs that offer tests of stool or saliva that they say can definitively diagnose gluten sensitivity. Experts say that such tests haven't been validated and shouldn't be relied on for a diagnosis. "If anyone claims they have a test that is specifically for gluten sensitivity, there is no such thing, though I'm not ruling it out in the future," says Dr. Fasano.

____________________________________________________________________

Classifying the Symptoms

Gluten-related disorders are rising around the world. One group of international experts has proposed classifying them based on the kind of defenses the body mounts.

Wheat allergy Can affect skin, gastrointestinal tract or respiratory tract

Symptoms: Hives, nasal and chest congestion, nausea, vomiting, anaphylaxis

Prevalence: Less than 1% of children, most outgrow it

Diagnosis: Blood and skin prick reveal IgE antibodies; food challenge

Treatment: Avoid wheat products

Celiac disease Antibodies to gluten damage intestinal villi needed to absorb food

Symptoms: Abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, fatigue, osteoporosis, cancer; can also be asymptomatic

Prevalence: 1% of adults of European descent, up fourfold in 50 years

Diagnosis: Gene tests show HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 variations; blood tests reveal tTGA or EMA antibodies; biopsy shows villi damage

Treatment: Strict gluten-free diet can reverse symptoms

Gluten ataxia Antibodies to gluten attack cerebellum

Symptoms: Loss of balance and coordination; few GI symptoms

Prevalence: Gluten may be the cause of ataxia in a fifth of all sufferers of the ailment

Diagnosis: Blood tests show tTG6 and AGA antibodies; brain images are abnormal

Treatment: Gluten-free diet may stabilize ataxia but some damage may be irreversible

Gluten Sensitivity Gluten may trigger a primitive immune defense

Symptoms: similar to celiac disease without villi damage; foggy thinking, mood swings

Prevalence: Unknown

Diagnosis: Rule out celiac disease and wheat allergies; possible AGA antibodies in blood; symptoms ease when avoiding gluten

Treatment: Avoiding gluten, though small amounts on occasion may not cause problems

Sources: BMC Medicine, WSJ reporting

_______________________________________________________________

He and other researchers are hoping to find a biomarker that can officially diagnose gluten sensitivity. But for now, the proposal notes, it can only be diagnosed by ruling out the other disorders. Specifically, it says that physicians should suspect gluten sensitivity when patients complain of abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, anemia and other celiac symptoms, but don't have wheat allergies or the antibodies seen with celiac disease. If a biopsy is done, it generally won't show damage to the intestinal villi.

Only about half of people with gluten sensitivity have one of the two gene variations seen in virtually all celiac patients, so gene tests can rule out celiac, but not diagnose gluten sensitivity conclusively. (The blood tests cost about $100; the gene test about $300, and the biopsy $600 or more.)

Ultimately, the best test for gluten sensitivity is to see whether symptoms improve on a gluten-free diet. To avoid the power of suggestion, some doctors give patients blind tests with foods that may or may not contain hidden gluten.

Experts urge people who suspect they have problems with gluten to be tested for celiac disease before going gluten-free on their own. Otherwise, with no gluten to react to, their blood tests will show false negatives.

"This is the single biggest problem I see, and I see it every day in practice," says Joseph Murray, a celiac expert at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Convincing patients who feel better to go back on gluten for testing purposes may be a hard sell. But getting a firm diagnosis is crucial, experts say, because those with celiac disease need to be on a strict gluten-free diet for the rest of their lives, or risk long-term complications including osteoporosis, infertility and some cancers. Those with gluten sensitivity may be able to eat small quantities occasionally without problems.

Cynthia Kupper, executive director of the nonprofit Gluten Intolerance Group, suggests that rather than going gluten-free on their own, people who suspect they have a gluten disorder should first keep a food diary to see if their symptoms occur shortly after consuming it. She also notes that a gluten-free diet isn't necessarily healthier, with many gluten-free products having more fat and calories than the foods they replace.

She welcomes the new classification system—in part because she sees the range of gluten disorders in her own family: She has celiac disease. Her daughter shows no signs of it, but her granddaughter has severe symptoms whenever she eats anything with gluten in it, even though tests for celiac are negative.

"When you take her off gluten, she becomes a happy child again. She's not popping Pepto-Bismol like it's candy," Ms. Kupper says.

Write to Melinda Beck at HealthJournal@wsj.com

Gluten smelling dog featured on USA Today

Elias Mes Yeux Vigilants RN is AKC Grand Champion Beauceron and an amazing service dog.  He accompanies his owner, Hollie Scott, 22 around the University of Missouri campus.  His purpose - to detect gluten, even small amounts, in Hollie's meals.


The dog spent weeks in Slovenia completing gluten-detection training late last year (he and Scott returned at the very end of November, then rested a couple of days before heading out for the Long Beach competition), and now he can detect and warn her away from anything containing gluten, hot or cold, in all its many manifestations.


Check out the article here.

Local research study needs participants

Allergy Research Associates is looking for 30 subjects with a history compatible with gluten enteropathy who have undergone official medical evaluation within the past 2 years. They need either results from a small bowel biopsy or blood work indicating the presence of Tissue Transglutaminase IgG or IgA.

Carol Pehl and Carol Sandich of Allergy Associates Research are coming to attend the next GIG meeting on Saturday August 14th with consent forms to take home and read over and will be available for any questions about participating in this research. The research paperwork is finally done and they will start this month.

The purpose of this research is to develop the Flash Sensor, a low cost and immediate result test for celiac disease that physicians can use in their office.

People will need to be between the ages of 18-65 and not be pregnant. One tube of blood is only required and each person will be paid $30 for their participation. The blood will not be drawn at the meeting.

Come to the meeting Saturday or contact:

Carol Sadich or Carol Pehl, RN

Allergy Associates Research

545 NE 47th Ave #310

Portland OR 97213

(p) 503-238-6233

(f)503-231-7668