Raleigh CSA Support Group 4-16-09 Meeting Recap

Special thanks to Gail for taking meeting minutes during the last North Raleigh Celiac Support Group meeting on 4-16-2009. Below is a recap for those of you that could not make the meeting.

North Raleigh Celiac Support Group
CSA Chapter 108
April 16, 2009 7:00-9:00 PM
Rex Hospital Private Dining Room

Several new people were welcomed, and everyone gave a brief history of how they came to be diagnosed. Many had felt ill only a short time, or not at all, before their physician tested for Celiac disease. CD awareness must be growing.

Zach provided follow-up on the Whole Foods Gluten Free Fair held Saturday, March 28. It was a great event and very well attended. Lee Tobin, head baker at the Whole Foods Bake House, was on hand with free samples of many new items that will be introduced in the near future or are under development. Several other vendors and manufactures provided literature and tastings.

Our support group has been invited to tour the dedicated Whole Foods G-F facility located in Morrisville, North Carolina, for our July Support Group Meeting. Pat will provide details and directions before this meeting.

Two recent articles posted on the web were distributed. “Feeding the Bacteria in Your Gut” was posted on the Digestive Health Smart Brief website. Pat recommends this website from the American College of Gastroenterology. Prebiotics are shown to increase levels of good bacteria in the gut and they are being linked to health benefits. The other report shared was entitled: “Some daily multivitamins contain lead” from a post on MSNBC.com. It contained reference to testing performed by ConsumerLab.com which found both lead contamination as well as too high dosages of vitamins. As we discussed at our last meeting, over the counter supplements should be purchased carefully.

Copies of Living Without, GIG Quarterly, Delightfully Gluten Free, and CSA Lifeline were passed around for members to review. These publications contain timely news and recipes.

Harmony Farms, a North Raleigh natural foods store with a large G-F product line, provided the group with free samples of Desert Essence shampoo and body lotion. Desert Essence products are formulated and quality tested to be 100% vegan, wheat and gluten free.

Rhonda, our special guest from Zpizza, discussed their new G-F crust and ingredients. Locally, Zpizza has stores in Cary and Raleigh and orders can be placed on line at www.zpizzatriangle.com. Free samples of several different G-F pizzas were available for tasting by everyone. Now the whole family, even members with CD, can go out for pizza!

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 21, 2009. Dr. Paul Peterson, Neurologist and Sleep Disorder Specialist, will be the guest speaker. Bring your questions, as this will be an interactive discussion.

Submitted by,
Gail Harris