Gluten Free Raleigh: Celiac Disease On Dr. Oz Show Recap

Fundraising History

As of Dec 3, 2010
1) Jules Shepard Gluten Free Cooking Class - 2/28/2009 $100 donated to the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research $400 donated to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA)

2) Gluten Free Raleigh Run/Walk Fundraiser - 6/13/2009 $915 donated to Gluten Free Week 2009 @ Camp Kanata (GIG sponsored camp in Wake Forest)

3) Jules Shepard Gluten Free Cooking Class - 7/12/2009 $300 donated to the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research

4) GF 101 Class @ Rosie's Plate - 10/3/2009 $175 donated to Gluten Free Week 2010 @ Camp Kanata (GIG sponsored camp in Wake Forest)

5) GF 101 Class @ Rosie's Plate - 1/23/2010 $100 donated to Gluten Free Week 2010 @ Camp Kanata (GIG sponsored camp in Wake Forest)

6) GF 101 Class @ Rosie's Plate - 4/24/2010 $85 donated to Gluten Free Week 2010 @ Camp Kanata (GIG sponsored camp in Wake Forest)

7) Gluten Free Food Drive to benefit The Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC - May 2010 $925

8) GF 101 Class @ Whole Foods - 10/23/2010 $82.50 donated to Gluten Free Week 2011 @ Camp Kanata (GIG sponsored camp in Wake Forest)

Grand Total = $3,082.50

Celiac Disease Stats

16,860 Triangle residents with Celiac Disease
1 out of every 133 Americans (about 3 million people or 1% of population) has Celiac Disease.
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. The GF market is also projected to hit $5 Billion by 2015.
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 but the law only requires labeling of wheat. Nearly 5 years later, the FDA still has not finalized what it means to label a product Gluten Free.
12% of people in the US who have Down Syndrome also have CD.
8% 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. First degree relatives should be tested yearly for CD even if previous tests were negative.
There are currently 0 drugs available to treat CD.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Celiac Disease On Dr. Oz Show Recap

Not sure if you caught the Dr. Oz show this afternoon (12/10) but the first 25 minutes or so was all about Celiac Disease and eating Gluten Free. The show featured Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Dr. Peter Green and did as good a job covering the disease and diet as you can in 20 minutes.

As of yet, I have not been able to find the video anywhere out there but if I do, I'll update this post.

A couple thoughts on the episode...

Love or hate her, Elisabeth Hasselbeck is raising awareness for Celiac Disease. The more doctors are educated on this, the more diagnosed cases there will be and the more GF products there will be for us to eat. Increasing general knowledge among the public is also good thing so that restaurant workers and people hosting parties can cater to us.

I had a few issues though with Elisabeth... mainly that after they focused on Celiac and the "G Free Diet" as she calls it (I don't like that term), they spent some time saying that the GF Diet is good for others as a weight loss diet. I truly believe she is saying this to sell books as everything I read clearly says that only folks with Celiac or Gluten Intolerance benefit from the GF Diet. There is no research conducted on how eating GF affects normal folks and in fact the GF Diet often lacks many key vitamins/minerals which need to be supplemented. I wish Elisabeth would stick to the science and discuss CD/Gluten Intolerance and leave the diet part out. This can turn eating GF into a fad which will give me more to eat, but only on a temporary basis.

At the end of the show, Dr. Oz went over his recap and said something along the lines of "If you suspect you have Celiac Disease, try going Gluten Free for 3 weeks.... if you feel better, then ask your doctor to get you tested for CD"... This is simply not the way to diagnose CD. The blood test involved requires a person with CD to be eating Gluten in order for the antibodies to be produced. This type of misinformation can severely limit proper diagnosis. A more correct statement would have been a multi-staged approach to a 100% true diagnosis of Celiac.... 1) Blood test (while eating gluten)... if positive, 2) Endoscopy with biopsy of small intestine to check for damage to villi. Multiple sites need to be sampled by an experienced GI who is used to looking for Celiac damage - it often is not uniform... If damage is present then, 3)Eat a Gluten Free diet and if you feel better after a period of time (depends on extent of damage found in 2), then bam - you're officially a member of the Celiac club. I'd be happier if Dr. Oz said this instead.

Overall, it's good to see Celiac being mentioned as the epidemic it truly is on a show seen by 3.5 million people on average. According to the latest ratings, the Dr. Oz show (only in its first season) has very similar ratings (and could soon surpass) to the widely successful and long running Dr. Phil show. Dr. Phil is rated 2nd behind Oprah as the most watched daytime TV show in the US.

What are your thoughts?

5 comments:

Tiffany said...: I agree with your comments. My review of the show will post shortly and I'll link to this post. My biggest annoyance about the show was the incorrect statement about blue cheese. In the short time devoted to the topic, a ton of important info was shared with millions of people.; December 11, 2009 at 9:10 AM
marylandceliac said...: I totally agree! I was frustrated too by these things in the show. It also bothered me that Dr. Peter Green was seated in the audience and not featured on stage, although he did get to talk for a few minutes. The show, especially Dr. Oz's comment at the end, inspired me to write this today - 10 Important Facts About Celiac Disease and a Gluten-Free Diet.

http://tinyurl.com/y94crrz; December 11, 2009 at 1:58 PM
Zach said...: Yahoo reports that searches for Celiac Disease are up 368% after Dr. Oz's show yesterday!

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/93242; December 11, 2009 at 4:36 PM
Diva4 said...: The program frustrated me as I have followed the Specific Carbohydrate Diet for ten years and go beyond Gluten Free foods to eliminate starchy foods too like potatoes corn and rice and I can't use quinoa, amarynth or spelt.

Carol in Toronto; December 11, 2009 at 6:59 PM
Debbie Jongkind,RD,LDN said...: Zach,
Good review of the segment. I agree with your comments and the one from Tiffany about blue cheese. This is one example of old information still being passed along. The show did increase awareness and I loved the example of the intestines at the beginning of the show. Wish he would have also featured a dietitian to assist Elisabeth in her discussion of foods for the gluten free diet, with more focus on all the wonderful things those on a GF diet can include in their diets.; December 11, 2009 at 10:43 PM