Hi ,
For all the people out there that has this disease. a article was placed in out local paper and i thought maybe someone out there may like to have thier web address. Apparently these people have done some research for years and deal with this on a daily basis and have wrote books on it . I myself dont know much about this but have seen some people request recipes for people who deal with this disease so thought it may help some how .
http://www.clanthompson.com/index.php3
Here was what was written in the paper as well. I hope this can help some people out there that need it. Sky
Local family’s dietary manuals help thousands across country
by Mark Chag
REGION - While at your favorite restaurant, do you drool over the menu of deep fried chicken? Spareribs smothered in barbecue sauce? How about a sub sandwich?
What if you asked for any one of those items and were told the answer was no, no, and no.
Enjoy drinking the "King of Beers" during the football game? Forget it.
How about a pastry at the doughnut shop, a soft pretzel at the county fair, or pizza downtown on Friday night? The answer is still, a repetitious no.
When you can't eat gluten - no matter how it's disguised inside a food item - your dietary options might look pretty limited.
Those who suffer from celiac disease - and there may be more around than you may think - must keep gluten, which is derived from using wheat, barley, or rye, out of their foods and other products.
Besides all the obvious places we expect to find ingredients like wheat, such as almost any bread item, there are many other food items off limits for celiacs.
So how do celiacs figure out what they can eat, and what can be used to substitute for the foods that they love?
A family in Bridgton is here to help.
Lani and Jeff Thompson eat three squares a day without a hint of gluten - and now share their years of research with others.
Jeff was diagnosed with celiac disease when he was 17 years old. It took medical professionals some time to determine precisely what was causing his symptoms. (See adjacent story on celiac disease).
He and his wife, Lani, spent years searching for gluten-free products so he could lead a safe and healthy lifestyle.
Although Lani does not have the disease, three of their five children do. As a result, their entire household has always been attentive to their gluten-free menu.
But finding food and products that are free of gluten is time consuming, and more involved than simply reading the list of ingredients on each and every label.
According to the Thompsons, celiacs may not see "wheat, rye, or barley," on an ingredient list and think the product is safe. However, if the same list included "starch," the item could contain gluten.
So what did they do?
The Thompsons developed a database at home, for their own personal use, keeping track of all the products they knew would be safely gluten-free for their family.
Over time they created quite a list of not only food, but prescription and over-the-counter medications, as well as other items such as cosmetics.
One may not think that makeup would contain gluten, but Lani says that, in fact, some lipsticks, along with other topical cosmetics, are made with wheat - which if applied by someone with celiac disease - could make them sick.
In 1997, the Thompsons decided to share their findings with others, by putting their database into print.
They have now published four manuals that provide quick-reference for celiacs searching for gluten-free products.
The Thompsons hope that their years of legwork will help those who have either been living with the disease, or have been recently diagnosed with it, by providing them with an easier and shorter visit to the local drugstore and food market.
"If you look, you can find good substitutes for almost everything," Jeff says.
Though relatively common, affecting at least one in 133 people in the country, celiac disease has been largely overlooked by mainstream retailers. However, there has been growing awareness of the condition in recent years as medical professionals learn more about the disease and how to properly diagnose it, according to the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research.
With the increased awareness, there is also a growing demand for the Thompsons' manuals.
Although the year isn't over yet, Lani estimates that the sales of their publications, compared to last year, will double in 2005 - to roughly 5,000 copies, from buyers across the nation.
Celiacs can use the handy pocket-guides to find a variety of household goods, foods, and even restaurants that offer gluten-free items on the menus.
"Eating out is very hard to do," Jeff explains, adding that although some are adding gluten-free dishes, it isn't always easy to find them.
"A lot of places don't understand. It's hard to explain to [people working in restaurants] that even the croutons in a salad can make someone sick. So they may just remove the croutons and give you the same salad, but even the crumbs from those croutons can make [a celiac] very, very ill," Lani adds.
Through the Thompsons' guides, celiacs can find the pathways to gluten-free pizza, pasta, prescriptions and salsa. They provide information on a wide range of popular candy bars and other chocolates, for celiacs with a sweet tooth. There is even a single brand of gluten-free beer now available on the market.
Even with the handy guides, the Thompsons stress that celiacs should shop attentively, as product ingredients can change.
Occasionally, a manufacturer may advertise that a product is "new and improved," which could mean that the ingredients were modified from gluten-free components to using something such as wheat. Sometimes these changes to "improve" a product may in fact remove them from the list of usable items for celiacs, according to Jeff.
The Thompsons note that the big local supermarkets, such as Hannaford's, have natural-food sections that include a variety gluten-free products. Also, they can successfully shop for products they need at the Fair Share Market on Main Street in Norway.
One of the downsides to eliminating gluten from a diet is the cost, according to the couple.
"It's definitely a lot more expensive," Jeff notes, adding that a single loaf of gluten-free bread can cost as much as $5. For that reason, the Thompsons bake all of their own bread at home - using corn-based flour - to cut costs where they can.
The Thompsons have done their research, and open up a vault of knowledge and information to help those with celiac disease find safe and acceptable alternatives for a gluten-free lifestyle.
Despite their efforts, there is one thing that Jeff says, no matter how hard he's tried, he can't find a suitable gluten-free replacement for.
"I'd love to have a chocolate eclair," he says with a smile, while Lani adds that eclairs, and most other such pastries are hard to find - or make - gluten free.
To learn more about the Thompson's publications or to order their celiac pocket guides, visit their website online at .