A Canadian Celiac Podcast

It's the beginning of November and that means I get to chat with my friend Ellen Bayens of theceliacscene.com about articles and studies she has brought to our attention over the past month. Ellen and I talk about a recent study that shows an increase in women's reproductive issues in the celiac population compared to the general female population. We also look at a presentation from the Universit...

If you've listened to the podcast for a while, you'll know that I enjoy cruising and I've had great success eating a wide variety of gluten free foods onboard. My cruises have been on the large ocean liners. This week I'm speaking to Dianna from Expedia Cruises. Dianna herself is celiac and she's organizing this cruise for April 2025. Expedia has contracted with AMA Waterways to ensure that there...

Like you, I often look up resources online for information on celiac disease. Sometimes, I start to go down a rabbit hole that includes social media posts including videos (which can be more convincing than just words). After being involved with Celiac Canada for more than 25 years and relying on information from them, I'm in a pretty good position to decide whether information is correct and legi...

When I was recently at Gluten Free Fest, I met a very interesting woman who is a nutritionist, she's celiac, and she's publishing a new magazine. If that isn't enough Jennifer Heard has a unique and interesting diagnosis story, as well as a roundabout story of how she landed with Belly Magazine. You can signup to read the magazine at mybellyhurts.ca . You can find out more about Jenn's Nutritionis...

I always find it interesting when I meet someone in person who I've (in my own mind) "met" online. For a long time now, I've found the Instagram feed from Robyn's Gluten Free Baking Courses fun and full of amazing photos of her baking. I've been fortunate to meet Robyn at several events over the past few years. She always shows up in her 50's housewife blue polka dot dress – easy to spot in a crow...

It's the beginning of October and my opportunity to speak with Ellen Bayens of theceliacscene.com to chat about the articles she has brought to our attention over the past month. Ellen published an article about the delay in reading celiac diagnostic blood tests for children in Montreal. This was truly concerning. The family highlighted had introduced gluten back into their daughter's diet as a gl...

For this episode, I'm taking my podcast on the road. Specifically, to Gluten Free Fest in Kitchener Waterloo, which is northwest of Toronto. I was able to speak with different people and have them answer some of the popular questions surrounding celiac disease and the gluten free diet. Here's a few links from my conversations – Robyn from Robyn's Gluten-free Baking Courses - https://www.glutenfree...

On this episode I speak with Melissa Secord, Executive Director of Celiac Canada. She fills me in on an amazing breakfast Celiac Canada hosted on Parliament Hill. Melissa chats with me and refers me to Roberta Kramchynsky, a volunteer with the CCA who has had experience advocating with members of Parliament. Both Roberta and Melissa explain to me that now a Celiac Caucus has been formed with membe...

When I was at the 50 th Anniversary of Celiac Canada in Kitchener Waterloo, Ontario earlier this year, I met Sara and Liz, the organizers of Gluten Free Fest, happening September 17 th . I will be at the event in Kitchener Waterloo which features lots of different vendors and a food truck (boat?). Families are encouraged to attend. As well I'd love you to stop by and chat with me. I'll be there wi...

It's the beginning of September and my opportunity to speak with Ellen Bayens of theceliacscene.com to chat about the articles she has brought to our attention over the past month. On this episode Ellen and I speak about a few recent studies looking at the prevalence of autoimmune conditions, persistent villous atrophy, and how gluten actually triggers injury in the intestines. As well Ellen and I...

It's the beginning of August and my opportunity to speak with Ellen Bayens of theceliacscene.com to chat about the articles she has brought to our attention over the past month. I was happy to let Ellen step up on her soapbox to talk about how unsafe gluten free food is when it's prepared within a gluten bakery. This seems to be happening more often lately, even though we recognize that the food c...

This podcast episode is a solo effort. I had mentioned to Ellen Bayens earlier in the spring that I wanted to take some time to gather my thoughts on what stategies I employed while on a recent cruise that helped make my meals wonderful and safe. I've broken my thoughts down to five lessons and add a couple of stories on situations that happened. I ate very well on my transatlantic cruise on the C...

It's the beginning of July, so for me that means another opportunity to speak with Ellen Bayens of theceliacscene.com to discuss articles and topics of interest Ellen has presented to us over the past month. It's been a busy couple of months for both Ellen and I. She welcomed a new granddaughter and my daughter got married – we're both still on a bit of a high! Ellen and I spoke about the return o...

On this episode of the podcast, I'm speaking with an owner and founder of Miski Brewing from Barrie Ontario. Miski Brewing has an interesting story of how an unlikely gluten free ingredient came to be made into an organic gluten free beer. The Miski group of companies now also includes a pet treat brand born from a brewery product. There website is currently evolving, but you can find out more at...

On this episode I speak with the new owners of Only Oats who are committed to getting the products back on store shelves across Canada. Many of us were concerned when our trusted oat brand was no longer available in our area and unfortunately, we had to wait to get the answered we needed. Only Oats is now back in the marketplace and today we hear about what happened, and how the new owners of the...

It's the beginning of June, so for me that means another opportunity to speak with Ellen Bayens of theceliacscene.com to discuss articles, studies and topics of interest Ellen has presented to us over the past month. This month Ellen gave us a study that looks at the pattern of healthcare visits of someone not yet diagnosed with celiac disease. This is considered to be the "diagnostic window" and...

On this episode I speak with Justine Dowd PhD who, along with having celiac disease herself, is a Health and Wellness Specialist and Wellness Coach. Justine and I tackle the emotional topic of infertility as it relates to celiac disease. This topic includes issues around fertility for those diagnosed, along with the uncertainty for those yet to be diagnosed. Both Justine and I have suffered miscar...

Happy May, Celiac Awareness Month! At the beginning of each month, I speak with Ellen Bayens of theceliacscene.com to discuss articles, studies and topics of interest Ellen has presented to us over the past month. Of great concern to consumers in general, and gluten free consumers in particular, is the rising cost of food. In an effort to bring our unique perspective on these issues in front of la...

On this episode I speak with Dr. Dan Leffler who is heading an international study to trial a medication for celiac disease. The medication is TAK-062 and the trial is called Illuminate-62. The trial is looking for individuals who are confirmed celiac, eating a gluten free diet, but still experiencing symptoms. At the time of our conversation the study has yet to launch in Canada, but when it does...

As part of my Back To Basics Series, I speak with Ellen Bayens of www.theceliacscene.com to find out some of her best strategies for dining gluten free safely. Ellen is well known as an expert in advising celiacs where and how they can eat safely as well as a resourceful advisor to restaurants to help them serve gluten free safely. Ellen walks us through the questions you should be asking and what...

In the first of my Back to Basics Series, I speak with Registered Dietitian Selena DeVries about Cross Contamination. From the time we first hear about the gluten free diet, we try to absorb the concept of cross contamination and how to avoid it. Selena walks us through our kitchen setup, bakeware, pots and pans, and even shopping at a bulk food store. My big take away – Gluten Can't Jump! You can...

In preparation for Celiac Awareness Month in May, I thought it was a good time to find out what's been happening rcently with Celiac Canada. The organization is celebrating its 50 th birthday this year and along with events in May, there are lots of opportunities to learn and get involved. To raise awareness of economic issues and the under-diagnosis crisis, Melissa will be on Parliament Hill for...

It's time for the roundup chat with Ellen Bayens of theceliacscene.com . May is Celiac Awareness Month and Ellen and I start things off with a call to help spread awareness. It can be as simple as a conversation with those around you, or you can attend an event that might be happening near you. You can find out more about Celiac Canada's plans on their website www.celiac.ca . Ellen brings to our a...

The conversation on this episode was, at first supposed to be a an opportunity for me to ask Cinde Little the Everyday Gluten Free Gourmet about her post regarding Spanish tapas. I will be travelling to Spain very soon, and it occurred to me that tapas are something I don't know about, and for that reason will just avoid them. Reading Cinde's post, I thought it was a good time to find out more abo...

When I was at the 50 th Anniversary kickoff for Celiac Canada I spoke with the Technical Manager for the Gluten Free Certification with BRCGS. His name is Barry Meikle and I had so many questions. On Episode 176, I spoke with John Murthy from BRCGS in London, so it was appropriate to now speak with Barry to get the Canadian/North American take on Gluten Free Certification. We talk about how the pr...