Edible Wall
I recently spent some time working on my family’s genealogy on Ancestry.com. I absolutely love looking at the early census records – particularly the ones from the turn of the century and even earlier. In addition to showing who the household members were and where they were born, it tells you what they did. My Sicilian branch quickly showed me that my road to food was paved many years ago… Many farmers back in those days, as well as, small local grocers! It is amazing how things come full circle and naturally want to go back to square one. 
I love the renewed focus on backyard gardens and putting families back together in the kitchen for meals. I applaud HBO’s Documentary The Weight of the Nation for helping us understand just where we are and why we need to rethink what we are doing with food. This is a tall order for our very on-the-go society, but it’s doable. As a mom of 10 year old twins, I am a big believer that you are what you practice. When you practice healthier lifestyles that include a focus on healthier food choices such as growing some of your own food, cooking together and meal time as a function of family connection, you give all who participate an opportunity to learn some amazing life skills.
Through food you can model team work, communication, community, healthy living and self esteem. Just by being physically present and engaged you even can turn the volume up on what is working for your kids and help them become observers of themselves to see and understand some possible practices that could get in their way. Can you really get all of this from a couple of tomatoes, plants and some kid friendly recipes? YES – and a whole lot more!
Given my quest to keep this conversation going in my house, the business I am in and the fact that my husband has a degree in education with a focus on social studies, you can imagine that I was very excited when he showed me the YouTube video of Stephen Ritz, a teacher “growing green” in the South Bronx. Ritz shows us how schools are helping to reinforce the healthy food and lifestyle message.
This video is a must watch for two reasons: First, the curriculum Ritz has developed around growing food is truly remarkable and the empowering effect it is having on his students and their community is incredibly uplifting. Second, his energy is infectious and will propel you to tackle any project you have been procrastinating. I was even inspired to plant a backyard pot of pumpkins! Ritz took the schoolyard garden to the next level. He brought it inside the school. His students learned, planned, designed, planted and installed their very own “edible walls” (learned about excel spreadsheets and what COGS are)!
I must insert a sidebar at this point. If you fall in love with this idea like I did and think building your own is more than your gang can handle check out http://www.plantsonwalls.com/default.asp. Once the “Green Bronx Machine” grew all of the food, they cooked with it, brought it to the cafeteria, sold some of it and donated some of it (teamwork, communication, community and collaboration). The students wrote about it, started a Facebook page and blogged (using a word documents, social media, PR and marketing). Check out some of the other things they accomplished by implementing this challenge/problem/project based learning:
- They have grown over 25,000 pounds of vegetables in the Bronx while generating extraordinary academic performance.
- His Bronx classroom features the first indoor edible wall in NYC DOE which routinely generates enough produce to feed 450 students healthy meals and trains the youngest nationally certified workforce in America.
- Attendance went from 40% to 93% daily
- Helped fund/create 2,200 youth job
- Created a Facebook page called the Green Bronx Machine
- Captured the US EPA Award for transforming mindsets and landscapes in NYC
It’s not just going on in New York! Plenty of this work is being done in the Chicagoland area. Whole Foods Kids Foundation sees the importance of this movement and is really getting involved. To date they have donated 1.7 million dollars to schoolyard gardens across the nation. There have been over 500,000 students served by this project and more than 880 schools.
Check out this short list of other associations committed to food/nutrition education in our area:
- Slow Food Chicago
- Chicago Eat Local Live Healthy plan
- Healthier US School – Farm To School National Resources (Team Nutrition)
- Angelic Organics Learning Center
- Dawes Edible Schoolyard / The Edible Schoolyard Project
- Growing Home Chicago
- Growing Power Chicago
- Purple Asparagus
- Seven Generations Ahead
- FamilyFarmed.org
So here’s to a multi-layered approach to getting us all back to the table for healthy meals and slower lifestyles while learning life skills. Where the screens are off and the mouths are busy talking, chewing and laughing. Growing, cooking and sharing food is such a great way to come together!
Superfriend of the Month: Margie Teller
Margie Teller has a successful career as a trader, 
but her philanthropic work and worthy cause has us calling her SQ1’s September Superfriend of the Month. Margie’s daughter, Rachel, was diagnosed with diabetes when she was just 18 months old; In 2002, she founded Friends for the Cure, a fundraising group to support research and educational programs for the American Diabetes Association, where she also serves as a board member.
The mission of the Friends for the Cure committee is friends and family united; raising funds to find a cure for diabetes. Proceeds of Friends for the Cure events benefit The American Diabetes Association, who is at the forefront of the fight to prevent, treat, and cure diabetes.
What better way to raise funds than a party with the motto “no stiffs allowed”! Friends for a Cure made a conscious effort to have their parties be FUN events, like no other fundraiser. There are no speakers, no sit-down dinner….it is meant to be a celebration of how far we’ve come since Rachel was diagnosed 15 years ago. Ready to get your ticket and participate in this fun event? Purchase them here.
For additional event details, please visit www.FriendsForTheCure.com. Join Friends for the Cure on Facebook and Twitter
Q: Marge, tell us a little bit about Friends for a Cure and how this exciting event came about.
A: Friends for the Cure was started by a group of colleagues and friends in response to my daughter Rachel’s diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 18 months. This is our seventh event to raise both awareness about this terrible and epidemic disease and money for research for a cure. We hope to surpass the 2 million dollar mark with this year’s gala.
Q: How and why did you come to your current position at Friends for a Cure?
A: I have seen the effects that this disease causes on a daily basis: Seizures, high and low blood sugar, injections, blood tests….It has become a very personal mission to me to find a cure so I have chaired the event since inception.
Q: How has working with Friends for a Cure impacted your life and what about your job brings you the most joy?
A: You never know how people are going to react during a crisis. I am very lucky to be surrounded by a group that rallied around us when we needed them most and have made this cause their own. Diabetes could have been a very isolating disease, but we have never felt alone because so many people have been in our corner helping us work towards a cure.
Q: What’s the one thing that you now know that you wish you knew when you were growing up?
A: To never sweat the small stuff.
Q:What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?
A: Never ever let fear of failure scare you away from trying something new.
Q:What is your biggest accomplishment?
A: I have two: Getting to the top of a field (trading) that people always said was a man’s world. And raising my daughter to be a wonderful and healthy young woman (she’s 17 now!)
Q:If you could say something to the next generation what would it be?
A: That it is very important to be resilient. Anyone can navigate life when things are good, but there are ALWAYS bumps in the road and true character is defined by how you handle adversity.
Happy Birthday WFM Kids Foundation!
SQ1 loves Whole Foods Market! Have you heard about the WFM Kids Foundation? Here’s the 411: Whole Kids Foundation’s mission is to support schools and inspire families to improve children’s nutrition and wellness. Their ultimate goal is an end to the childhood obesity epidemic. Through partnerships with innovative organizations, schools and educators we work to provide children access to fresh, nutritious meals. They use their voice to help children and families make healthy food choices for life.
Great cause, right? The Whole Foods Market Kids Foundation just celebrated their first birthday, 
and we’ve got our party hats on to celebrate! Whole Kids Foundation was established in 2011 by Whole Foods Market® , and in just one year, their programs have supported more than one million children and made positive changes in thousands of school gardens, lunchrooms and classrooms throughout the US and Canada. WOW!
Check out some of WFM Kids Foundation’s impressive accomplishments below:
- Partnered to establish Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools, which has already funded more than 1,400 kid-sized salad bars.
Created the School Garden Grant Program in partnership with FoodCorps, which has awarded grants to nearly 1,000 schools in the US and Canada.- Launched a Healthy Teachers Program to provide nutrition and cooking classes for teachers. After conducting successful pilot programs in Austin, Texas and New York City, Whole Kids Foundation is working in partnership with FoodFight to expand this project to more cities.
SQ1 is proud to part of the Whole Foods Market “Buy Local initiative”.
Do you know about the Whole Foods Market Wellness Club? 
They have rated the products at Whole Foods Market and SQ1 received a W5 -the highest rating a food can receive! We are very proud of our rating. Right now when you join The Wellness Club, enjoy 10% off SQ1 organic superfoods. Check out The Wellness Club’s Website here.
Whole Foods Market carries natural and organic products because they believe that food in its purest state — unadulterated by artificial additives, sweeteners, colorings, and preservatives — is the best tasting and most nutritious food available. That’s why you can find Square One® Organics in two freezer sections at the Whole Foods Market in Lincoln Park on Kingsbury!
What’s Cookin? Green Eggs Cupcakes!
Popeye and Dr. Seuss teamed up for this month’s recipe! We are all about spinach this month and love to have fun in the kitchen, that’s why we pair each recipe with a children’s book – this Dr. Seuss story is definitely a favorite!
Ingredients:
- Organic Nonstick Cooking Spray
- 2 Square One Organic Spinach Cups (1 Twin Pack – thawed and drained)
- 2 Square One Organic Broccoli Cups (1 Twin Pack – thawed)
- 2 Tablespoons All-Purpose Organic Flour
- 2 Large Organic Eggs
- 4 Large Organic Egg Whites
- 3/4 Cup Shredded Organic Cheddar Cheese
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and coat cupcake pan with organic cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, egg whites, Square One Spinach(drained) and Broccoli Purees, flour, ½ cup Shredded Organic Cheese, salt and baking powder until combined.
Pour mixture into the cupcake pan filling cups half way. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup Shredded Organic Cheese on the tops of each of the cupcakes. Bake until the tops are puffed up and the eggs are not runny in the center when pierced with the tip of a knife, 13-15 minutes.
Yields 6 green egg cupcakes – serve immediately and freeze the rest. You now have breakfast for the rest of the week!
READ – Green Eggs and Ham
Here’s a fun fact: Dr. Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham as a result of a bet!
Random House is a publishing company who distributed one of Seuss’ biggest success, The Cat in the Hat, which had only 225 different words! Co-founder of Random House, Bennett Cerf, was amazed by Seuss’ ambition and proposed a challenge for a different book.
Cerf bet Seuss that he couldn’t write a book using 50 or fewer different words. 3 years later, Dr. Seuss released Green Eggs and Ham, which is one of his most popular books. Upholding the bet he made with Cerf, Dr. Seuss used only 50 words for Green Eggs and Ham.
Superfriend of the Month: Elizabeth Kaveny
Each Month, we’re putting a Spotlight on a Superfriend. Elizabeth was named one of Illinois’ “top lawyers” in both plaintiff’s and personal injury law and professional malpractice law. Additionally she has also been named one of the top 50 Illinois Women Lawyers by the Chicago Magazine’s Super Lawyer Section. However, it is Beth’s work with Mercy Home for Boys and Girls that has us name her our Superfriend of the Month. Check out the exclusive SQ1 interview below!
Q: Ok, Beth we get there you are one of the top lawyers in Illinois, but tell us a little bit about Mercy Home for Boys and Girls. How and why did you come to your position at Mercy Home?
A: I had a wonderful upbringing with a family that loved me and supported me in everything I did. I have been given a wealth of opportunities. Not so for many young people, including hundreds right here in our own City of Chicago. I wanted to give back to our community and work with a charity that was truly making a difference in the lives of young people. After looking into many wonderful charities with women’s boards in Chicago, I learned about the Leader Council of Mercy Home. Mercy Home provides children in need with a safe home, with people who care for and love them, and with the ability to see and reach for a future, none of which they had prior to coming to Mercy. What could be better?
Q: How has your work with Mercy Home impacted your life and what about your work with Mercy Home brings you the most joy?
A: The young people at Mercy Home give me more than I give to them. They give me perspective and an appreciation for how wonderful my life is and has been. Both the staff and the kids at Mercy Home never cease to amaze me with their capacity to love and be loved. What brings me the most joy is learning of the service projects that the kids at Mercy Home do for others. Every year, they present the Mayor of Chicago with service books showing all the work they have done to better the lives of others. I think of them as being in need, yet they somehow manage to focus on others who are less fortunate and even more in need. They remind me that no matter who you are, there will always be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Q: Being one of the top lawyers in Illinois and also a mother of four must mean some serious juggling. What gets you through your family life and work?
A: It is serious juggling and I have never been all that coordinated frankly. Fortunately, I have a top notch support system both at home and at work, which I would be lost without. Heck, I am lost a lot even with them. My most commonly uttered words: I am supposed to be where???? As with most of us, my children are what gets me through. When I get home and see their little faces, everything else fades away. When things get crazy at home, I admit sometimes its their sleeping little faces that take us all back to ground zero.
Q: What was your life like pre-parenthood?
A: Ooh, do we really want to go there? FUN. Chicago is a wonderful city to live in as a young, single professional girl. Good friends and Good times. We worked hard and played hard. Shopping, softball, traveling, golf, parties, dancing, even skydiving (yes, I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane on more than one occasion).
Q: If there was a movie about your life what would it be called
A: That’s an easy one. WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO BE??? Philosophically, I think we all need to ask ourselves that question sometimes. But with a schedule like mine, its just a question I ask every day.
Popeye’s Right On!
SO that’s what makes Popeye so strong! A recent Swedish study proves Popeye right and shows us why the leafy vegetable makes us stronger – and SQ1 is proud to serve 100% organic spinach. Tests on mice showed that nitrate, a compound found in high quantities in spinach, boosts the production of two proteins key to muscle strength.
The nitrate used “was equivalent to a human’s consumption of about 200 to 250 grammes of spinach a day, so it’s a very easily obtained amount,” one of the researchers at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Andres Hernandez, told AFP.
“Well, it is if you eat spinach. For people who don’t eat their vegetables it will be more tricky,” he added.
They found that the mice that had been on consistent nitrate had much stronger muscles, the greatest effect being observed in the extensor digitorum longus muscle, which extends down the tibia, and the flexor digitorum brevis muscle of the foot.
Continuing their study, the researchers then discovered that the nitrate mice had a higher concentration of two different proteins in their muscles, which is assumed to explain the greater muscle strength.
The findings are published in the Journal of Physiology.
So there you have it, Popeye was right on the whole time! Get your little ones started on Spinach at 10 months old. If they learn to love the taste right away, you will have veggie super-eaters!
SQ1’s Froze Organic Spinach Puree is…
- A Super Food for Brain, Heart, Bones, Skin, Eyes and Immunity
- An Excellent source of Vitamin C, A, E, Folate and Magnesium
- An Excellent source of phytonutrients
- A two ounce Square One® serving provides 330% of your child’s RDI of vitamin A, 30% RDI of vitamin C, 35% RDI of vitamin E, 50% RDI of folate and 45% RDI of magnesium.
SQ1 Superfriend: Miss Lori!
Each Month, we’re putting a Spotlight on a Superfriend. This month we are thrilled to feature Miss Lori. She has a passion for children and performance. Miss Lori has a focus as an entertainer, teacher, and writer to unite families together through her artistic contributions. In 2005, already a mother of 3 and a celebrated performer, Miss Lori founded her company, The CAMPUS Inc, now known as Miss Lori’s CAMPUS.
Children and families across the country have fallen in love with Miss Lori’s boundless energy, passion and commitment to the development of young minds and bodies. Her ability to foster creativity and imagination is a gift to treasure for many years to come.
Check out this exclusive SQ1 interview with Miss Lori, and don’t forget to SMILE 🙂
Miss Lori, tell us a little bit about how and why did you came to your position at WTTW and misslori.tv?
I was selected as the first ever live host for the PBS Kids Preschool Block after a Nationwide search of over 1500 contenders. I started airing interstitials on the National Broadcast in 2006. Then in 2007 through my company Miss Lori’s CAMPUS, I released my first CD, iparenting award winner Music ‘n Movement TOGETHER and immediately began touring. The National feed didn’t want to combine my reading talents with my singing prowess, but Grace Winston at WTTW PBS Kids Chicago did. She and I met, as many mothers do, in the park with our kids. I was coming from performing a Miss Lori’s CAMPUS concert and she was just a few days away from starting her job at WTTW. She had goals and I had ideas. It was a match made in heaven! Summer 2008 we launched our first tour, The Great Food Fan Van anchored by my original 2 hour concert style musical AWESOME Health. When the Summer ended our enthusiasm was just beginning, so we crafted a second tour Readers are Leaders dedicated to literacy, and anchored by my Playstory Time content including my original interactive story series, Little Miss Lori Adventures in Five Year Old Living. We partnered with The Chicago Public Libraries and toured from October to April alone, and picked up The Great Food Fan Van tour from May through September. Even though my role on the National Feed came to an end in 2009, WTTW and I just kept rolling long. With the two tours I am performing around 70 concerts a year on average with WTTW PBS Kids. All of the shows are free, and none of the shows would be possible without the support and sponsorship of companies like Square One Organics. Community, that’s what we are all about. And that’s what I am about on MissLori.TV too. I launched my blog in the middle of all of these tours back in late 2007. It was first known as Miss Lori’s B.etter L.iving O.ptions G.uide. I would muse about my concerts, parenting, social issues. That work and my presence on TV caught the attention of Jill Asher head of SV Moms Blog which owned Chicago Moms Blog. She chased me for 6 months, anxious for me to become a contributor to the feed. I was so busy with my company my role on PBS and of course being a mother to three kids, but she impressed upon me that it really was my duty to my community. (Yes, guilt works.) But I am forever indebted to her for welcoming me into this World of New Media and social influence. What a thrill! What an amazing time of personal empowerment we are living in. My blog grew so much that I needed to break it off from my Miss LorisCAMPUS.com site and give it its’ own space renaming it Musings From My Mininvan parked at MisLori.TV. I loved the Minivan title because it so clearly described my life. With my kids growing and getting more involved in, well, everything, plus all of my tour performances, I did everything in my minivan but shower. But as often happens my community chose the title they wanted to know me for, and MissLori.TV rose to prominence, overshadowing my descriptive self title. It made sense though because the concept of my blog grew and involved during this time as well. I realized with all that I was doing I wasn’t merely an entertainer or a social media marketer, I was a Marketainer. And with that Marketainment my goal is to help brands and campaigns masticate their information so that they can better reach the families they are targeting. And that’s exactly what I have done for brands like Tropicana, GM, Quaker, 1800Baskets, Nintendo, Gatorade, ReadingEggs.com, Cricket Wireless and more.
How has your work impacted your life and what about your job brings you the most joy?
My work is my life, along with my kids. But everything that I do has been inspired by, or is for them. Music ‘n Movement TOGETHER! was actually born from a need to find a program for my son to express himself and celebrate his early gross motor skill development. He started walking at age 9 months, so docile music classes were completely out of the question. What is now my CD started as a 45 minute program for mothers and their activated children like mine. All three of my kids have performed with me live, as well as on my CD, DVD and self produced interstitials. They advise me about lyrics and story content for Miss Lori’s CAMPUS, but they also contribute to my posts on MissLori.TV. We are like the black Partridge family, and that makes my work priceless to me. I get to entertain, educate and inspire my public all while working through or alongside my kids. What could be better?
What gets you through juggling your family life and work?
Keeping my eyes closed! When people ask me how I do what I do in a day, I tell them I just close my eyes and keep moving. I live life as though I don’t have a choice. I don’t get to collapse under the weight of stress or commitments, I have to keep going. And that’s just what I do. It isn’t very pretty, most of the time, (Please don’t come to my house!). My minivan is a trough, my purse is a catch all, my calendar is a blurr, but the results make it all worthwhile. I have children and company that I am wildly proud of. That’s everything.
What was your life like pre-parenthood?
Before children I lived an 8 show a week existence. I started performing live theatre at age 9 and never stopped, from coast to coast. Heck, I didn’t stop even when I was pregnant! I found out that I was having Skyler while I was in the middle of my run of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at The Goodman Theatre with Harry Lennix. Believe it or not Former Vice President Al Gore, his wife tipper and Former Mayor Richard Daley and his wife Maggie, were some of the first people I told because they were in attendance at my show the day I found out! Yeah, I guess my life has never really been average.
If there was a movie about your life what would it be called?
Sybil. Oh wait, that’s already been used. The truth is my life has sooo many layers, layers that my public don’t get to see. Although I try to give a glimpse or two through MissLori.TV, relating some of my underbelly experiences in a way that hopefully helps others. So, even though I am known for my SMILE in truth my life sports every emotion and facial expression. So maybe “Eyes Closed, Heart Open; Miss Lori Unplugged”.
It’s Summer! What’s Cookin?
It’s officially summer! Almost. You know I think that cooking is such a great activity to do with your kids! As the days heat up, cool down with these yummy recipes: Mighty Mango SUPER Smoothies made with SQ1 mango and quinoa!
1 (2oz.) Square One Organic Mango cup, frozen 
1 (2oz.) Square One Organic Quinoa cup, frozen
½ cup frozen organic fruit (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or peaches)
1 cup Vanilla Rice DreamÒ rice milk
Run frozen mango and quinoa cups briefly under warm water to loosen. Remove foil and pop mango and quinoa into blender container. Add remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth.
Yield: 1 ¾ cups
Variation: Mighty Mango Melon SUPER Smoothie
Substitute ½ cup organic cantaloupe or watermelon chunks for frozen fruit. Reduce rice milk to ½ cup and add ½ cup Rice DreamÒ organic vanilla non-dairy frozen dessert.
Tips for Leftovers: Smoothie Popsicles
Spoon any extra smoothie mixture into 3-oz paper cups. 
Insert one baby spoon to use as popsicle stick into each cup. Freeze until mixture is solid. Peel cup from popsicles and enjoy!
OR
Check out these cut popsicle molds from Land of Nod. They are BPA-free!
The Children’s Book Pairing with this recipe is Stella Luna by Jannell Cannon. On the SQ1 Children’s CD rock out to the Vitamin C and Porridg
What’s Up Doc? Lather Up!
Warm weather and sweet sunshine rays are just around the corner! We’re looking to the experts in the industry for the 411 on sunscreens. Check out what Environmental Working Group has to say below:
Does your sunscreen actually protect your family? Or are the claims just marketing hype?
Only a quarter of the more than 800 beach and sports sunscreens analyzed by Environmental Working Group for our 2012 Sunscreen Guide meet our standards for effectiveness and safety. But we’re happy to report that’s actually progress! The sunscreen industry is taking notice. This time last year we could only recommend 20 percent of the sun protection products we evaluated, and in 2010 it was even worse: just 1-in-12.
You demanded that the market offer you better options, and sunscreen makers listened. To keep up the momentum, we need you to keep demanding improved sunscreens. One-in-four is better than last year, but it’s not good enough for your family.
A quarter of this year’s products still contain vitamin A ingredients that accelerate the growth of skin tumors and lesions on
sun-exposed skin, according to recent government studies. Also, 56 of the products we reviewed had no active ingredients that protect against the sun’s damaging UVA rays. And the industry continues to load store shelves with sunscreens that claim misleading, sky-high SPF ratings that may protect against sunburn-causing UVB rays but leave skin vulnerable to UVA.
Sort through the sunscreen noise – click here for EWG’s 2012 Sunscreen Guide.
You’ll find:
- Our top-rated sunscreens.
- Our updated Hall of Shame, which highlights many of the gimmicks used to market children’s sunscreens.
- How your sunscreen ranks in our database. (Hint: Leading brands like Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat didn’t make the cut.)
We hope our research helps your family enjoy the sun safely this summer.
What’s Up Doc? Celiac Awareness Month
May is Celiac Awareness Month and our good friend, Jasmine Jafferali, MPH, ACE-CPT has written a fantastic article to share with the SQ1 crowd on this topic!
Jasmine is the Program Director for Healthy Results, Ltd, and Program Coordinator for Educational Fitness Solutions, Inc. She has a diverse fitness background with over ten years of fitness and wellness industry experience working in campus recreation, corporate wellness, and a high-end commercial health club setting. She has presented on a wide range of health and fitness topics for the community, at major corporations, and at national and international conferences. Jasmine specializes in Maternal and Child Health and Wellness focusing on pre and postnatal fitness and is a Master Trainer for Healthy Moms® Fitness and Resist-a-ball®.
an autoimmune disease which effects the villi in the small intestine. (basically your small intestine goes from a shag carpet to a linoleum floor). There is no more villi to help absorb vital nutrients that is crucial for the body to function. While 97% of Celiacs go undiagnosed, approximately 90 million suffer from a gluten intolerance or gluten sensitivity. While symptoms may be similar to Celiac Disease, one would need to undergo a series of screenings to get an official Celiac diagnosis. The University of Chicago has one of the best research institutes on Celiac disease in the country. (In fact they do a free blood screening each fall!)
Doctors are very unfamiliar with this disease. There are almost 300 different symptoms related to Celiac disease. Hopefully, you and your family can begin finding answers to whatever is ailing your health. Take the research and have an open discussion with your health care provider. Click on the health issue to find the research study.
What are the symptoms?
- Abdominal cramping and pain
- Anemia
- Canker sores
- Chronic diarrhea
- Delayed growth or short stature (common in children)
- Dyspepsia
- Fatigue (especially right after a meal)
- Hypoglycemia (pre-diabetes)
- Infertility/miscarriage and PCOS
- IBS (including constipation, chronic diarrhea, bloating, gas, nausea, acid reflux)
- chronic migraines, foggy thinking
- Chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia
- psychiatric disorders including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia
- Bone and joint pain including Arthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis
According to other medical literature, people with the following conditions may benefit considerably from a gluten-free diet:
- Autism
- Ataxia (loss of balance)
- Cognitive problems
- Down’s syndrome
- Multiple sclerosis
- Neuromyelitis (inflammation of the nervous system)
- Osteoporosis
- Parkinson’s disease
- Peripheral neuropathies
- Seizures
- Thyroid Disease
- Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes
It is estimated that 500,000 people will get diagnosed with Celiac disease thanks to more research. All of this research is also finding that people who suffer from any of the above symptoms or diseases show a decrease in their symptoms, recover fast, have better digestion which ensures nutrients are being fed into the body through the small intestine. When the small intestine is damaged by eating gluten, it can have the above effects (fatigue, anemia, digestive issues). By eliminating the offending food, digestive healing may begin.
If you feel you have Celiac or a gluten sensitivity, I recommend making an appointment with the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center to schedule a blood test before you take gluten out of your diet. Click here for their contact info.
The problem with most people is they are afraid to find out if they have Celiac or a gluten sensitivity because it means bye bye yummy foods, right? That is not the case anymore. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s article, Gluten free is going mainstream and how to navigate around the city of Chicago gluten-free!
Squareoneorganics 