My Day at Dreagers Seminar on Gluten/Wheat Free

I was invited to visit the all day seminar at Dreagers in San Mateo yesterday and I chose 2 guest speakers to see. There was several speakers all day. One of them has written several books on wheat/gluten free cooking, by Jacqueline Mallorca. She was great and the head chef from Dreagers assisted her in baking her bread which we all had samples of and it was very good. Speaking of samples the store had plenty of wheat/gluten free samples and I was very impressed at how good everything tasted. The second speaker who invited me to attend was my new naturopathic Doctor, Dr. Laura Enfield. She was fantastic and had great information to share.
Here are a few highlights about gluten;
The most common result of gluten intolerance is 'celiac disease', other symptoms that may be related to an intolerance are; fatigue, headaches, joint/muscle pain, mood disorder, gastrointestinal distress, insomnia, respiratory distress, lactose intolerance, skin disorders to name just a few. According to U.S.News and World report nearly 15-25 percent of consumers are looking for gluten free products. They anticipate a large growth in this area. Dreagers and Whole Foods has quite a growing selection of wheat/gluten free products. I tried a cereal, 'Natures Path', very good and made yeast bread from 'Bob's Red Mill' bread mix and it was great!
So what happens in the body is that it treats gluten like a toxin and inflammation occurs and the body has an immune response. If you have an interest in this subject I would suggest researching on the internet and seeing your doctor to get tested.
Other suggestions she made during the discussion is to take probiotics regularly as the yogurts in the markets have very little active cultures and stay away from the highly sugary ones, buy plain and add your own flavors and sweetness such as honey, agave syrup, maple syrup, organic jams. Also stay away from cow's milk and try other types of milk such as goat, oat, almond, rice, etc. I love the vanilla flavors and use them regularly. Don't eat soy products every day, too much soy is not good for you either.
My motto is eat in moderation and don't deprive yourself of foods unless you have a physical allergy or other ailment or doctors orders. I never would want to give up my morning tea or chocolate!