Elizabeth posted a review of two customized gluten-free cereal mixes that she created through our website on her blog. The mixes she created are shown in the picture to the right. She wrote that “both blends were a delight! The dried fruits were plentiful but didn’t overwhelm the cereal. Plus, it was a hoot to get bags of cereal with my name on them!” Thanks, we liked your cereal names, too!

Elizabeth must know, she started her review by saying “Oh, cereal, how I love thee!” and admitted to currently having eight boxes of cereal at home. We only like to add that our careful selection of only the highest quality ingredients obviously pays off. Gluten-free has never been so tasty!

Custom Choice Cereal celebrates this by offering (on average) a 21% discount on the ingredients making up our Irish flag above. Don’t wait and start mixing your Irish gluten-free cereal now!

We really like that Molly has done her homework, points out a few products that contain the evil “hidden” gluten, and mentions how to get tested for celiac disease. Watch and listen what Molly has to say about Custom Choice Cereal’s gluten-free cereal starting exactly 2:00 minutes into the video below. She thinks that our custom gluten-free cereal mixes make a great gift for an Easter basket, and we can only agree with her!

Any food recalls and especially those involving salmonella should not be taken lightly! Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children and others with weakened immune systems!

• Gluten-Free Naturals Pancake Mix – UPC 187058 000043
  Lots 09159 (expires 12/8/2010), 09320 (expires 5/16/12) and 09322 (expires 5/18/12)
• Gluten-Free Naturals Light & Moist Yellow Cake Mix – UPC 187058 000067
  Lots 09083 (expires 9/24/10) and 09322 (expires 5/18/12)
• Gluten-Free Naturals Cookie Blend Flour – UPC 187058 000029
  Lots 09086 (expires 6/24/10), 09219 (expires 11/7/10) and 10035 (expires 5/4/11)

These mixes were sold online and in stores in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions of the country. GFN Foods stated that this is a voluntary recall triggered by sourcing a soy flour from a company called Thumb Oilseed Producers Cooperative. At this company, traces of salmonella were found on a non-processing surface during an FDA inspection. No salmonella was found in the flour or on the actual processing equipment.

Please make sure you have a look at the lists and check your cabinet for any of the products mentioned!

We just came across a article published on the blog RonPaulIsHope that discussed the possible relationship between celiac disease and asthma. It mentions that

• a 2005 study of (a small sample of ) 86 celiacs in the Maltese islands revealed that 27.8% of them also had asthma.  Asthma was thus was statistically significant more common in patients with celiac disease than in the general Maltese population
• asthma preceeded celiac disease in 16 patients, and a “gluten-free diet had led to improvement in asthma in 6 patients, possible improvement in 2 patients, and no change in 8 patients” in the 2005 study
• a 2001 study in Finland looked at the 1987 Finnish Medical Birth Register data of 60,254 births and concluded that “the cumulative incidence of asthma in children with celiac disease (24.6%) [...] was significantly higher than in children without it (3.4%)”

We can only reiterate the conclusion that is drawn at the end of the article: the studies do not prove a causal relationship between celiac disease and asthma. However, they suggest that they might be correlated. Hopefully this will be the subject of further research.

The main take-away is that if you suffer from celiac disease or gluten intolerance and have asthma, going on a gluten-free diet can help reduce the severity of your asthma.

We were especially intrigued by a particular service they provide: finding a registered dietitian in your area. The search mask allows you to filter by zip code or State, a certain mile radius, and also gives an option to specify the service you are looking for (individual consultation, group consultation or programs/workshops). Custom Choice Cereal thought that the best part is the selection of 26 “specialties”, including

• Alternative Nutrition
• Digestive Disorders
• Gastrointestinal Diseases/Disorders
• Celiac Disease
• Diabetes/Hypoglycemia
• Food Allergies/Intolerances
• Weight Control
• Sports Nutrition

Search results display names, addresses, phone numbers, areas of expertise, a list of services provided and languages the services are offered in. Overall a great site that we highly recommend!

It then dawned on us: you are the decision makers and the best source of information that we have to improve Custom Choice Cereal, so we ask your opinion! It would be absolutely outstanding if you could have a look at the three pictures below and comment on this blog which of these options – orange, blue or yellow – you like the best.

Thank you very much for your feedback, your input makes a big difference!

As you can probably tell from the title of this post we want to share a couple of our findings in no particular order.

• The Philadelphia 76ers will host their 3rd Celiac Awareness Night on March 26th.  Their opponent that night will be the Atlanta Hawks.  We say “Thank you!” for helping to raise awareness for celiac disease!  A special discount for the game is available on the 76ers website with the code “CELIAC”
• Researchers from Columbia University’s Celiac Disease Center studied the Body Mass Index (BMI) of 369 patients proven have celiac disease from 1981 until 2007.  “Classical” femal celiacs were all revealed as predictors for low BMI.  Once on a gluten-free diet, over 50% of the overweight and obese patients lost weight, and of the group who initially had a low BMI, 42.4% attained a normal weight
• Triumph Dining’s Essential Gluten-Free Grocery Shopping Guide is now available as an iPhone application

These are just a couple of items we came across, please feel free to share your findings by commenting on this post!

Dr. Richard N. Fedorak from the University of Alberta has helped to develop a drug called Larazotide Acetate.

The drug comes in form of a pill and has shown to prevent some of the damage to the small intestine that gluten. While it is not meant as a cure for celiac disease it can provide some freedom and relief after an accidental ingestion of gluten. The drug could become available as early as 2012.

It’s a small step but at least a step in the right direction. As part of our customer service we will as always keep our ears and eyes open and update you in case we hear about any new developments!