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Gluten Sensitivity and Celiac Forum 2010, an Invitation and Giveaway!

If you have been reading my blog for long, or happen to ‘Like’ my Facebook page, then you know how much I love Dr. Vikki Petersen’s educational videos!  In fact, I have 22 of her videos on my video page.  Really, I love her and what she is doing for the gluten-free community!  More specifically, that she is taking the time to educate people like me about the impact (as well as demystifying the sheer complex nature) of gluten sensitivity (which includes celiac), through her FREE videos on YouTube.

Who is Dr. Vikki Petersen?

The following excerpt is from the HealthNOW Medical Center website, with my bold emphasis added (especially for those of you out there that might still be a bit skeptical of ‘alternative’ medicine.  I know you are out there because I used to be one and I am still related to several of you, LOL!  And no, I am not implying that you should go and dump your MD’s, but I wholeheartedly believe the two should go hand in hand). 😉

Dr. Vikki Petersen, a Chiropractor and Certified Clinical Nutritionist, is co-founder and co-director of the renowned HealthNow Medical Center in Sunnyvale, California.

Acclaimed author of a new book, “The Gluten Effect”- celebrated by leading experts as an epic leap forward in gluten sensitivity diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Vikki is acknowledged as a pioneer in advances to identify and treat gluten sensitivity. Recently featured in an exclusive interview on CNN Headline News, Dr. Vikki is also endorsed by the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness & The Gluten Intolerance Group of North America for her contributions to gluten awareness in our countrycontinue reading…

The thing that really hit home with me personally about HealthNow Medical Center is their philosophy of True Health.

What is True Health? (Again, the following is from the HealthNow website):

True Health is getting to the root cause of any problem, rather than only treating symptoms.  Diagnosing and treating root cause is of critical importance to the successful resolution of any health care problem.

Our bodies are incredible machines designed to function optimally, without symptoms, well past the age of 100.  If the body does have symptoms it is a sign of malfunction.  Symptoms are the only way our bodies have of communicating with us.  These symptoms let us know that our body is having a problem.  What happens when we take pain relievers so that we can’t feel the pain any more?  Has that corrected the problem?  Temporary relief of symptoms is just that, temporary.  It doesn’t resolve the underlying cause of the problem.

Malfunction precedes most major diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes by at least 10 years.  What if malfunction could be detected soon enough and corrected?  Would many life-threatening diseases be prevented?  We believe the answer to be a resounding “Yes”!  And this, in summary, is what we are committed to at HealthNOW and what “True Health” actually means.

“False Health” is, unfortunately, practiced much too abundantly in our country.  Patients arrive to see their doctors with pain, fatigue and other problems only to be:

  • sent home with a drug that masks the symptoms, has potentially dangerous side effects and/or does nothing to address the root cause of the symptom, or
  • told that their symptoms are “normal” or “common” for someone their age and not to worry about it.

This, we believe, is short-sighted because while the symptom is being masked with a medication or ignored entirely, the underlying root cause is continuing to worsen as time goes by.

Many patients are never spoken to about getting to the root cause of their problem.  The only option they’ve ever been given is symptomatic relief.  So we are not surprised when patients sometimes look shocked at the concept of correction.  They often are amazed that true correction is actually available and often ask why no one has ever offered it to them before.  continue reading…

In addition to Dr. Vikki’s videos, she and her husband have written a book called “The Gluten Effect.” I personally own this book and definitely recommend it!  In fact, I am giving away a FREE copy of the book, courtesy of Dr. Vikki Petersen and HealthNOW Medical Center at the end of this post! 😀

Which brings me to the main purpose of this post, to tell you about an upcoming event being hosted by HealthNOW Medical Center:

HealthNOW is hosting the second annual Gluten Sensitivity and Celiac Forum event.

Join us Saturday, October 16th from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. at the beautiful Crowne Plaza Cabana Hotel in Palo Alto, CA.

Learn from international experts in the field who will present the latest breakthroughs in gluten sensitivity and celiac disease.

A light lunch will be served and a variety of vendors will be sampling gluten-free products!

Here are a few of the things you can expect to learn about while attending this year’s forum:

  • About a brand new laboratory test for gluten sensitivity.
  • How gluten causes a vast array of hormonal problems and degenerative diseases.
  • What is a nutritious gluten-free diet.
  • If gluten is potentially harmful to everyone.

Tickets are $40 in advance and $50 at the door.
Anyone who purchases their tickets before the 8th of October is entered into a raffle with a chance to win gluten-free prizes!

To see the lineup of speakers (including one of my personal favorites, Dr. Rodney Ford, he is such a phenomenal speaker!  Have you seen the videos of Dr. Ford speaking at June’s GIG conference yet? So funny!) and buy tickets:  http://healthnowmedical.com/gluten_forum/index.html


To enter for a chance to win a FREE ticket to the upcoming Gluten Sensitivity and Celiac Forum on October 16th in Palo Alto, CA as well as a FREE copy of “The Gluten Effect,” all you need to do is leave a comment to this post about:

What particular topic would you like Dr. Vikki Petersen to address in an upcoming video post?

Bonus Entry Opportunities (As always, these are strictly optional.  Should you choose to do any though, just be sure to leave a separate comment for each task you complete as this is how I keep track of entries). 😀

  • Share the link to this giveaway on Facebook.

I will use the Random Number Generator to pick the lucky winner on Monday, October 4th, 2010.

Good Luck! 😀

Comments

  1. I would like to hear Dr. Peterson's thoughts on how our medical and pharmaceutical community can be encouraged to learn more about celiac disease. So often it seems as if there isn't much research done on it, maybe because there isn't the incentive of the "glory" of developing a cure for a disease that we already know the cure — avoid all gluten. The longer celiacs go undiagnosed, the more they will need medical treatments for the damage that gluten causes to their symptoms.

  2. Suzette Reagan says

    I would love to hear her thoughts on why our insurance companies believe it is okay to deny celiacs coverage for nutritionists and dietitians when this is a disease 100% controlled by diet.

  3. Lorraine Corvino says

    I have been looking into alternative medicine for my son. Been talking with someone from my local health food store about it. Not quite sure if I trust him completely.

    Would love to read about all my options concerning Celiac and know that I am doing right by my son.

    Thanks so much for all the great info you put out there for us !!

  4. I agree with the above comments. Why are doctors not being trained to think "possibly celiac"? I now have osteoperosis (sp?) because of untreated celiac for probably 10 years. And my biggest problem is why are pharmacists not REQUIRED to tell you whether your prescribed medication is gluten free. I was sent home at 7:30 at night with a serious case of pneumonia (they wanted me to go to the hospital but I was afraid I'd be glutened in the hospital) and 3 prescriptions – and the pharmacist checked for about 5 minutes and then said "I don't know if these contain gluten". How can these be allowed. By the way, my daughter got on the computer and was able to find out in 2 minutes whether I could take the medication.

  5. I would love to hear more on her thoughts about untreated celiac as the driver behind other isues such as rheumatoid arthritis.

  6. I Like’ HealthNow Medical Center on Facebook as "Lisa Selmon Vance"

  7. I Follow’ @HealthNow_ on Twitter as @LisaSVance

  8. I ■Subscribe to The Gluten Doctors (HealthNOW Medical Center’s blog) in my Google Reader

  9. I ■Subscribe to HealthNOW’s YouTube channel as LisaSVance

  10. Would love to here more about the testing methods available. Which companies are covered by insurance?

    Thanks for all you do!

    Barb

  11. leda wagner says

    yes, it is unfortunate that insurance doesn't cover nutritionists (kaiser does provide dietician for celiacs) and equally unfortunate that many doctors are not educated in celiac and gluten intolerance and resultingly do not recognize how many of their patients would benefit from gluten free. Likewise, as consumers and patients every individual needs to make him/herself educated and be proactive about their own health.

    • Leda,

      I COULD NOT agree with you more in that we all need to educate ourselves (just be aware of the sources) about our own health. After all, it is our price to pay for what we do not know.

      Hugs,
      Heidi

  12. leda wagner says

    subscribed to glutendoctor's blog

  13. leda wagner says

    subscribed to HealthNow's You Tube

  14. Thank you, Heidi! There are so MANY important questions that COULD be asked! What I've read of Dr. Vikki's work before was so informative, and so common-sense, and so readable, I really look forward to this book!

    • Pat, I know you will love it, Dr. Vikki has been so helpful in helping me understand all the "big questions" I've always pondered about the craziness of gluten sensitivity!

      Enjoy!

      xo,
      Heidi

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