Deadly Habit #2 on Dr. Oz Today: Not Eating Breakfast!

I love Dr. Oz, even if there was that little clip at the end of the show on celiac disease that was incorrect. In case you did not see it, Dr. Oz said something to the effect of (this is not verbatim, just from memory): “If you suspect you have celiac disease, try the gluten free diet for 3 weeks and if you feel better, consider getting tested for celiac disease.” This is not exactly accurate information, but maybe Dr. Oz meant to try the diet and if you feel better, see a doctor (then let that doctor tell you to go on a gluten challenge!). The fact is, if you are testing for celiac disease, you MUST be eating gluten. If you are not eating gluten, then (if you have it) the antibodies will start to go away; that is why the GF diet is the only “cure/therapy” for celiac disease. No gluten, no antibodies (well, eventually)! So if you feel better, then why bother going through all of the invasive testing? There are plenty of reasons, but I will save that for another post.

If you are looking into getting tested, make sure your doctor tests you for the celiac disease panel which includes (the following information is from The University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research):

There is a particular series of blood tests called the ‘Celiac Panel”. These tests measure your immune system’s response to gluten in the food you eat.

tTG-IgA or tissue transglutaminase-IgA
AGA-IgA or Antigliadin IGA
Total IGA

The presence of tTG antibodies is highly suggestive of CD, while AGA can be elevated also in cases of wheat allergy.

I think it is the perfect example of how difficult the gluten-free diet can be, and how much misinformation is still out there on celiac disease and living gluten-free. Knowledge about celiac disease is moving at a lightning fast pace these days, what is true today, may not be true tomorrow. What you read on the internet may very well have been written 4 or more years ago (heck, even 6 months ago!) and may no longer be true. It is enough to make even Dr. Oz not always get it right and that kind of makes me feel good because when I occasionally mess up (and I do!), now I can tell myself that even Dr. Oz made a mistake! 🙂 The things I do to ease my guilt sometimes. 🙂

One last thing on this topic before I launch into the importance of breakfast! I just bought a new book on celiac disease and Dr. Alessio Fasano is one of the authors. Dr. Fasano is my go to doctor for the most up to date (and dare I say FASCINATING) research on celiac disease. Quite frankly, you might consider me a Dr. Fasano groupie! 😉 The book is titled “Fast Facts: Celiac Disease” and is authored by Geoffrey Holmes, M.D., Ph.D., FRCP, Carlo Catassi, M.D., and Alessio Fasano, M.D. The book was just recently published in August of 2009, so it is current information. I STRONGLY recommend and urge all physicians, especially primary care doctors and pediatricians, (since these are the doctors that people see most often before getting to a specialist) to get this book. The book is actually geared toward primary care teams and gastroenterologists-in-training (as well as anyone who wants to know more about the disease). It is fairly easy to read too, even for someone like me who is not trained in the medical field. It was one of the best purchases I have ever made for $20.00! You can find the book here on Amazon.com. I am not quite finished reading it but as soon as I am done, I am going to do a post on it.  I will say this: When I was first diagnosed, everything I read indicated that celiac disease is a disease that primarily affects people of Northern European decent, which had to do with the cultivation of wheat some 10,000 years ago in warmer climates near the equator. Since wheat didn’t begin to be cultivated in northern Europe until 6,ooo or so years ago, it was once thought that the people of that region had not had enough time for their digestive systems to adapt to gluten. We all began as hunters and gatherers, not farmers. Anyway, according to the book “Fast Facts: Celiac Disease“, that theory has since been rejected, as there is not a lesser prevalence of celiac disease in the Middle East. Apparently, celiac disease is being seen more often in areas like North Africa, the Middle East and India! So, if you are anything like my mom, who thinks because her ancestors do not hail from Scandinavia, then she can’t have or get celiac disease… that information is wrong. (Love ya mom :-D). There is also a lot of information on Dermatitis Herpetiformis (which I also have),

Ready for breakfast? 🙂 LOL!

Dr. Oz did a great segment today on “7 Deadly Habits You Need to Break Now,” and one of them is not eating breakfast. I will be the first to admit, I am not a breakfast eater most of the time, and neither is Mike (“isn’t coffee a food group?”…I kid you not, he said this to me once). Not because I do not want to eat it, but I forget to eat it. I am also not a huge fan of breakfast foods, I like cereal from time to time as well as the occasional breakfast casserole but for the most part, if my “breakfast” is not coffee (black only for me please) I tend to gravitate towards a smoothie or (hope this doesn’t gross you out if it is the early morning hour when you read this) baked wild salmon. I am not talking lox, but an actual salmon filet with Tzatziki Sauce. I never use tartar sauce and if you are not a huge fish fan, I encourage you to try Salmon with Tzatziki sauce, it does a nice job of “hiding” any fishy flavor that might offend some people.

My Smoothie:

Smoothie components: Non-Dairy milk beverage (I rotate but never use soy, my mom is a breast cancer survivor and soy makes me nervous). I use frozen blueberries and either strawberries, blackberries or raspberries. I like tart flavors. I also throw in some flax seeds.

Yummy!

Salmon with Tzatziki Sauce

Whatever your breakfast tendencies are, just remember how important this meal is! Whether or not Mike and I get around to eating breakfast, my boys do not leave the house without a healthy breakfast, it is important to have a balanced meal in order to stay engaged in class. Mike and I have decided to commit to eating breakfast everyday as one of our New Year’s “Improvements.” We do not do the “Resolution” thing because it seems to add extra pressure that only makes us feel like total losers when we quit! 🙂 If it is an “improvement,” we seem to be much more successful! Last year, we started to recycle and 6 months later, we gave up paper towels for reusable towels. Baby Steps. 🙂

Check out this information and get some cereal coupons while you are at it (yea!) courtesy of General Mills through MyBlogSpark (click here for a list of General Mills GF products!):

Recently, General Mills announced a commitment to further reduce sugar in cereals advertised to kids under 12 to single digit grams of sugar per serving. The company has already been reducing sugar in cereals while increasing key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, and providing whole grain.

Did you know that ready-to-eat cereal eaters consume less fat, less cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters? Cereals also deliver important vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients, making cereal a top source of key nutrients in children’s diets.

Other cereal benefits:

• Ready-to-eat cereals, including presweetened cereals, account for only 5% of sugar in children’s diets.
• Ready-to-eat cereal is the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child’s diet today.
• More frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights and lower Body Mass Index measures.

Studies also demonstrate the benefits of eating breakfast. A 1998 study showed that children who eat breakfast tend to perform better at school. Compared to children who skip breakfast, children who eat breakfast score higher on tests, are less likely to miss class or be tardy, have fewer reported discipline problems, and make fewer trips to the office.

For more information about kids and cereals, please visit Cereal Health and Wellness.

Right now if you visit here you will find a $1 off coupon for one of four General Mills cereals.