Continental Airlines Stops Serving "Special Meals"

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NOTE: This information is from the Celiac Disease Blog by Nancy Lapid, About.com Guide to Celiac Disease.

Continental Airlines to Stop Serving Gluten-Free Meals on International Flights

Sunday March 14, 2010

Continental is discontinuing gluten-free meals on international flights. We need to all write to the CEO about this problem - please join in writing and make your concerns heard!

I read this today on Erin S.'s Gluten-Free Fun blog. I know Erin personally but I still couldn't believe the news. I went to the Continental Airlines website and saw: "Continental Airlines will be reducing our special meals program effective March 15." Then I called Continental myself, and their reservations agent told me that not only are the gluten-free meals being discontinued, but the airline won't serve special meals for diabetics either.

Given how difficult it is to bring foods from home past airport security these days, this policy prevents people with celiac disease from flying internationally on Continental. I for one would be willing to pay extra for a gluten-free meal, but the new policy as it stands now is thoughtless and insulting. The celiac community needs to respond.

Erin has a great sample letter on her site. You can send email to:

Mr. Jeffery A. Smisek, CEO
jeff.smisek@coair.com

or write to:

Mr. Jeffery A. Smisek, CEO
Continental Airlines
P.O. Box 4607
Houston, Texas 77210-4607
United States

Note: This post has been updated to show the name of the current CEO.

Could a Virus Cause Gluten Sensitivity?

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This interesting tidbit is from a website called Top News You Can Use. It is fascinating and I think quite hopeful to think that gluten sensitivity could be caused by a virus. Next thing you know, they find a cure for that virus or at least something to limit its effects and life improves drastically for millions of us.

Virus Infections Linked with Gluten Intolerance

A new research has suggested that Virus infections may be a contributing factor in onset of gluten intolerance (coeliac disease).

The experts reveal that gluten intolerance may usually show no symptom, and people may not know that they are hit by the disease if their symptoms are mild or uncharacteristic.

Gluten intolerance is an autoimmune reaction in the small intestine. The gluten that occurs naturally in grains such as wheat, barley and rye hampers the intestinal villi, triggering problems with nutrient absorption and potentially other problems too.

Gluten intolerance, an inherited predisposition, plays a vital role in the onset of the condition. The only known effective treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet.

Academy Research Fellow Päivi Saavalainen, who initiated the research into the hereditary risk factors for gluten intolerance, quoted: "Some of the genes we have identified are linked with human immune defense against viruses. This may indicate that virus infections may be connected in some way with the onset of gluten intolerance".


Here is another great article about a new drug that could even help repair intestines damaged by gluten.

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Slap You Silly Statistics about America's Health Woes

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I haven't been able to find a single argument that proves to me that gluten or high fructose corn syrup are good things for ANYONE, not to mention those of us with sensitivities to them. I hear from people every day who tell me they like what I have to say about gluten, corn and dairy (thank you!) but they are also quick to tell me that they are sure they do not have any food issues.

I know but apparently they don't know that there are countless people who have a problem with gluten who are asymptomatic. I also know that gluten sensitivity affects up to 144 million Americans, so if you think you are among the lucky it doesn't affect, I sure hope you have tested yourself every which way possible to try to rule out a gluten issue.

In case you are still skeptical that our food is wreaking havoc on our bodies, here are some eye-opening, slap-you-silly statistics that might make you consider your diet and how it can be improved. I am not saying bad food choices cause every single one of these ailments but I am saying that what you eat plays a major role in how you feel. I find it depressing that as a nation we are so very sick.

I've gathered this information from my library of health books, almost all of which are written by M.D.s or from websites such as the Center for Disease Control:

• Depression affects up to 18 million Americans yet 27 million Americans are taking antidepressants.

• 24 million Americans have diabetes (and that number seems to increase by the minute).

• The number of Americans with Type 2 diabetes has TRIPLED over the past 30 years.

• 75% of the world's population is lactose intolerant. 50 million Americans suffer from lactose issues.

• 50 million adult Americans suffer from heartburn at least once a month.

• 34% of Americans are obese.

• 11% of children aged 2-5 are overweight.

• 89% of Americans will develop hemorrhoids at one time or another in their lives.

• Autoimmune thyroid disease is the most common autoimmune disease in the nation.

• More than 12 million Americans have a thyroid condition and as many as 60 million are estimated to have a thyroid problem.

• By 2016, less than a decade from now, the number of American adults (those 22 and over) with autism is expected to be nearly 1.5 million.

• Autism affects as many as 1 in every 110 children in the United States.

• 80,700,000 people in the United States have one or more forms of cardiovascular disease.

• 73 million Americans have high blood pressure.

• 16 million Americans have coronary heart disease.

• 5.3 million Americans have heart failure.

• 6 million men and women of reproductive age in the USA are affected by infertility.

• 2.1 million Americans have Rheumatoid Arthritis.

• 1 out of 5 Americans suffers from Irritable Bowl Syndrome. It is one of the most frequently occurring gastrointestinal disorders.

• More than 25 million Americans will develop a peptic ulcer at some times in their lives.

• Crohn's Disease has spread like an epidemic since 1950 and it affects up to 1 million Americans.

• By the age of 55, 1 in 5 American women will have their uterus removed.

• 11 million Americans have cancer.

• 555,500 Americans will die from cancer, corresponding to 1,500 Americans a day.

• 1,284,900 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each day.

• An estimated 205,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year, with an estimated number of deaths at 40,000.

• 28 million Americans have migraines.

• An estimated 26% of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.

• Approximately 20 million American adults, or about 9.5% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year, have a mood disorder.

• Bipolar disorder affects approximately 5.7 million American adults, or about 2.6% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year

• Approximately 2.4 million American adults, or about 1.1 percent of the population age 18 and older in a given year,11 have schizophrenia.

• Gastritis accounts for more than 2 million doctor office visits each year in the U.S.

• More than 19 million Americans have chronic esophagitis.

• More than 1 million Americans have recurrent seizures.

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How Are Your Guts?

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Your guts might very well be inflamed. You might have symptoms and a suspicion that you have a gut problem caused by gluten (the protein source found in grains such as wheat and rye) or you might be REALLY unlucky and have a gut issue with no symptoms that alert you to it until it is too late.

It has been estimated that as many as 144 million Americans have a sensitivity to gluten. If you have one gut sensitivity, chances are high indeed that you probably have another sensitivity as well. Through trial and error, I have discovered that I cannot tolerate gluten, dairy or corn. Avoiding corn has been the hardest by far for me, since the food industry seemingly has never met a product it can't inject corn starch or high fructose corn syrup into. I honestly believe that high fructose corn syrup should be outlawed. It is good for nothing except causing horrible health problems.

Am I getting anyone's attention??? If 144 million of us have a gluten sensitivity, that means either YOU or someone you love has this issue. This is not just your Grandma's disease any longer.

Still don't believe me? How about this little fact: there has been a 400% increase in confirmed Celiac Disease diagnosis's. Here is an article that warns of what your future will look like if you ignore your gut: cancer, heart disease and early death.

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Autism and the Gluten Connection

We don't have children, and that was a conscious decision Jeff and I made together. If I did have a child and he/she had Autism, I know I would be beside myself with worry for that child twenty-four seven.

There is -- sadly -- a decent chance that our child could have/would have suffered from Austism. Autism, like Celiac's Disease, is on the rise. Autism Spectrum Disorder affects 1 in 150 children today with a new diagnosis being made every 20 minutes. Read this blog, get up and make yourself some hot tea, let your dogs outside, check in on Facebook and 20 minutes have gone by before you know it. And in that time, another child will receive the diagnosis of Austism.

Celiac's Disease is increasing as well. And how. A study from the Mayo Clinic (and several other partners) concluded that young people today are more than 4 times more likely to have Celiac's Disease than were young people in the 1950's.

What else is on the rise for unlucky kids today? Fatness. Super fatness, actually. Obesity rates for all of us, but particularly for children, are increasing by the moment.

Yet scientists still scratch their collective brain and say they can't say for sure tell us why any of the above is happening. I will give them a hint:

OUR FOOD IS UNHEALTHY

Do we really need years and years of study to figure this one out?

We can feed more people cheaper on the front end of food production now more than ever. Only problem is, on the back end, more and more of us are suffering from debilitating immune disorders.

I feel for parents with children who have Austism, Celiac's or who are obese. I feel worse for the children themselves. I wish I could scoop them all up and feed them whole foods with no gluten, dairy, corn or any of the other top food allergens.

I wish some parents would stop waiting for "a miracle cure" and act now for the health of their children. I wish restaurants would wake up and realize that there are millions of us with immune problems and special diets with cash on hand to eat out. We would flock to your restaurants if you made us safe food.

I wish most of all that the medical establishment would WAKE UP and look at food as a primary starting point of so very many autoimmune diseases.

I guess today is a day of wishful thinking.

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I have not tested myself for Celiac's Disease and here's why

I have not taken any of the numerous blood tests that one can take to see if I actually have Celiac's Disease. I could have Celiac's, though I suspect I am one of the 144 million Americans who have a gluten sensitivity.

Here is the rationale behind my decision not to test.

It was my caring Ear Nose Throat (ENT) doc who suggested to me last April that I quit gluten. She knew that I was hypothyroid and that I was still suffering from fatigue and other thyroid issues. She herself stopped eating gluten and felt better than she had in years. She recommended that I read "Gluten-Free Girl," and I ordered that book the day I got home from my appointment. Then I ordered 10 more books to get up to speed on gluten and all of its evils.

One thing my ENT told me is that she wasn't getting herself tested for Celiac's because she did not have faith in the reliability of any of the current tests available. She stopped eating gluten and slowly regained her own health. I did the same.

In the Celiac community, a lot of folks consider a small intestine biopsy to be the "gold standard" test. Yet even that test can leave you wondering if you have Celiac's or not. A normal biopsy does not necessarily exclude Celiac's Disease for life.

You can see if you have genetic markers for Celiac's but many feel there are too many false positives and false negatives. You can also have "Latent Celiac's Disease" where you have a negative test that turns positive several months or years later.

So why test at all???

To me, the proof is in the gluten-free pudding (which also has no dairy, of course!). I stopped eating gluten and then dairy (and as of today no more corn) and I felt better. Day by day, I am getting stronger and wiser.

If you do stop all gluten, then you can't later take the tests.

I do have some exciting news on the testing issue. I learned just this morning from a highly reliable pharmacist that a company called Nature Source is unveiling 6 new highly sensitive tests for gluten sensitivity in June. I will wait for those and take them, even though I have quit gluten.

It is a personal decision to test or not to test. Some people want to get a definitive answer. I don't think there really is a "for sure" answer, other than that age-old answer of listening to your body. If you feel better without gluten, avoid it like the plague. Same with dairy. Same with genetically modified corn. . . .

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Great article on-line article about gluten

My brother sent me this outstanding article on gluten and its devastating affect on so many of us.

Please take a minute or three to read this important article. It is written by an M.D. That way those of you who may be doubting what a lay person such as myself is saying about gluten . . . well, you can hear it straight from the horse's mouth (so to speak).

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Whitman Chocolate Samplers -- Mimi's yearly Christmas gift

My grandparents were not wealthy people. Mimi's husband -- Cecil, my grandfather -- worked his entire professional life as a telephone linesman. I can't hear Glenn Campbell's song "Lineman for the County" without thinking of Cecil.

Mimi could have worked as she had a college degree and she was a highly intelligent woman. I am sure if Mimi had not literally lost her mind to schizophrenia, she would have been a very good teacher. I will never forget having a conversation with my brother in our family kitchen when we were teens. We had just seen Warren Beatty's movie "Reds" and Mimi startled us both by adding a lot of correct historical information about the Russian Revolution. It startled us because she was so terrified of communists, yet she calmly explained Russian history to us that morning and for many years, we did not know she was quite insane.

Mimi and Cecil liked their routines, even if some of Mimi's were, well, crazy. Each and every year they gave me and my siblings small boxes of Whitman Samplers chocolate. They were meticulously wrapped and we knew what they were before we even opened the small boxes.

I find it sweet that they bought these small tokens for us. I find it terribly sad though that the dairy in the milk chocolate most likely made me sick, and probably my siblings as well.

Once you know you have an abnormal reaction to something as ever present as dairy or gluten, you learn to treat everything you want to eat with a degree of suspicion.

It is telling that the very foods my grandmother Mimi loved the most were the very ones that inflamed her body and her mind. And she innocently gave us a small Christmas gift every year that did the same to our bodies . . .

Are We Grain Gluttons??

We ARE grain gluttons. Not just wheat -- we eat too much corn, rice, etc.

My maternal Grandmother Mimi spent three-fourths of her long life living with the condition called Paranoid Schizophrenia. You have surely heard of it and know that if you have it, your mind plays tricks on you and you can have hallucinations and live in a great deal of fear.

Mimi loved her wheat toast, more than anyone I have ever known. She was severely anemic, which points to not absorbing nutrients in the gut, which points to a big problem with gluten. I think she also had a thyroid condition and the end result of not getting the right amount of thyroid is: paranoid schizophrenia.

I am hypothyroid, which means I do not get enough thyroid in my cells. I am thankfully on the right medication and have been able to get back on my feet and off the bed, where I spent nearly a year before I found the right doctor to help me help myself.

Along with cutting edge M.D.s, I now wonder: which comes first, an autoimmune problem such as a thyroid condition or a problem with gluten that results in an autoimmune condition?

I put my money on the gluten problem. It has been linked the following:


Malnutrition
Cancer
Osteoporosis
Kidney stones
Miscarriage or congenital malformation
Preterm delivery
Short stature
Seizures
Lactose intolerance
Infections
Dermatitis herpetiformis
Thyroid disease
Type 1 diabetes
Liver disease
Sjogren's syndrome
Autoimmune polyglandular syndrome --
Uncommon group of disorders that may include type 1 diabetes, Addison's disease (adrenal insufficiency), yeast infections, vitiligo (a skin disease), alopecia (hair loss), pernicious anemia or other conditions.
Collagen vascular diseases
Rheumatoid arthritis
Lupus
Polyarteritis nodosa
Scleroderma
Dermatomyositis


Makes you want to put down that piece of toast, doesn't it?

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Who is Mimi and Why Write About Her?

Mimi was my maternal grandmother. I should say, rather, that she still is my maternal grandmother, though she has that role in my life from her vantage point of being deceased. Just because she is dead, that doesn't make her not my grandmother.

Mimi and I were not close and there is a reason for that. She is dead, and there is a reason for that too; I mean a reason beyond the idea that we will all die, one day.

Mimi was crazy, literally. She was a paranoid schizophrenic. She didn't have a mild case either, if such a thing exists. For example, if she heard a Beetles song playing over the super market sound system, she'd begin screaming and run helter skelter for the door. She was certain that the Beetles were out to get her.

I am writing about her to try to make sense of my own life, and hers. I believe I know why she became so mentally ill. I hope in telling her story -- and my own -- that the two of us can provide answers for others who suffer from their own minds (and bodies) that fail them or even stalk them, as Mimi's mind did to her.

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