Endoscopy

I have to admit – I don’t know if I actually have celiac disease. That should probably be made clear before I get too far into this blog all about Gluten Free Food. A few years ago, I was food allergy tested and told I was allergic to wheat, rye & barley – or gluten. At the time, I didn’t even know it was a disease. The doctor just recommended a diet that excluded gluten. It took me awhile to figure it out, but after almost a year, I went gluten free. I never had the biopsy. Until last week.

When I started school at Stanford last year, I looked into the specialty clinics here and found a Celiac Sprue Clinic run by Dr. Gary Gray & Dr. Gail Pyle. What with my great Cardinal Insurance thru school, it only cost me a $10 co-pay to see a specialist. I gave Dr. Pyle my whole medical history – told her about how my health had slowly declined, how my brother had juvenile diabetes, my mother had thyroid problems… etc. And she asked if I had a biopsy. Nope. At the time I should have had one, I didn’t know anything about it. I was living in Europe trying to figure out this whole gluten-free thing, and doing a very bad job of it. It wasn’t until I was back home in the states, that I realized I should have had a biopsy. And by that time, I had already been gluten-free for a number of months, and well on my way to healing my intestines and my body. I would like to mention, that I was feeling great by this time, except for the few times when I got a hold of some wheat accidentally and felt like I had the flu for a day while my immune system took care of everything.

I had been truly gluten free for over 2 years when I went to see Dr. Pyle. I had the blood tests done to test for antibodies and for the genes. No antibodies (no gluten in my diet), but I did have one of the genes. But these were still not conclusive results for celiac disease. Dr. Pyle wanted me to go on her “gluten challenge,” which consisted of eating the equivalent of 3 pieces of bread every day for at least 6 weeks. I honestly thought she was crazy. There was no way I was going to risk being ill for 6 weeks while I was getting my masters at Stanford, but at the same time I wanted to actually know if I had it. I decided to put it off – I said “next summer.” So, this past summer, I started eating wheat again. It wasn’t as bad as I expected. I never had the horrible stomach cramps like I expected. Was I run down? Maybe. Did my health change? A bit. I am always really conscious of how I am feeling and what is going on in my body. I know I slept a lot more this summer than I usually do. I know there were days when I was more tired than I should have been. But do I actually have celiac disease? I have no idea.

I do know that wheat will never be a big part of my diet. I know that it’s not good for me and that it doesn’t make me feel great. The last 2 years of being gluten-free taught me a lot about healthy eating and what is truly good food. Wheat, breads, pastas; they are all just filler to me. I’d rather eat a lot of other things. (Well except for beer. There is nothing like beer, and I will truly miss it if I have celiac disease.) So even if the results of my endoscopy and my blood test come back negative – I will still cut gluten out of my diet.

But for anyone who is curious what it is like to get an endoscopy – it’s not that bad. Far easier than I expected. They wheeled me into the procedure room, started my IV, and sprayed some numbing stuff on the back of my throat. It smelled like bananas, but tasted like bad whiskey. That was probably the most unpleasant part of it. Then once the antithesia kicked in, Dr. Gray put a tube in my mouth and I swallowed the scope. They say you’re not supposed to remember the procedure, but I did. It felt funny, this little scope poking around in my stomach. It made me think I had a little animal running around in there. I really wanted to see the tv screen while he was taking the samples, but I was facing the wrong direction. It can’t have lasted more than 15 minutes. As the drugs started to wear off though, the scope down my throat started to choke a bit and I wanted to get it out. And then he was done – and I feel asleep for a few minutes, and was out in the recovery area. Really an easy procedure. So don’t be worried if you have to go in for one.

I’m still eating wheat for a couple more days. I go in for another blood test tomorrow to check for the antibodies (IgA). I’m glad to be going to a clinic, which specializes in Celiac Disease so I can figure this all out. Either way the results come back, I think I’ll be happy. If positive, then I know what I have, and I have a clear line of action to take – no gluten whatsoever. I’m accustomed to eating and living gluten free, so I can easily go back to it. If it’s negative, it means my health is not at risk, and I don’t have to worry about food contamination or accidentally eating gluten. And I can drink beer…

News on the Wire

A Stanford Professor and his students are working on a potential therapy for gluten intolerance. I have to be proud as this research is being done at my school. I'm not one to root for athletic teams, but I will certainly cheer on Professors that due good work. (Another Professor just won a Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work on genetics with application to treating human disease. Pretty cool stuff.)

The Chemical Engineer, Chaitan Khosla, has been studying the gluten protein and why it takes so long to digest. As you may now, the reason Celiacs should not have wheat is they do not have the enzyme to digest the protein. Professor Khosla are looking into using alternative enzymes that can break the bonds of the protein, which would then allow natural digestion to occur.

It's still quite a few years out, but it'll happen. And then we can all take a little pill when we want that gorgeous piece of Chocolate Cake at a party. On the other hand, I know being GF has made me eat healthier. I'm not sure I want a little pill that would allow me to eat whatever I want.
Check out a profile on the Professor and his work here.

Mocha Brownies

The beauty of chocolate brownies, is they are naturally gluten free. I love these brownies, not only because they are so decadent, and gooey, but there is no flour in them whatsoever. That's what I search for in Gluten Free cooking, recipes that I am not substituting anything for flour. That way you don't feel like you're actually sacrificing anything.

This recipe was adapted from a great gluten free & dairy free cookbook: The Gluten, Wheat, & Dairy Free Cookbook, by Nicola Graimes. Highly recommend it for anyone who also has problems with dairy, like I do.

5 ½ oz (150 g) good-quality semi-sweet chocolate (70% cocoa solids)

3 ½ oz (100g) dairy-free margarine, plus extra for greasing

1 tsp instant espresso

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup ground almonds (ground very fine)

¾ cup sugar

4 eggs separated

Confectioner’s sugar, to dust (optional)

Needed - double boiler (or saucepan with water, and bowl to fit inside), 2 medium size bowls, one large bowl. Cake or brownie pan.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease cake pan.

Melt the chocolate and margarine in a heatproof bowl placed over a pan of gently simmering water. Make sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir very occasionally until the chocolate and margarine have melted and are smooth.

Carefully remove the bowl from the heat. Let cool slightly, then stir in the coffee and vanilla extract. Add the almonds and sugar and mix well until combined. Lightly beat the egg yolks in a separate bowl. Add a spoonful of the chocolate mixture to the eggs, stir to combine, then add egg mixture to the chocolate mixture.

Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until they form stiff peaks. Gently fold a large spoonful of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remainder until completely incorporated.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until risen and firm on top but still slightly gooey in the center. Let cool in the pan, then turn out, remove the lining paper and cut into 12 pieces. Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving.

Since my handsome boyfriend is a fireman here in town, I sometimes go to the station for dinner. I brought these brownies to get the fireman approval. So if 4 big firemen like these babies, anyone will. I got many gooey, mouthful "Fankyou! Vese are great!"

Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself...

I love food. Let me repeat; I love food. Bordering on obsession. I start thinking about meals days in advance. If I could eat all day long I would. If didn't live in the woods in the mountains where we get 12+ feet of snow in the winter, I would have a garden of wonderful things growing all year long. I read cookbooks, cooking magazines, food blogs every free moment I have. I am an engineer & an environmentalist. I love the mountains and trees. I will take water in every form; whether it's rushing down a river, falling down as rain, a natural hot spring, powder on the mountain, or in my Nalgene, ready to drink.

I have been a lot of places, seen a lot of things, talked with many people, and yet I still have so much to learn. I am a beginner in so many things, but I find a lot of Joy in trying and experimenting. I know what true happiness is and I know love. I am a very blessed person and want to spread a little bit of my Joy & happiness to others. This blog is devoted to sharing my knowledge and love of food, which so happens to be Gluten Free. This is all about my gluten free style.