photo is courtesy of Robin Harris
National Celiac Association San Diego is a proud chapter of the
National Celiac Association
National Celiac Association
May is Celiac Awareness Month!
We here at the National Celiac Association (NCA) want to be one of the first to tell you, "Happy Celiac Awareness Month"! This month is all about you, our dedicated, caring, and compassionate community. It will be a busy month for everyone; full of events, activities, and ways that we can celebrate and bring attention to how we support one another. The amount of information that you will have at your fingertips this next month will be both inspiring and potentially overwhelming. To try to make things easier for you, we are providing this overview of the activities that we will be carrying out in May as a part of this community celebration.
Weekly giveaways are back! Each full week in May, we will randomly select six winners to receive a gift basket of samples and swag from one of our partner companies. Sign up today for your chance to win!
Trivia Night! The National Celiac Association is continuing our celebration of Celiac Awareness Month by hosting a virtual trivia night fundraiser on Thursday, May 29th! Want to win prizes while showing off your random knowledge?
Find events near you! Check out our events calendar for other fun events this month, including the Gluten Free Gallop 5k with NCA Denver Celiacs, Cookie Decorating with NCA Omaha, and more!
Shine a Light on Celiac! On May 16th, NCA will once again join with other domestic and international celiac organizations for the “Shine a Light” initiative. For the sixth year, groups are coming together to have local signs, buildings, bridges and other edifices illuminated green to bring awareness to celiac disease.
Gut-Brain Health and Celiac Disease: Caring for Your Second “Brain”
June 6th at 10:00 am PT
Dr Alessio Fasano, MD, Director of the Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center at Mass General for Children; Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School; and Professor of Nutrition at T.H. Chan School of Public Health, will speak about the “crosstalk” between the gut microbiome and the brain, focusing on developmental disorders and mental health issues in the context of gluten-related disorders.
Deanna Kelly, PharmD, BCPP, the Dr. William and Carol Carpenter Professor in Psychiatry for Mental Illness at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Director and Chief of the Treatment Research Program at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, will share her research on schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression, which are often diagnosed as part of the impressive range of celiac disease symptoms.
Jacqueline Wolf, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and gastroenterologist, Celiac Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, will moderate the seminar. Chris Rich, executive director of the National Celiac Association, will open and close the webinar.
A Q&A session follows the presentations; please submit general questions when you register or during the webinar on the Zoom platform.
Continuing Education Units (CEUs): This course (220323-RSS) is approved by the Boston Children’s Hospital’s Continuing Education Department for 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits ™ for physicians, 1.25 contact hours for nurses, 1.25 ACE CE continuing education credits for social workers, and 1.25 CEUs for RegisteredDietitians. Instructions for claiming credits will be made available during the webinar and transcripts will be available within 45 days.
Dr Alessio Fasano, MD, Director of the Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center at Mass General for Children; Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School; and Professor of Nutrition at T.H. Chan School of Public Health, will speak about the “crosstalk” between the gut microbiome and the brain, focusing on developmental disorders and mental health issues in the context of gluten-related disorders.
Deanna Kelly, PharmD, BCPP, the Dr. William and Carol Carpenter Professor in Psychiatry for Mental Illness at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Director and Chief of the Treatment Research Program at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, will share her research on schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression, which are often diagnosed as part of the impressive range of celiac disease symptoms.
Jacqueline Wolf, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and gastroenterologist, Celiac Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, will moderate the seminar. Chris Rich, executive director of the National Celiac Association, will open and close the webinar.
A Q&A session follows the presentations; please submit general questions when you register or during the webinar on the Zoom platform.
Continuing Education Units (CEUs): This course (220323-RSS) is approved by the Boston Children’s Hospital’s Continuing Education Department for 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits ™ for physicians, 1.25 contact hours for nurses, 1.25 ACE CE continuing education credits for social workers, and 1.25 CEUs for RegisteredDietitians. Instructions for claiming credits will be made available during the webinar and transcripts will be available within 45 days.
Staying on Top of The News: Highlights from the 20th International Celiac Disease Symposium webinar on September 25, 2024 is now available to watch on the nationalceliac.org website.
Supporting Celiac Seniors Committee
NCA has established a committee to problem-solve important issues within the celiac and gluten-free community as it relates to seniors. We are planning our next meeting so please email Carla Carter if you are interested in joining.
Support Legislative Efforts Today to Make a Difference for Tomorrow through
the FLMA and ADINA Act
The Food Labeling Modernization Act (FLMA) of 2023 was introduced on 4/26/23 in both the House and Senate. Please see the press release here. Pertinent to the gluten-free community, the FLMA would amend the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) to require that food product packaging disclose ALL gluten-containing grains (wheat, barley, and rye) in the ingredient list and/or “Contains” statement on ingredient labels.
The Allergen Disclosure In Non-Food Articles (ADINA) Act was introduced on 6/21/23 in both the House and Senate. The ADINA Act would require drugs to label a major food allergen or a gluten-containing grain.
Click here to read the press release and visit congress.gov for detailed information, including a list of the current co-sponsors in the Senate and House of Representatives.
Who ever said it was easy to live gluten-free? For many of us it can be complicated, isolating, and expensive. National Celiac Association's (NCA) programs are designed to provide exactly what people need to thrive with celiac disease and other gluten-related conditions! Your support will allow NCA to continue to provide education and resources to the entire GF community! Check out the NCA website at nationalceliac.org
NCA is here to serve you and the greater gluten-free community!
Don't forget to check out the NCA event calendar for in-person and virtual events that happen throughout the month including the national support group meeting.
Visit our Gluten-Free Kids page for more event photos, testimonials, videos, and other useful information!
Gluten-Free Diet Insights
New Abbreviation:
You may notice that we are transitioning to the use of CeD instead of CD as an abbreviation for celiac disease. This is to distinguish between other diseases including Castleman and Crohn’s that use CD.
Important Definitions:
Cross contact is the correct term to use when gluten-free food has had contact with gluten-containing food.
Cross contamination should be used when bacteria is transferred to food, making it unsafe to consume.
You may notice that we are transitioning to the use of CeD instead of CD as an abbreviation for celiac disease. This is to distinguish between other diseases including Castleman and Crohn’s that use CD.
Important Definitions:
Cross contact is the correct term to use when gluten-free food has had contact with gluten-containing food.
Cross contamination should be used when bacteria is transferred to food, making it unsafe to consume.
NCA has a New Page: Food Safety Recalls
In response to a seemingly increasing number of product alerts and recalls, we have created a new page to keep you informed. Click here to see the recalls and alerts, and please bookmark the page for the future.
Upon receiving an increase in requests for GF food assistance and uncovering an extreme lack of gluten-free (GF) food in many food pantries across the US, NCA launched Feeding Gluten-Free. The goal of this initiative is to connect GF food companies to food pantries across the US. Click here to see some of the GF food NCA has helped distribute to area food pantries so far.
This is a massive undertaking, and NCA can’t succeed without YOUR help. Together, let's move the needle to provide much needed GF food for our struggling celiac community. Please consider a generous donation so together we can deliver GF food to those who need it the most. If you are able to contribute financially to this effort, please visit https://nationalceliac.org/giving-gluten-free/.If you are a manufacturer and can donate food, please contact Carla Carter at [email protected]. Thank you!
This is a massive undertaking, and NCA can’t succeed without YOUR help. Together, let's move the needle to provide much needed GF food for our struggling celiac community. Please consider a generous donation so together we can deliver GF food to those who need it the most. If you are able to contribute financially to this effort, please visit https://nationalceliac.org/giving-gluten-free/.If you are a manufacturer and can donate food, please contact Carla Carter at [email protected]. Thank you!