gluten free alcohol - new rules

I tried Omission beer and really fell in love with it. Heck it is a gluten-removed beer, so real beer. The problem was, shortly after I was polishing a post about it, I read that the ELISA tests that Omission uses is not sensitive to be less than 20ppm accurate. I decided hold off on blogging and to email Omission directly about their testing policies. One of their reps said they would look into it and get back to me. Well that was in March of 2013... I am still waiting.

So I have chosen not to drink Omission, or Dura, or any of the other gluten-removed beers. It doesn't seem worth the risk, especially with all of the confusion. (Most of the confusion is because in the U.S. alcohol does not have to be labeled the way food does; it is actually a separate governmental agency Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, that deals with labeling, not the FDA.)

Today ATT released a revised policy on gluten in alcoholic beverages and spirits. This is huge because there are now rules about what alcoholic beverages can (and can't) be labeled gluten-free. The gluten-removed beers, they cannot use the term. I hope this helps everyone, but especially the newly diagnosed, better navigate the world of beverages.

Thanks to Gluten Free Fun for sharing the news.

the big day is here

Guys... it is time to PARTY!

It has been 9 years, but finally the FDA has ruled on what "gluten free" can mean in the USA. The verdict, not surprisingly, is less than 20 parts per million - aka the same standards Europe recognizes.

This means that gluten-free actually now will mean something if you see it on packages. This isn't going to happen overnight, companies have a year, so please as always be careful.

This has the potential to make life a lot easier. I am hoping that full disclosure on binding ingredients in prescription drugs are next!

I am literally singing about this on the twitters.

UPDATE - more information about what this really means is available on the FDA page

Gluten free medical bracelet

I never thought I would need a medical bracelet. I have one minor drug sensitivity, if you give me Vicodin  my body will give it right back to you in under 20 minutes. It isn't a huge issue, unless you are 16 year old me post-wisdom teeth extraction. I am also pretty lucky that I haven't needed very much in the way of pain medication. 

But I am having surgery next week. And there will be a chunk of time where I won't be able to verbally advocate for myself. And while knowledge of gluten has vastly improved in the past few years, there is still no legal requirement for prescription drugs to list the what the origin is of their binding starches. (Starch binders are good - they hold the medicine together so it can be a pill shape, I am all for it, I just want to know what it is: corn, wheat, other?) Come on FDA you can do it!

I have done my best to do a bunch of prep work:

-I made sure my medical records clearly stated I have celiac disease

-I told my surgeon, twice that I have celiac disease

-I verbally asked the surgeon's scheduling assistant to note it in my file... she gave me great advice to make sure I tell the nurses the day of surgery too

-I noted both "celiac disease" on my pre-op paperwork and "gluten allergy" under the "what medications are you allergic to" list (Yes this is fudging the medical reality, but I want them to check ALL medications and I have written before about the current constraints of the English language and I am comfortable about using anything in my toolkit to get my point across - do not gluten me)

-When I spoke to the nurse who reviews all pre-op paperwork I asked what type of medications are usually prescribed and how I could best say that anything given cannot have gluten in it 

-I got a medical bracelet

I was resistant to getting on at first, but then realized it would be a really good idea, especially after my first colonoscopy where the nurse tried to feed me cookies. 

I picked a green band - in honor of celiac disease awareness - and because it is the most obnoxious color. This is one time where I want everyone to pay attention... to my wrist. 

It reads:

CELIAC

NO GLUTEN

CHECK FOOD 

& MEDICATIONS

I guess it also might be time to upgrade my camera so I can take better photos, after all is said and done. 

What other advice do you have for navigating medical arenas gluten free?