Gluten Free Asheville: Support Group

Monday, November 1, 2010

Asheville GIG Gluten Free Holiday Potluck - November 7th, 2010

Gluten-Free Holiday Potluck!
Sunday, November 7, 2010 ~ 1:30 pm
The Home of Sheila Horine

This is our biggest social event of the year. All members of Asheville GIG and the Hendersonville Celiac Support Groups and families are encouraged to attend. Please bring one or two covered dishes to share, being sure to provide an ingredient list or recipe to place with your dish. We need a variety of dishes including entrees and vegetables in addition to the wonderful breads and desserts that our members have contributed in the past. Please remember that many of our members cannot consume dairy or nuts and we would like to have some dishes to accommodate these individuals as well.

GIG will provide paper products, beverages (non-alcoholic), turkey and ham. You will get directions when you RSVP (you can RSVP up til Sunday AM!)

For questions about the Holiday Party, contact Sheila Horine at 274-8532.

Once again, GIG will NOT be charging dues for the upcoming year. However, we will have a donation jar available for those individuals who wish to help us out. Lastly, we will also have a short survey available to fill out. There will be very few questions. The focus will be on discovering your interests and needs for our meetings. (For those of you who cannot attend, I will be sending the survey via email in December.)

In this season of Thanksgiving I want to take the opportunity to send thanks to everyone who has attended our meetings in 2010. I hope to see ALL of you at our meetings in 2011! Support goes both ways.. Thanks also to all of you who have helped at our meetings. It sure makes a big difference to me! I am also thankful for all the new information and gluten-free products on the market. It is SO much easier to be gluten-free these days!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Sheila Horine,
Director, Asheville GIG

Friday, May 22, 2009

Food Allergies Support Group for Children - Asheville Earth Fare

Check out the following information about COCOA (Caring fOr Children with fOod Allergies) and their upcoming meeting at the Asheville Earth Fare on June 1st, 2009. You can also go to the Earth Fare Events page here.

CARING FOR CHILDREN WITH ALLERGIES
06/01/09
6:45 PM
Would you like to have COCOA at Earth Fare? Caring fOr Children with fOod Allergies has organized a support group that meets in the community room of Earth Fare, 1856 Hendersonvilee Road to share information. You are invited to a group for parents of food allergic children in Asheville and surrounding areas! If you are interested in: 1) Finding other people who understand, 2) Raising community awareness, and 3) Sharing coping techniques swapping “safe” recipes. Then send an email to Kristie at for more information.

Asheville Earth Fare Information
Web site
Hours and Contact Info: Monday- Saturday 8am-10pm Sunday 8am-9pm
Phone: (828) 210-0100
Email

Store Address:
1856 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803

Celiac Disease by the Numbers

1 out of every 133 Americans (about 3 million people) has CD.
97% of Americans estimated to have CD are not diagnosed.
CD has over 300 known symptoms although some people experience none.
Age of diagnosis is key: If you are diagnosed between age 2-4, your chance of getting an additional autoimmune disorder is 10.5%. Over the age of 20, that rockets up to 34%.
30% of the US population is estimated to have the genes necessary for CD.
2.5 babies are born every minute in the USA with the genetic makeup to have CD.
There are 15 states in the US with populations less than the total number of Celiacs in the US.
CD affects more people in the US than Crohn’s Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease combined.
500,000 new Celiac diagnoses are expected to occur in the US by 2012 -- thanks to efforts to raise public awareness of the disease.
People with CD dine out 80% less than they used to before diagnosis and believe less than 10% of eating establishments have a 'very good' or 'good' understanding of GF diets.
It takes an average of 11 years for patients to be properly diagnosed with CD even though a simple blood test exists.
The average cost of misdiagnosis is $5,000 - $12,000 per person per year. Improving the time to diagnosis could save the health care system millions of dollars annually in unnecessary medical care.
A recent study by Packaged Facts projects that the sales of GF food will reach $2.63 Billion by 2012.
GF foods are, on average, 242% more expensive then their non-GF counterparts.
The smallest amount of gluten which has been shown by a biopsy to cause damage to a Celiac is 0.1 gram per day - or 1/48th of a slice of bread.
The Food Allergen Labeling & Consumer Protection Act became law in 2006 allowing for easier reading of food labels for those with CD. What took so long?
12% of people in the US who have Down Syndrome also have CD.
6% of people in the US who have Type 1 Diabetes also have CD.
Among people who have a first-degree relative diagnosed with celiac, as many as 1 in 22 people may have the disease.
There are currently 0 drugs available to treat CD.