Summary of Gluten Free Living conference talks that I attended

Hello Everyone,  am simply pasting below the email I just sent to the Gluten Intolerance Group, Gainesville FL Branch. Please email me at GIGgainesville@gmail.com if you'd like the notes (see caveats below!)

Hi all,

Still working on getting notes scanned so I could email them, but the talks I attended were these, so let me know if you'd like me to try to get you the notes.  Caveat:  they're the notes I took, so may not all be complete/accurate, due to interruptions, things I missed due to them talking fast, child crying, etc.

1. Expect the Unexpected:  Be Prepared for Any Nutritional Challenge that Comes Your Way, by Pam Cureton, RD, LDN.  She's worked with Dr. Fasano for over 20 years. Her talk touched on what if you're gluten free and not feeling better; being GF in healthcare facilities; gaining weight on GF diet; and GF disaster planning.

2. The Do's and Don'ts of Raising a Gluten Free Kid by Amy Leger, the Family Editor of Gluten Free Living magazine. This was looking at ways you can empower your child to advocate for themselves at various ages/developmental stages, and touched on 504 plans and what you can expect when you have to get the school involved in meeting your child's dietary needs.

3. GF Diet: Should We Be Concerned by Anne Lee, Ed.D., RD, LD, who is director of nutritional services at Schar. In a nutshell, she touched on the changing market in gluten free breads/products; labeling laws; and practical points

4. Dr. Alessio Fasano was the Keynote: Spectrum of Gluten Related Disorders: People Shall Not Live by Bread Alone. He went over the major milestones in the research in terms of the diagnoses of celiac disease. Way too much to try to summarize, but the takeaway is that more research is increasingly pointing to gut microbiomes as a key player in who develops celiac and who doesn't, when the genetic predisposition is there. If you ever get a chance to hear this man speak, I highly recommend it!

5. Dispelling the Myths of the Gluten Free Diet by Amy Ratnor, Editor of Gluten Free Living magazine. Went over several myths about the diet. I'm not sure if it was her presentation or my listening and note-taking skills, but my notes are the sketchiest here. Happy to share, regardless, as long as you understand there may be some gaps.

6. Panel of Experts:  Most of the above and more answered audience questions. I've jotted notes on it all, and it covered a variety of thing from Gluten Free Certifications to when family is not gluten free, to travel, to baking.

The editor did tell me they hope to do this conference annually, and probably in Florida around this time. VERY cool. :-)

Thanks for the RSVPs to the May 12 meeting. I now have about 12 folks committed to attend, which makes me feel better about having a speaker. Hope you all can make it! Please let me know, as Dr. Smith will want to know how many are coming.

See you soon!
Janet