It’s the beginning of April, which for me means that I get to chat with my friend Ellen Bayens of theceliacscene.com about interesting articles and studies she has brought to our attention over the past month. I had to record with Ellen prior to end of the March as I was preparing for knee surgery. Ellen kept posting and you can keep up with her work by subscribing to her monthly newsletter through her website.

Ellen and I both had copies of the recent booklet produced by Celiac Canada with the preliminary results from their recent survey. There is so much information in these numbers and the analysts have only scratched the surface. You can read these initial results or download the booklet at celiac.ca.

Both Ellen and I felt my recent conversation with Linda Sills regarding retirement and long-term care for her celiac mother was concerning and something we should all be concerned about for our families and ourselves. Ellen mentioned a previous a podcast I recorded with Mike Rose about choosing safe retirement living – you can listen at - https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com/ep-168-retirement-living-gluten-free. As well Ellen wrote an article about Mike which you can read here - https://theceliacscene.com/celiac-crusader-tackles-challenges-residential-living/

Ellen told us about a new online mentoring program for kids and teens that is being started – you can find out more here - Introducing Celiac Chat - An Online Mentorship Program for Kid & Teens and hopefully I will speak with Avery for a podcast in the near future.

Villous atrophy is a term that many of us know from our diagnosis, but Ellen was able to show me an article that listed other conditions that may cause villous atrophy – and here I was thinking it was unique to Celiac Disease. Other Conditions that May Cause Villous Atrophy

On a social media note Ellen told us of a situation at a local restaurant in Victoria that recently decided to remove a popular gluten free item from their menu. This was of course unfortunate, but the negative comments on social media that ensued were somewhat over-the-top. Ellen and I comment on the issues.

I mention that I recently attended a virtual class from Cinde, the everydayglutenfreegourmet.ca. I highly recommend these classes as we can all learn to make more gluten free options.

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Celiac Kid Stuff – https://www.celiackidstuff.com

Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com

Instagram - @suesgfbaking

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL

Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com

Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com

This episode is a follow up to Episode 298 when I attended an event called The State of Celiac Disease in Canada during the last week of February. Celiac Canada held the event to present the preliminary results of the recent national survey.

During the event, Melissa Secord the Executive Director of Celiac Canada spoke. I had more questions for Melissa, so I invited her on to this episode of the Podcast. Now that the preliminary results of the survey were being evaluated, I wanted to know more about what the results meant to Celiac Canada, and how they were going to use what they were learning to advance their efforts on our behalf.

Also, at the event in February, a woman by the name of Linda Sills took to the podium to tell her family’s story of dealing with care homes for her elderly mother. Linda gave an emotional talk, and again, there was more I wanted to know. The prospect of choosing a long-term care home for a loved one or yourself, is daunting, but unfortunately, for many of us, it’s a fact of life. I was grateful that Linda trusted me with her moving story and allowed me to dig a bit deeper into how and why. This was a powerful conversation, and one you may want to refer for others to listen to. Thanks Linda, for sharing in such a personal way.

You can download the survey presentation booklet and view some of the highlights on Celiac Canada’s website at -

https://www.celiac.ca/state-of-celiac/

You can also watch The State of Celiac Disease in Canada presentation that was live on YouTube at - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I__T36eeNd8&ab_channel=CeliacCanada

Celiac Canada has an extensive library of videos and presentations on YouTube that answer many of the questions you might have about celiac disease and the gluten free diet – and don’t forget to subscribe to the channel while you’re there.

https://www.youtube.com/c/CanadianCeliacAssociation

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Celiac Kid Stuff – https://www.celiackidstuff.com

Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com

Instagram - @suesgfbaking

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL

Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com

Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com

I recently realized that although many of the people I speak with have been involved in the celiac and gluten free community for many years, I wasn’t well acquainted with the families of the newly diagnosed. When I operated my bakery, I was often the first celiac that people met after their diagnosis – it appears doctors were sending them my way. Since closing the bakery, I’ve built on my knowledge, but I must admit, I need a new perspective on what it’s like to raise a celiac child today.

Ellen Bayens (theceliacscene.com) was kind enough to introduce me to Kelsea. She is a mom of a busy 10-year-old boy and can clearly remember what life was like before, during and after the diagnosis. Our conversation centres around the diagnosis and how the entire family was affected. I hope to have Kelsea on again to explore more aspects of being a parent to a celiac child. Hopefully, I’ll speak with her son at some point as well.

Sue’s Websites and Social Media

Podcast https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com

Canadian Celiac Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com

Instagram - @glutenfreeweighin

Email – GlutenFreeWeighIn@gmail.com

Celiac Kid Stuff – https://www.celiackidstuff.com

Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com

Other Podcast – A Canadian Celiac Podcast - https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com