CityView Magazine

Left | Jacob Salzberg grew more than an inch after a month on a gluten-free diet. And then was the problem of bread. Jacob was used to eating an English muffin for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch at school. We finally found kinnikinnick® tapioca-rice English muffins and kinnikinnick white sandwich bread in the freezer section at Harris Teeter. We just had to remember to take them out the night before to defrost. We found gluten-free menus at Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Outback Steakhouse. Accustomed to child’s menu prices, however, the bill came as a shock; only adult meals are on the gluten- free menus. And what about those kid favorites like pizza and mac and cheese? Glutino® makes both a cheese and a spinach and feta pizza. Jacob did not like the cheese pizza particularly but enjoyed the spinach and feta variety. Annie’s Homegrown® makes a boxed rice pasta and cheddar and, at first, this was better than nothing. But after three months Jacob now says he “hates” it. Did our trial work? Jacob grew more The goods on gluten These days, everything from gluten-free beer to brownies can found be on grocery store shelves. According to a report from the market-research group Packaged Facts, sales of gluten-free products in the U.S. have grown by an average of 28 percent over the past five years and will soon be worth $2.6 billion. Even Major League Baseball has gone gluten-free with special concession stands at Turner Field in Atlanta and Coors Field in Denver. This is all good news for people with celiac disease for whom any amount of dietary gluten can inflame and destroy the lining of the small intestine; the disease affects about one percent of the population. But others are convinced that even if they do not have the disease they still suffer from gluten intolerance, an idea that stems from a 1992 study conducted in England showing that a person’s reaction to gluten may be plotted along a sensitivity spectrum. For now, there’s no way to prove gluten intolerance but one thing is clear: for many, gluten is simply a no-go. 62 | June/July • 2010 than an inch in his first month on the gluten-free diet, as much as he’d grown in the previous 12 months combined. He was paying better attention in school. His librarian told my wife, “Whatever you’re doing with Jake’s diet, keep doing it.” But the trial wore on Jacob and, after two more months, he didn’t grow any more. We had planned to keep Jacob gluten free from August at least through December but one Saturday in November, he “accidentally” ate a piece of birthday cake at the park when out with friends. This was the beginning of the end. Was it a success? I’m not sure. Growth isn’t linear – children usually grow in spurts and typically more so in the summer when the days are long. So was it the gluten-free diet or was Jacob just due for his growth spurt? We’re going to try again this summer so stay tuned. I’m also going to get tested for celiac disease. If I have it, my son and brother probably do as well.CV Dr. Lenny Salzberg teaches and sees patients at the Southern Regional AHEC Family Medicine Center. C

• Cover