isfaq asked:


Are Buffalo Burgers Real Buffalo?

Maybe in some countries it is but in the U.S. Probably not Yes they are. They are usually made with 100% Ground Buffalo.

Are Caffiene Pills Dehydrating?

Do pills with caffiene (such as Exedrin Migraine) have the same dehydrating effects as solution caffiene (coffee, etc.)? In my experience, they do cause some mild dehydration. Nothing that really bothered me much, just made me drink more water I use caffine pills every presently and then and they haven’t…

Are Chiense Food Good For Some That Have High Choleserol?

I have to change my diet and i am looking for a way to translate my eating habit. I like chiense food. Chines food is correct for health specially for those individual who have high cholesterol contained by blood the cholesterol is generally enhance…

Are Chips Good For You?

Usually not. They contain large amounts of fat and even larger servings of sodium (salt). No because there cooked within that fatty oil and it makes them unhealthy

Are chives related to the onion?

Chives belong to the onion family and are part of the genus Allium which contains in adjectives about 1250 species like shallots, leeks and garlic among others; chives, always referred to within the plural on account of their tendency of growing in shrubs are the smallest member of the…

Are chocolate fountains a flawless notion for an alternative Christmas pudding…

One of the benefits of the traditional Christmas pudding is that by the time we get to it we are all usually quite full and can single eat a small amount, even if it is laced with brandy cream/brandy butter. Chocolate fountains are…

Are Chocolates Good For You?

Yes, But only in small dose’s. It sends a chemical reaction call endorphins to your brain that triggers the emotion of love, feeling happy. Just don’t over do it (don’t get through to much of it). Dark Chocolate is actually known to burn calories! If your going to eat…

Are convenience foods really that convenient?

Convenience foods, such as ready made frozen meals seem resembling a good option for busy people but are they? They are usually massively high in fat and sugar and sophisticated flour and low in vitamins and fibre. There has be an explosion in their use in the last…

Are Corn And Beans The Only Gluten Free Veggies?

I am looking for safe gluten-free vegetables. Well not dear! There are a number of other Gluten free veges. Most of the people prefer taking the diet in need gluten. I suggest that go to the link I have mentioned and bring the list of…

Are Eggs Considered Meats?

I am new to Blurtit I have a question and I do not know how to ask on the site. Eggs aren’t usually classed as meat, as they haven’t be fertilised and so they can’t develop into a bird. However, of course very strict vegetarians (vegans) don’t drink eggs, dairy…

Are Eggs Part Of The Dairy Or Protein Group?

Eggs are protein. Dairy is milk, butter, cheese, yogurt etc. They belong to protein group

Are Energy Drinks Addicted?

My husband has come to my attention on how i have 2 drink a energy and i enjoy notice that now em i addicted to energy drinks is this possible?? Yes, this could be possible. Most dynamism drinks have caffeine in them and a lot of populace seem to get addicted…

Are Energy Drinks Bad? My Son He Is 18 And All He Wants To Drink Is…

Gatorade is pretty good for you because of the electrolites in it, especially if you are dehydrated it help out a lot with that. Energy drinks I don’t believe are actually adjectives that good for you because a lot…

Are Fast Food Industries Doing More Harm Than Good?

I would think so because they don’t take human health into consideration, never explain or roll what is used to cook the food,the food is left out under heat oil lamp uncovered,the same with salad bars,I hold watched people drop morsels of the salad on the…

Are Fast Food Restaurants Doing More Harm Than Good?

Of course, unless they are using fat free everything, and sugar free everything, and all natural foods. I connote, with all the additives it the foods they use aren’t good for you, this go for things other than just burgers or stuff like that, here is…

Are Fast Foods Harmful?

Fast food is loaded with lots of fat and sodium and a bunch of other things that are supposed to be consumed in moderation single. If you do it like everyday.. It can be..

Are five portions of fruit and vegetables a year satisfactory to hold you…

Five portions of fruit and vegetables a day is the minimum amount required for healthy eating. Some countries advertiser six or more portions a day. Portion size is also quite variable and surprisingly colossal. For example, seven spears of canned…

Are food calorie counters designed solely to backing us lose bulk?

Food calorie counters provide an advantage for many people who want to lose shipment. They can help calculate the optimum calorie intake for each morning. Traditionally, the more calories one eats, the more one is likely to suffer from obesity, and food calorie counter…

Are food manufacturer in somebody`s debt to chronicle M.S.G.on food label?

Monosodium glutamate or MSG is a white crystalline powder (sodium salt) originating from glutamic acid, one of the 22 amino acids. Though MSG has no flavour of its own, it have the ability to strengthen the flavour of foods. There have been cases of…

Are Frankfurters and Wieners like peas in a pod piece?

The confusion between these two thin boiled sausages is still unresolved to this day. They were probably invented within Frankfurt as sausages made purely of pork meat. The Frankfurter butcher George Lahner (born in 1772 and passed away in 1845) then introduced them to Vienna…

Are free stock eggs really free reach?

A common myth about free range eggs are almost egg-laying hens who enjoy nature’s beauty by moving on green soft grass, sitting on nest, relaxing under the sun and doing other intuitive habits. But with this ‘free range’, one can never be so certain near its freeness and…

Are Fresh Green Beans Ok For Dogs To Eat As A Snack?

Yes, my Vet said to give them green beans especially if the dog loves to eat. It helps permeate them up too because of the fiber. Yes thy are very good for dogs .

Are Fresh Uncooked Green Beans Ruined If They Were Once Refrigerated…

More then likely they are ruined. If they are still have crunch when you snap them they are ok but if they turned soft they are discouraging and I would not eat them.

Are Fried Okra Considered Junk Food?

Depends how you fry them. If you use vegetable oil, they’re probably OK. You will never get fried okra with your glad meal,not junk,but fried anything is no good for you

Are Fruits And Vegetables Living Things?

Fruits and Vegetables are living things that is because when they are in plants they are called Living, but when they are picked they are call Non Living.

Are Fruits Like Oranges And Grapefruit High In Potassium Content?…

Bananas are high in potassium

Are Fruits Living Or Nonliving?

They are living till the are on tree or plant They are living because all plants are living things and the fruits are plants.

Are Ginkgo Nuts Edible?

Yes Ginkgo nuts are edible. They are used in Asian, especially Japanese, cuisine usually either roasted or grilled. They are the fruit of the Asian Ginkgo tree. Oval surrounded by shape, a pale green and similar in size to the average olive, the nuts are used for dessert and in…

Are Grapes And Bananas High In Viramin K?

A family member is taking warfarin sodium Yes the grapes and bananas are in the glorious of the vitamin k and there are many other vitamins such a and b are found.

Are grapes suppose to be frozen after purchasing?

If you want them to last longer then yes,but no when they don’t have to be iced. You could put them in a bowl if they will be eaten with surrounded by a couple of days. Yes, it is best for them to be..they will be more fresh…

More Food answers please visit : isFAQ.com

Michael Bernier asked:


“If you eat healthy then you will stay fit and feel good. In order to keep one mentally and physically fit and to maintain proper life cycle one should eat balanced diet and food that provide high quality protein, fibers and other nutritious and essential elements. Brown rice is a well known, healthy source of protein. Brown rice uses no chemicals during processing and is purely made under natural process.

Brown rice is full of proteins and contains iron, magnesium, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Brown rice has low fats quantity which helps to control the cholesterol and normalize the blood level.

Brown rice protein is produced by utilizing different farming methods in which they try to eliminate or at least minimize the usage of pesticides, antibiotics and fertilizers which are beneficial for preserving the brown rice protein.

Using no artificial means during extraction of Brown Rice Protein from the brown rice makes sure that the nutrients are kept intact in the end product. Brown rice proteins are Gluten-free. They can be used as an ideal alternative to soy and animal products.

Nutritional Value of Brown Rice Proteins

Below is the nutritional value of brown rice protein

• 13g of brown rice protein in 150 grams/7oz of Raw Brown rice

• 5.2g of brown rice protein in 150 grams/7oz of Boiled Brown rice

Importance of brown rice fiber in every day life

Brown rice protein is very healthy and nutritious. In our everyday life we need about 15-25gm fiber in order to keep ourselves strong. One cup brown rice contains 3 1/2gm of fiber. It is important to note that white rice has lesser fibers than brown rice. Moreover brown rice proteins contain high quantity of insoluble fibers which gives protection against various diseases like cancer.

Brown Rice Proteins as everyday meal

Brown rice protein is easily digestible. These are high organic proteins and have high nutritional value. You can take one to two servings of brown rice protein in a day as snacks or replacement to other meals.

Brown Rice Proteins – the healthiest food

Brown Rice is considered to be one of the important foods all over the world. Brown rice is ranked as one of the excellent source of protein and healthiest food all over the world. Brown rice proteins truly provide a fast and allergy free solution to get additional proteins whilst enjoying the benefits of delicious brown rice.”

Bruce Scott Dwyer asked:


At the core of any celiac shoppers shopping list is buying products that are gluten free. But what exactly does that mean? Do you buy foods that have no ingredients that could possibly contain gluten grains, or are you willing to risk buying foods that are classed as gluten free, because they contain an amount of gluten that ‘someone’ has assessed as safe?

It would appear that the more experienced celiac shopper knows what ingredients to look out for, however some very experienced gluten free shoppers still report feeling sick from manufactured foods purporting to be gluten free. As the information below will show, it all appears to be in the acceptable level that countries are willing to legislate.

The three most progressive legislation regions appear to be the US, Europe and Australia. These areas will be discussed in this order.

EUROPE LEGISLATION

Previous GFP research suggests that Europe maybe one of the most gluten free aware regions on earth, however they have very low online search habits. This may of course be due to low rates of celiac disease and/ or high availability of gluten free food in the general community.

Regarding the labelling requirements: “In Europe, the Codex Commission approved 20ppm as an accepted threshold for gluten in ‘gluten-free’ products in 2008, in the first update to guidelines since 1983. The limit was massively cut from 200ppm to 20ppm – and it claims this level is considered to pose no risk to celiac sufferers. The reason for the change is that low levels are more easily attainable than 25 years ago due to technological advances allowing for more accurate detection of minute gluten traces.” Ref 1

USA LABELING

The US is one of the largest physical and online demand gluten free markets in the world. With its progressive technological and health advances you may expect that it also leads global labelling laws.

However gluten free products appear to be an exception. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) introduced the Food Allergen Labeling & Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) in 2006, this was for the following eight food allegens “Milk, egg, wheat, soy, peanut, tree nuts, fish, and crustacean shellfish.” By 2007 the FDA PROPOSED that gluten SHOULD be labeled at anything over 20mg per kg (20ppm) – but this has yet to be ratified.

Thus while many manufacturers are voluntarily following this guideline “Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found 25 different types of advisory term including ‘may contain’, ‘shared equipment’ and ‘within plant’. Additionally, they found that 65 percent of products listed non-specific terms, such as ‘natural flavours’ and ’spices’, and that 83 percent of those were not linked to any specific ingredients.” Ref 1. This suggests that gluten could potentially be hiding among the non-specific terms.

Remarkably while standard foods are covered by the FSA 20 mg ruling, it created a unique labeling category just for CEREALS. Those that have been processed to reduce gluten to levels below 100 parts per million must carry a label such as ‘gluten-reduced,’ or ‘very-low gluten.’ Foods that are naturally gluten-free and acceptable for a gluten-free diet cannot be labeled as ‘gluten-free,’ or ‘special-diet,’ but may say that they are ‘naturally gluten-free.’ Ref 3

The FSA also mandates that quantitative determination of gluten in foods and ingredients be based on an immunologic method or other method providing at least equal sensitivity and specificity, and that all testing done on equipment sensitive to gluten at 10 mg gluten/kg or below. The rules cite the enzyme-linked Immunoassay (ELISA) R5 Mendez method as the officially sanctioned qualitative analysis method for determining gluten presence in food. Ref 3

Curiously The Celiac Sprue Association has gone even further in its labelling recommendation of classing foods as gluten free ONLY if they contain under 3 ppm – The CODEX COMMISSION remains resolutely behind the 20 ppm specification due to the quality control that can reasonably be expected from manufacturers. As it is, they may have until 2012 to abide by the FSA 20 ppm ruling!

AUSTRALIA

Australia has one of the most mature physical and online gluten free markets in the world. Along with this comes one of the most stringent gluten free labelling standards in the world:

QUOTE from Food Standards Australia New Zealand: “To be labeled gluten-free in Australia and New Zealand, a food must contain “No Detectable Gluten’ by the most sensitive universally accepted test method. At the time of the printing of the Ingredient List, 7th Edition, testing can (readily) achieve a detection level of 0.0005 (5 parts per million). If gluten is not detected then the food can be labeled gluten free.” Ref 2

The Coeliac Society of Australia notes that “some ingredients (i.e. glucose syrup, dextrose and caramel colour) are so highly processed that when tested, the results have always shown ‘no detectable gluten,’ even if derived from wheat,” Therefore, these common ingredients derived from wheat are rendered gluten-free, even though gluten is declared on the product label.” Hence the qualification: “the label gluten-free overrides the product’s ingredient listing, and products with statements such as “may contain wheat or gluten” should be avoided.” Ref 2

While The FSANZ quote suggests that Australia’s gluten free labeling standard is likely to become ‘law’, a 2007 survey conducted by the NSWFA suggests that the association has very few powers to enforce it. In 2007 the NSWFA undertook a survey of foods labeled “gluten-free” and found that of the 211 foods labeled as “gluten-free” in  retail outlets that 4.7% did NOT qualify. (Ref 3) In fact, ten samples were found to contain gluten, with gluten content ranging from 4 ppm to 160 ppm. The highest foods were found to be prawn crackers (160 ppm) followed by Self- raising flour (30-45 ppm). Following international guidelines at the time, foods over 20 ppm were requested to be withdrawn voluntarily by the manufacturer.

CONCLUSION

Australia has ‘potentially’ one of the most stringent gluten free labelling laws in the world. If the ‘no detectable gluten’ clause is taken at its word and kits can test between 3 and 5 ppm gluten, then this SHOULD be the upper limit of allowable gluten in gluten free Australian manufactured foods. However from previous surveys, it appears that offenders of this law, are often given a voluntary request to withdraw products and no fines or penalties are issued, no media notification is required for ‘small’ infractions.

Europe and America have both settled on an upper limit of 20 ppm, yet this is not law in the US yet. The Celiac Sprue Association (USA) is pushing for gluten free limits to be dropped to 3 ppm however some US manufacturing groups believe that this will prove too difficult to attain in reality. Note that the Australian gluten free survey used Biokits Gluten Assay Kits manufactured by Tepnel Biosystems . The kits are an accredited AOAC Official method and measure gluten both qualitatively and quantitatively, with a limit of reporting of 3 ppm (mg/kg).

US research shows that many of its own country’s products contain labelling terms such as as ‘natural flavours’ and ’spices’ which may or may not include gluten. If this is the case on such a progressive country it is strongly suggested that eating food from other countries that don’t abide by gluten free legislation IS a high risk venture. This raises the question of how much do you trust your local manufacturer not to allow cross contamination in the manufacture of ‘gluten free’ foods, and where exactly does your favourite gluten free restaurant source its ingredients?

 

 Ref 1  http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Legislation/Challenges-and-benefits-of-gluten-free-labeling-laws

Ref 2      http://www.glutenfreeda.com/mar07_eating-out-gf.asp

Ref 3               http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/educationalmaterial/monitoringandsurveillance/foodsurveillancenewsletter/spring2008.cfm

 

Bruce Scott Dwyer asked:


The following analysis uses Google data sets. Previous Gluten Free Pages research showed that the UK started with a healthy ‘search per celiac per month’ value of 2.2 in 2004. However, while Australia was in front of the UK and remains so, by 2008 both the USA and Canada had overtaken this GFP market measure value. The UK gluten free online demand (searches) trend has been very flat over the last five years, until last year.

When the top 50 monthly gluten associated searches are segmented into seven subcategories (see table below), it can be seen that each of the categories received a similar increase. While these increases are very large, it was found that all other leading gluten free online demand countries experienced an even stronger growth increase.

The first thing to notice about the gluten free search terms is that the top 50 Google Gluten associated search terms increased over the last year from 809K to 1.3M (+62%). The main group’s (gluten free) key phrases absolute volume changes were to gluten (201K  ->  301K)  and  gluten free (  135K  -> 246K searches).

TOP 50 proportions

The composition of the proportions of each group are significantly different from the standard proportions experienced by other leading online demand countries. For example, the USA NOV 2009 gluten free group proportion data shows what is considered to be the standard proportions representative of leading ‘celiac searches per month’ countries (eg: USA, Canada, Australia).

The proportion of the top 50’s main generic gluten free group remained stable at 46% of the top 50 searches and the second largest group ‘celiacs’ decreased from 24% to 19%.  The table below shows that the overall increase in the top 50 Google terms was produced by an increase in all groups search volumes.

GF GROUP………………..Search VOL 08………Volumes 2009………Increase

GF Generic………………375,700 ………………602,200………60%

Gluten diet………………23,480…………………53,900…………130%

GF Recipe ……………….58,480………………..124,000………112%

Coeliac ……………………193,180……………….251,500………30%

Wheat free……………….95,700………………..153,900………..61%

Locations…………………8,280………………….19,200…………132%

GF specific foods……54,280………………..100,200……… 85%

 

One of the more interesting trends is the growth in the GF specific food group. In that group the leading phrases are still GF bread and flour, however a significant number of people are starting to search for cakes, ‘dairy free gluten’ and chocolate.

LONG TERM GROWTH

Google permits trend analysis on individual terms, but plotting the top 50 that comprise the main analysis would provide little useful insight. The phrase ‘gluten free’ represents 41% of ALL searches within the generic group so its two year trend is plotted below as a proxy.

It is noted that not all subregions of the UK have trend data available, however England trend data shows almost an exact match to UK data.

Previous GFP trend line research and analysis for the UK shows that there is no particular seasonal trend. This is unusual in that most other leading gluten free search countries show strong seasonal trends over the last five years. The linear forecast over the past year extrapolates to a growth of 23% for this one term (compared with 10% for 2008).

The following table shows the Dec 2009 leading gluten free search citites in the UK, and their relative strength.

UK City ………………………GF Search Importance

St Albans ……………………1.0

Thames Ditton……………0.67

Milton Keynes……………0.605

Reading……………………..0.595

Sheffield…………………….0.575

Oxford………………………..0.57

Watford……………………..0.57

Hull…………………………….0.545

Poplar………………………..0.54

Edinburgh…………………..0.535

 

CONCLUSION

Previous analysis on UK searches up to 2008 showed that while it had a relatively high ‘celiac search per month’ value of 2.2 it had relatively flat growth. The analysis for 2009 shows that there has been significant growth in searches in the overall gluten category (top 50 terms).

 

Bruce Scott Dwyer asked:


In short, a Nielson Co. report reveals that revenues from items labelled gluten-free have soared almost 20 percent in the past year (2008) to $1.7 billion from $1.4 billion in May 2007. Sales have increased 74 percent compared with 2004. Some items, like gluten-free gum and pet food, only entered the market in 2008.” ref 1

Another independent report provides similar growth projections. “The Gluten-Free Food and Beverage Market: Trends and Developments Worldwide, 2nd Edition” – from market research publisher Packaged Facts, this trend is here to stay. Packaged Facts notes that the market for gluten-free food and beverage products grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28 percent from 2004 to 2008, to finish with almost $1.6 billion in retail sales last year.” Ref 2

The ‘Packaged Facts’ company forecasts that, in the coming years, they will see double-digit growth in this category due to many factors, the most important of which is the existence of more gluten-free products in the market through both product introduction and the conversion of existing products to gluten-free status. By 2012, the market is expected to reach about $2.6 billion in sales. To meet consumer demand, more than 225 marketers introduced new gluten-free products into the United States in 2008. Ref 2

 

According to a March 2007 survey by the market research company Mintel, 8% of the U.S. population look for gluten-free products when they shop. Nielsen Co., which tracks gluten-free food in U.S. grocery, drug and mass merchandiser stores (excluding Wal-Mart), reports that the gluten-free sector increased 20% in the 12-month period ending June 14 (2007), to $1.75 billion from $1.46 billion a year ago. Ref 3

A quick calculation suggests that an increase of 74% over three years is an average of 25% annual growth from 2004 to 2007. Interestingly, online demand for gluten free searches as analysed in another Gluten Free Pages article, shows that for five years leading up to 2009 that the US e-demand market grew annually at 42% in the US and 10% in Australia. That suggests, that growth rate of people searching online is almost double that of the growth of their actual purchases.

One reason given for the dramatic increase in gf consumption (above and beyond diagnosis levels) is that “the number of people eating gluten-free diets may be larger than the number of Celiac sufferers. Because of the intensity of the intolerance, separate ovens, toasters and other appliances can be needed to reduce contamination. So, many families of sufferers lead gluten-less lives as well.” Ref 1

Regarding the price of gluten free, one article considers that being gluten free could in fact eventually be cheaper due to the exclusion of wheat and gluten grains from the diet. It points to “The United States Department of Agriculture reported that the April 2008 average price of U.S. wheat was $371 per metric ton, double the $180 per metric ton average wheat price in April 2007.” (Ref 1) However a Gluten Free Pages report provides an opposite forecast and many good reasons why Gluten free products are likely to remain high cost for a long time to come.

The variety of choices is also expanding. In 2007, 700 new gluten-free products were launched in the U.S., up from 214 in 2004. Mintel projects a 15% to 25% annual growth rate for gluten-free foods over the next few years. Ref 3

WHAT GROUPS OF PEOPLE are going GLUTEN FREE

An extensive but not exhaustive list of celiac disease effects are shown in a GFP article. Some of the more serious types are considered to be: “autism, multiple sclerosis (MS), gluten allergy, various types of gluten-sensitivities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), repetitive strain or stress injury (RSI), and irritated bowel syndrome (IBS).” Ref 2

While these are the effects of celiac disease, there are FOUR non distinct classes of people who choose a gluten free diet. The “non negotiable” group of celiac are those with the celiac gene who must remove gluten to lead a healthy life. The second group “believe the gluten-free diet may help in the treatment of autism and a host of other disorders, including schizophrenia, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, attention deficit disorder, migraine and even fertility problems. Ref 3

The THIRD group take gluten-free foods because they have gastrointestinal problems that improve when they go on a gluten-free diet. This group is said to have “gluten sensitivity,” there is an immune response or associated condition even though the patient might not have the small-intestine findings on a biopsy to meet the criteria for celiac disease, says Dr. Eric Esrailian, director of general gastroenterology at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.

Group FOUR are said to have “Gluten intolerance,” or those who experience symptoms similar to the term lactose intolerance.

WHAT ARE THE LATEST PRODUCT TRENDS?

In the US in 2009 the Natural Products Expo West, held in March at the Anaheim Convention Center had tables filled with gluten-free breads, pasta, pot pies, brownies, muffins, beer, cosmetics and even dog treats. (Ref 3) As people become more aware of the prevalence of gluten in almost every product class, they are demanding gluten free alternatives.

SO what is accelerating the use of gluten free? One source suggests that because of the intensity of the intolerance (one grain of bread causing a reaction), “separate ovens, toasters and other appliances can be needed to reduce contamination. So, many families of sufferers lead gluten-less lives as well.” Ref 1  This is similar to the reason why when only a small percentage of CD people have been diagnosed that they are bringing their whole families to gf restaurants for the sake of the one gluten free family member.

Remarkably with all of the latest research there are still articles on the net that see gluten free as a fad. This is partly due to the fad trends that the US has seen in the past. Consider that new food products labelled ‘gluten-free’ jumped 86% in 2008. But new low-carb product launches fell by more than half from peak levels of 2004. Ref 5. Other articles go much further with doctors still willing to offer a ‘devils advocate’ opinion to the actual existence of the disease being real. In time we expect these doctors to be converted in the same manner as some ‘expert’ doctors denied that cigarettes and asbestos were harmful or that global warming is a myth.

Cautions

And there are broader concerns. Some dieticians worry about the long-term effects of a strict gluten-free diet on those who don’t need to be on it, because in avoiding foods with gluten, people may give themselves nutritional deficiencies. Those who elect to go on the diet need to watch that they get adequate amounts of B vitamins, and particularly increase folic acid ingestion.

 

References

ref 1: June 02, 2008 http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=91515

Ref 2: March 15, 2009 http://www.gourmetretailer.com/gourmetretailer/content_display/news/e3i68061ff8eae6a637fce99ed1d7c54d9c

Ref 3 July 7, 2008 http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-gluten7-2008jul07,0,4319882,full.story

Anglea Morken asked:


A common question among the newly diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune condition triggered by the presence of gluten (wheat, rye, barley and oats), is whether you should be concerned about gluten found in inedible products-products that you don’t eat but only use. The answer is yes. After using inedible products that contain gluten, make sure that you wash your hands well with non-gluten soap and water so that any residue found in the products will be washed away and not later find its way into your food. Inedible products include shampoos, conditioners, hair styling products, cosmetics, lip balms, nail care, soaps, lotions, sunscreens, laundry and household cleaning products, pet foods, arts and crafts supplies, etc.

The rule for these inedible products is the same as for any product containing gluten. Your food must not come in contact with it! Neither should your mouth. If you touch any product containing gluten, wash your hands with soap and water before eating your own gluten-free food. The tiniest bit of residue left on your hands can cause an adverse reaction. The fact that a reaction can occur with such minimal ingestion is the reason that inedible products can also cause a reaction and should be avoided or treated properly.

Most people with celiac disease do not get a reaction from merely touching gluten. The reaction occurs when the residue on your hands makes its way to your lips or into your mouth. This can be easier than you might think. There are many ways to ingest gluten. Take hair products. Unfortunately, a majority of hair care products contain gluten. Although you don’t intend to get any shampoo or conditioner into your mouth, the water that comes out of your hair with the shampoo can bounce off the shower wall or shower curtain and land on your lips. You won’t even notice yourself licking it off. Cosmetics, especially lipsticks, lip balms, nail polish and artificial nails, can also be a source of gluten. While lip balms and lipsticks are the more obvious sources for ingestion, nail polish and artificial nail products can also make their way to your mouth as you touch your food. Foundations, powders, blushes and bronzers can settle on your lips during application. They can also be a source of gluten if you absent-mindedly touch your face and then forget to wash your hands before eating. Washing your hands with confirmed gluten-free soap and water before you eat and getting into the habit of not touching your lips or mouth with your hands, may help keep you from ingesting the gluten in this manner. When you feed your pet, be especially careful. Many pet foods, especially dry pet food and treats, contain gluten. Make sure that you use the same precautions as you would use in handling any other type of gluten-containing food. Unfortunately, inedible products don’t have the same labeling laws and restrictions as food does. Sometimes a product will contain gluten without it appearing on the label.

Many manufacturers simply don’t have the ability to fully verify all of their ingredients because one ingredient can come from several sources. You can get some good advice and information on whether or not the products you use contain gluten from on-line celiac support groups. A quick search of the message board archives can pull up information on the specific brands and items that concern you. If nobody has any experience with the products that you are concerned about, you can either switch to products trusted to be gluten-free by others in the celiac community or withdraw from using all of the unknown products.

You can then slowly reintroduce them, one by one, to determine which one, if any, is causing a reaction. It is like adding new foods to your newborn baby. Individual products should be reintroduced several days apart from each other because reactions can sometimes take a few days to manifest. The bottom line is that if you suffer from celiac disease, it is your personal lifestyle and habits which will help you decide whether or not to take the chance of using inedible products containing gluten.

Bruce Scott Dwyer asked:


The following analysis uses Google data sets. Previous Gluten Free Pages research showed that the UK started with a healthy ‘search per celiac per month’ value of 2.2 in 2004. However, while Australia was in front of the UK and remains so, by 2008 both the USA and Canada had overtaken this GFP market measure value. The UK gluten free online demand (searches) trend has been very flat over the last five years, until last year.

When the top 50 monthly gluten associated searches are segmented into seven subcategories (see table below), it can be seen that each of the categories received a similar increase. While these increases are very large, it was found that all other leading gluten free online demand countries experienced an even stronger growth increase.

The first thing to notice about the gluten free search terms is that the top 50 Google Gluten associated search terms increased over the last year from 809K to 1.3M (+62%). The main group’s (gluten free) key phrases absolute volume changes were to gluten (201K  ->  301K)  and  gluten free (  135K  -> 246K searches).

TOP 50 proportions

The composition of the proportions of each group are significantly different from the standard proportions experienced by other leading online demand countries. For example, the USA NOV 2009 gluten free group proportion data shows what is considered to be the standard proportions representative of leading ‘celiac searches per month’ countries (eg: USA, Canada, Australia).

The proportion of the top 50’s main generic gluten free group remained stable at 46% of the top 50 searches and the second largest group ‘celiacs’ decreased from 24% to 19%.  The table below shows that the overall increase in the top 50 Google terms was produced by an increase in all groups search volumes.

GF GROUP………………..Search VOL 08………Volumes 2009………Increase

GF Generic………………375,700 ………………602,200………60%

Gluten diet………………23,480…………………53,900…………130%

GF Recipe ……………….58,480………………..124,000………112%

Coeliac ……………………193,180……………….251,500………30%

Wheat free……………….95,700………………..153,900………..61%

Locations…………………8,280………………….19,200…………132%

GF specific foods……54,280………………..100,200……… 85%

 

One of the more interesting trends is the growth in the GF specific food group. In that group the leading phrases are still GF bread and flour, however a significant number of people are starting to search for cakes, ‘dairy free gluten’ and chocolate.

LONG TERM GROWTH

Google permits trend analysis on individual terms, but plotting the top 50 that comprise the main analysis would provide little useful insight. The phrase ‘gluten free’ represents 41% of ALL searches within the generic group so its two year trend is plotted below as a proxy.

It is noted that not all subregions of the UK have trend data available, however England trend data shows almost an exact match to UK data.

Previous GFP trend line research and analysis for the UK shows that there is no particular seasonal trend. This is unusual in that most other leading gluten free search countries show strong seasonal trends over the last five years. The linear forecast over the past year extrapolates to a growth of 23% for this one term (compared with 10% for 2008).

The following table shows the Dec 2009 leading gluten free search citites in the UK, and their relative strength.

UK City ………………………GF Search Importance

St Albans ……………………1.0

Thames Ditton……………0.67

Milton Keynes……………0.605

Reading……………………..0.595

Sheffield…………………….0.575

Oxford………………………..0.57

Watford……………………..0.57

Hull…………………………….0.545

Poplar………………………..0.54

Edinburgh…………………..0.535

 

CONCLUSION

Previous analysis on UK searches up to 2008 showed that while it had a relatively high ‘celiac search per month’ value of 2.2 it had relatively flat growth. The analysis for 2009 shows that there has been significant growth in searches in the overall gluten category (top 50 terms).

 

Bruce Scott Dwyer asked:


In short, a Nielson Co. report reveals that revenues from items labelled gluten-free have soared almost 20 percent in the past year (2008) to $1.7 billion from $1.4 billion in May 2007. Sales have increased 74 percent compared with 2004. Some items, like gluten-free gum and pet food, only entered the market in 2008.” ref 1

Another independent report provides similar growth projections. “The Gluten-Free Food and Beverage Market: Trends and Developments Worldwide, 2nd Edition” – from market research publisher Packaged Facts, this trend is here to stay. Packaged Facts notes that the market for gluten-free food and beverage products grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28 percent from 2004 to 2008, to finish with almost $1.6 billion in retail sales last year.” Ref 2

The ‘Packaged Facts’ company forecasts that, in the coming years, they will see double-digit growth in this category due to many factors, the most important of which is the existence of more gluten-free products in the market through both product introduction and the conversion of existing products to gluten-free status. By 2012, the market is expected to reach about $2.6 billion in sales. To meet consumer demand, more than 225 marketers introduced new gluten-free products into the United States in 2008. Ref 2

 

According to a March 2007 survey by the market research company Mintel, 8% of the U.S. population look for gluten-free products when they shop. Nielsen Co., which tracks gluten-free food in U.S. grocery, drug and mass merchandiser stores (excluding Wal-Mart), reports that the gluten-free sector increased 20% in the 12-month period ending June 14 (2007), to $1.75 billion from $1.46 billion a year ago. Ref 3

A quick calculation suggests that an increase of 74% over three years is an average of 25% annual growth from 2004 to 2007. Interestingly, online demand for gluten free searches as analysed in another Gluten Free Pages article, shows that for five years leading up to 2009 that the US e-demand market grew annually at 42% in the US and 10% in Australia. That suggests, that growth rate of people searching online is almost double that of the growth of their actual purchases.

One reason given for the dramatic increase in gf consumption (above and beyond diagnosis levels) is that “the number of people eating gluten-free diets may be larger than the number of Celiac sufferers. Because of the intensity of the intolerance, separate ovens, toasters and other appliances can be needed to reduce contamination. So, many families of sufferers lead gluten-less lives as well.” Ref 1

Regarding the price of gluten free, one article considers that being gluten free could in fact eventually be cheaper due to the exclusion of wheat and gluten grains from the diet. It points to “The United States Department of Agriculture reported that the April 2008 average price of U.S. wheat was $371 per metric ton, double the $180 per metric ton average wheat price in April 2007.” (Ref 1) However a Gluten Free Pages report provides an opposite forecast and many good reasons why Gluten free products are likely to remain high cost for a long time to come.

The variety of choices is also expanding. In 2007, 700 new gluten-free products were launched in the U.S., up from 214 in 2004. Mintel projects a 15% to 25% annual growth rate for gluten-free foods over the next few years. Ref 3

WHAT GROUPS OF PEOPLE are going GLUTEN FREE

An extensive but not exhaustive list of celiac disease effects are shown in a GFP article. Some of the more serious types are considered to be: “autism, multiple sclerosis (MS), gluten allergy, various types of gluten-sensitivities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), repetitive strain or stress injury (RSI), and irritated bowel syndrome (IBS).” Ref 2

While these are the effects of celiac disease, there are FOUR non distinct classes of people who choose a gluten free diet. The “non negotiable” group of celiac are those with the celiac gene who must remove gluten to lead a healthy life. The second group “believe the gluten-free diet may help in the treatment of autism and a host of other disorders, including schizophrenia, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, attention deficit disorder, migraine and even fertility problems. Ref 3

The THIRD group take gluten-free foods because they have gastrointestinal problems that improve when they go on a gluten-free diet. This group is said to have “gluten sensitivity,” there is an immune response or associated condition even though the patient might not have the small-intestine findings on a biopsy to meet the criteria for celiac disease, says Dr. Eric Esrailian, director of general gastroenterology at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.

Group FOUR are said to have “Gluten intolerance,” or those who experience symptoms similar to the term lactose intolerance.

WHAT ARE THE LATEST PRODUCT TRENDS?

In the US in 2009 the Natural Products Expo West, held in March at the Anaheim Convention Center had tables filled with gluten-free breads, pasta, pot pies, brownies, muffins, beer, cosmetics and even dog treats. (Ref 3) As people become more aware of the prevalence of gluten in almost every product class, they are demanding gluten free alternatives.

SO what is accelerating the use of gluten free? One source suggests that because of the intensity of the intolerance (one grain of bread causing a reaction), “separate ovens, toasters and other appliances can be needed to reduce contamination. So, many families of sufferers lead gluten-less lives as well.” Ref 1  This is similar to the reason why when only a small percentage of CD people have been diagnosed that they are bringing their whole families to gf restaurants for the sake of the one gluten free family member.

Remarkably with all of the latest research there are still articles on the net that see gluten free as a fad. This is partly due to the fad trends that the US has seen in the past. Consider that new food products labelled ‘gluten-free’ jumped 86% in 2008. But new low-carb product launches fell by more than half from peak levels of 2004. Ref 5. Other articles go much further with doctors still willing to offer a ‘devils advocate’ opinion to the actual existence of the disease being real. In time we expect these doctors to be converted in the same manner as some ‘expert’ doctors denied that cigarettes and asbestos were harmful or that global warming is a myth.

Cautions

And there are broader concerns. Some dieticians worry about the long-term effects of a strict gluten-free diet on those who don’t need to be on it, because in avoiding foods with gluten, people may give themselves nutritional deficiencies. Those who elect to go on the diet need to watch that they get adequate amounts of B vitamins, and particularly increase folic acid ingestion.

 

References

ref 1: June 02, 2008 http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=91515

Ref 2: March 15, 2009 http://www.gourmetretailer.com/gourmetretailer/content_display/news/e3i68061ff8eae6a637fce99ed1d7c54d9c

Ref 3 July 7, 2008 http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-gluten7-2008jul07,0,4319882,full.story

Bruce Scott Dwyer asked:


n Free Global market forecast 2009

Previous research looked at the current state of Gluten free markets across the world. The Gluten Free Matrix was developed that showed how a country’s wealth (GDP per person) was a very good predictor the general e-demand of gluten free products (Google searches).

This research showed that there was a logarithmic relationship for most countries, that is high wealth correlated with high Gluten free demand. It also defined market characteristics for special case outliers such as European countries (Hypo markets Germany, France etc) and over-performing hyper markets China and Russia.

New Google data releases now allows us to view trends for the Gluten Free Market between 2004 and 2009. By comparing current market states in absolute terms with the long term gluten demand trend, we are better able to understand the dynamics of gluten free markets.

This article compares four of the highest performing GF markets of: USA, Canada, UK and Australia.

These countries form a very good base for comparison as they are highly developed, high level of English speaking population (meaning no Google translation error bias), high internet *********** and high Google share (low weighting errors).

Long term trends all show a spike in demand (searches) during December for each country. It would appear that increased advertising and gluten free gift buying are the cause. A demand trough in the middle of the year occurs for the northern hemisphere countries of US, Canada and UK. Interestingly Australia (southern hemisphere) experiences a slight peak during this season. It appears that winter also causes a momentary surge in demand probably as people explore places to buy breads and visit restaurants etc.

US Summary

The four year trend shows an unparalleled upward growth trend that is best fitted by an exponential trend line. Over five years the gluten free demand market has grown 230%.

Australia Summary

From previous analysis it was uncovered that of the developed nations, that Australia was the global leader in gluten free e demand with a Celiac search per month value of 4.2 searches. However unlike USA or Canada its yearly seasonal trend is seen to constantly rise rather than ramp up at the end of the year.

Long term it is seen that while the growth is stronger than the UK, it is much less than US or Canada. Over five years the Australian e-demand grew 56%. 

Canada Summary

This country’s Yearly seasonal trend (Jan to Dec) is VERY similar to the US. However it typically starts ramping up growth for the whole of the second half of the year. Similarly its long term trend has a very high growth too. Canada’s five year growth of 97% was second only to the US. 

UK Summary

The UK yearly trend is has no particular pattern. If anything it appears that there is a slightly jittery trough in the centre of the year with a slight rise at least in December of each year. The long term trend for the UK gluten free demand is VERY flat.

FOUR COUNTRY’S Seasonal (Jan to Dec) trend comparison

Yearly Seasonal Linear gradients  

YEAR   USA                Australia         Canada          UK

2005   0.0303           0.0124           0.0192           0.0072

2006   0.0647           0.0147           0.0252           0.0082

2007   0.0915           0.0253           0.0562           0.0093

2008   0.0917           0.0219           0.0577           0.0098

The table above compares the seasonal trends of the four countries of interest (Jan to Dec). It shows the closeness of yearly growth patterns for the geographically close US and Canada. It also shows the almost linear growth of Australia throughout the year and the growth trough midyear experienced by the UK. As discussed, these trends are influenced by peaks during Christmas and winter in each country.

You can see that while the seasonal growth trend is increasing, it is doing so at a slowing rate (big difference between 2006 and 2007, smaller between 2007 and 2008). This most likely suggests either the onset of market maturity (or an inflexion point) and/ or the negative effect of the global financial crisis.

LONG TERM GF MARKET TRENDS

As this market is still closer to introduction than maturity, the demand is still very much in the growth phase. The table below shows how this long term growth compares between different countries. Many different equation trend lines can be fitted to the data, however I have chosen to compare linear trend lines and their R2 regression coefficient and the exponential R2 coefficients.

Trend 2004 – 2009

Metric                     US                 Australia        Canada           UK

Linear gradient          0.0117           0.0029           0.0065            0.0007

Linear R2                 0.8842            0.7095           0.8672            0.206

Exponential R2          0.9327           0.718             0.898             0.2043

Celiac Sch / mth        2.7                4.2                   3.3                2.2

GDP/ person             $48,000         $39,300         $40,200         $34,800

Very basically, an R2 value of 1.0 indicates that the regression trend line perfectly fits the data. While a value of 0 shows no correlation between data and a trend line. 

I have used the linear trend lines to compare each country’s trend as the slope of a line is an easy concept for anyone to understand. The bigger the slope, the bigger the linear gradient coefficient in the table. The table shows that the US slope is about four times greater than Australia (between 2004 and 2009). Which means based on this concept alone, that if the US was to continue this trend it will easily overtake Australia as the global leader for gluten free demand per celiac (Celiac Searches / month).

The Linear R2 value for the US is also the highest of any country. This means that its data fairly closely approximates a straight line, and there is little volatility in the data (spiking). While you can see that the yearly seasonal trend (Jan – dec) in the US is the most pronounced of any country, each year also closely approximates the previous yearly trend meaning that there are relatively few outliers (spikes of very low or high demand) away from the seasonal trend.

The exponential trend line for the US has an R2 value that is even higher than its linear trend line R2 value. This means that an exponential trend is an even better fit for the US data than a linear trend line, and that growth over the four years generally has been occurring at an increasing rate. However from the comparison of seasonal trend data, it is shown that the gradient of the latest year has increased the least over the past four years. The US growth is still strong but less than it was three and four years ago.

Australia has the highest ‘celiac search value per month’ of any country (4.2 compared to US 2.7). This suggests that per head of population that Australia is the most mature gluten free market of the countries analyzed. It’s yearly season trend (2008 gradient = 0.0219) was much less pronounced than the US, (2008 gradient = 0.0917). Its four year trend was also less: Australia linear gradient = 0.0029 compared to the US = 0.0117.

When these four countries are plotted on the GFP Matrix – Adjusted Celiac searches/ mth V ‘GDP per person’ it is seen that Australia sits slightly below the logarithmic trend line, while the US sits very high above it – suggesting that the US should potentially have at least double the number of searches per celiac that it currently does – excluding limiting factors discussed below.

The relatively low linear gradient for Australia may be of concern (market reaching maturity early or stalling), however the R2 value for the exponential trend line is closer to 1.0 than the linear R2 suggesting that the market is still mildly increasing above a linear trend.

Affect of Global Financial Crisis (GFC)

The long term growth trend information above suggests that the US and Canada should have the highest current (last year) growth rates followed by Australia then UK. However as the GFC was considered to have ground zero in the US, it is expected that this country could be the heaviest hit, and have reduced its gluten free demand the most.

Note Google data is available on a weekly basis, The data below is the average data for the month selected. Twelve months of averaged data was used to calculate the Linear Growth forecast shown as the last row in the table below.

Table: Last year growth rates (May08- May 09) – normalized

Month            US      Australia        Canada         UK

May-08          1.00    1.00             1.00              1.00

Aug-08          1.08    0.98              1.05              1.09

Nov-08          1.36    0.97              1.19              1.19

Feb-09           1.20    0.87              1.13              1.17

May-09          1.29    1.18              1.51              1.33

Forecast        1.37   1.08             1.39             1.27

Over the last four years the ANNUAL linear growth for the gluten free demand market for each country was: US (42%), Canada (18%), Australia (10%) and UK (zero). However as shown above, between May 08 and May 09 the American GF e-demand has only increased 37% compared to Canada at 39%, Australia 8% and UK 27%. That is, over the last year, Canada and UK GF market e-demand greatly over performed while US and Australia slightly underperformed.

FACTORS LIMITING GF MARKET GROWTH

The US is forecast to become the highest demand per head of population market out of the high volume developed countries – ‘if all things are equal’, but they are not. In fact, as the US GF market gets closer towards maturity (plateau), the points of difference in the economy are likely to make a much larger impact in the market, than they do during the current high growth phase. This will retard growth and increase the time to maturity. Some of the most dominant growth limiting factors in US are:

The US has as much lower level of diagnosis than Australia (Australia diagnosis level = 20%). This seemingly provides a great opportunity for growth however one ‘institutional’ reason that diagnosis is so low in the US is that it does not have ‘free healthcare’, while Australia does (Medicare). Free healthcare in Australia provides a greater access of healthcare to a larger percentage of the population, which is likely to facilitate higher diagnosis levels.

The US has higher levels of Hispanic and African American populations than the other countries analyzed. These races are believed to have lower genetic disposition to celiac disease than European races, which will limit their dietary need for gluten free.

The GFP Matrix plots ‘celiac search volumes’ against ‘GDP per person’ country values. However this simplistic wealth measure suggest that the wealth distribution of a country amongst its citizens is approximately the same between each of the developed countries under analysis. One US source, the ‘ Survey of Consumer Finances’ suggests that in 2004 that the top 1% of US families owned 34.3% of the country’s wealth while the bottom 40% of families owned less than 1% of the wealth. If this is so, then it is likely that the proportion of people who are likely to be checked for celiac disease will be lower in the US than other developed countries.

If this poorer group of people are miraculously diagnosed, they are also less likely to afford the higher cost of GF food and be able to locate the sporadic distribution of gluten free products (in poorer areas). The disproportionate wealth distribution within the US is likely to be a major limiting factor in GF market growth when compared to other developed countries.

From the previous four year history there is little doubt that US g-free demand per celiac will overtake Australia’s demand per celiac. To reduce the effects of the Global Finance Crisis, and for easy comparison of US and Australia GF markets, LINEAR trend lines were plotted for each country starting in December 2008 and using start celiac search values of US = 2.7 and Australia = 4.2. Using this data it is forecast that both countries will have an equal number of ‘celiac searchers per month’ in 63 weeks. However with the crisis, and other economic factors discussed, it is likely that this cross over will occur more likely in two years or more.

CONCLUSIONS

For anyone connected to the gluten free market: supplier or consumer, knowing what stage the market is in is important. A newly formed market often has only a few suppliers who have high costs and high margins. As a market moves towards maturity and plateaus, most easy entry markets like GF tend to have many competitors, many products and thinner margins. This is obviously much better for the consumer.

Adherence to the GFP Matrix logarithmic relation between ‘Celiac searches’ and ‘GDP per person’ scales was predicated on ‘all other things being equal’ in the economies. The ‘Global financial Crisis’ of 2008 onwards has shown that the US e-demand for gluten free products has only slowed slightly.

Australia has been said to be one of the strongest developed country economies during the global financial crisis (mostly avoiding recession). It’s gf market only slightly decreasing from May08 to May09. As internet *********** is near 80% in Australia, this low market growth is most likely due to a continued low celiac diagnosis by GP’s. While Medicare provides bulk billing (free healthcare) with many GP’s, the diverse symptoms and often complex diagnostic techniques mean that many GP’s miss diagnosing celiac disease.

With relatively low diagnosis levels even in the developed countries analyzed above, the demand part of the economics equation is likely to remain artificially low. This will restrict suppliers entering the market for a while to come and keep prices high. Besides this factor, the higher cost of manufacturing for gluten food replacements will always keep gf foods at a higher cost level.