Life can be fun or complex — your choice. In my site I share ideas about personal issues, health, family, work, love, parenting, friends, being a woman, and whatever else I can think of that might be of interest to others.






February 16th, 2012

Gluten-Free and Your Aging Body wins Silver Medal!

It’s always an honor to be recognized for your work.  I don’t think anyone could deny that statement and recognition from your peers is always a grand experience.  With Danny the Dragon receiving non-stop recognition since its release, I keep thinking it can’t get better.  A few months ago, I received confirmation that my eBook about my other undeniable cause Celiac Disease and Gluten-Free living Gluten and Your Aging Body had not only been nominated, but won a Silver Medal for eBooks in the Florida Publisher’s Association’s President’s Book Awards.

The Florida Publisher’s Association is a collection of publishers, self-publishers, authors, publishing industry friends and publishing vendors from Florida founded in 1983 by Betty Wright with the intent of giving Florida’s growing group of book publishers an opportunity for education and networking.  In 2005, then-President of the group Dinah Arnette decided to start recognizing the authors and publishers of the group in honor of their 25th anniversary, establishing the FPA President’s Book Awards.  The tradition continued and in 2011 they decided to open the competition up to the public for the first time.

I cannot express fully how honored I am to be a part of this incredible group and to be featured among the other winners.  To have two books recognized for excellence by my peers in the publishing and writing industry is the greatest honor I could ever ask for.

Thank you, FPA and thank you colleagues.  It truly is a great honor.

Tina

www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

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April 6th, 2011

Autism-Vaccine Author Defends His Research

Dr. Andrew Wakefield, who published a study in 1998 about the possible link between autism and vaccines which was subsequently questioned and discredited by the medical community, has defended his work in an interview on CNN.

Dr. Wakefield’s work has been discredited over the past several years, and ten of the eleven doctors who were involved in the study have removed their names from it. The Sunday Times reports that Dr. Wakefield “changed and misreported results” in his research, according to “confidential” medical documents and interviews with witnesses.

Dr. Wakefield’s study was published in February 1998 in The Lancet medical journal, causing widespread concern among parents that the MMR vaccine—for measles, mumps, and rubella—was linked to autism. According to The Sunday Times, the impact of the article was “extraordinary,” with vaccination rates decreasing from 92% to less than 80%, while “herd immunity” from measles occurs when 95% of the population has been vaccinated.

After a British journalist, Brian Deer, published the results of his investigation calling Wakefield’s study an “elaborate fraud,” Wakefield denied these allegations as false in an interview on CNN with Anderson Cooper. Wakefield continues to stand by his findings, saying that the results have been replicated in studies in five other countries and that Deer has received financial support from a pharmaceutical company. Check out the link below to see the interview yourself.

CNN Video Clip

Tina Turbin

www.DannyTheDragon.com

b.a.

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Posted in Being a Mom, Children, Family, Health, Natural Alternatives, Parents, Press and Media, References, Women's Health | No Comments »


March 30th, 2011

Reduce Your Exposure to Chemical Food Dyes – Part 2

The easiest way to avoid or reduce your exposure to chemical coloring is simply to avoid a lot of processed food.  Check your gluten-free labels always.

FD&C on a label means the FDA allows the dyes to be used in food, drugs and cosmetics.  Sometimes you’ll see FDA Red 40 or FD&C Red 40, so these are just 2 ways the labeling is used.

The FDA allows nine synthetic color additives to this date despite consumer advocacy groups showing mass evidence of the 2 dyes; Red 40 and Yellow 6 linked to hyperactivity, hence attention disorders.

Also, the term artificial colors means “dyes from plants and minerals”, not a synthetic source.  Two of these are caramel (used in cola) and annatto extract from a tropical seed and used in some cheeses to make the color desired.

Click here to read Part 1 on how chemical food dyes are linked to hyperactivity.

Tina Turbin
www.TinaTurbin.com

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Posted in Advice, Being a Mom, Children, Cooking, Health, High Quality of Life, Motherhood, Parents | 1 Comment »


March 23rd, 2011

Chemical Food Dyes and Hyperactivity – Part 1

Chemical dyes are in all types of foods and despite evidence of some of them wreaking havoc; the FDA has allowed them to remain on the “safe list”.

Manufacturers like to use them due to their capabilities to enhance foods, gums etc.  The results are vivid, consistent and very appealing.

The FDA monitors the production of nine synthetic color additives they consider safe.  Consumer advocacy groups have linked two of these dyes, Red 40 and Yellow 6, to hyperactivity in many children.

It is said that sometime in late 2010 the European Union will require any product containing these dyes to be labeled as such “May have an adverse effect on activity or attention in children”.  Some companies in Britain have already phased them out.

Tina Turbin
www.TinaTurbin.com

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March 13th, 2011

Tina Sends a THANK YOU to All of You

Dear Friends,

I’m sending this out to say THANK YOU to all of you for your continued support – it’s a tremendous help and been quite an avenue to meet such nice people. I love reading all of your communications too.

A special thanks to many of you for calling and sending in the many questions for the past near two years of radio shows, your suggestions, your invaluable feedback, your questions and for listening in on the various shows. I have been on a 4-month break from the radio shows and interviews I was accepting, enabling me to focus on some exciting projects as a children’s author, a fully grain-free (and of course gluten-free) cook, my work in the celiac arena and of course my studying which is very important to me.

I am being very selective ( or picky as you may say) and will do just a few shows this year, keeping you informed. Some very exciting and very wonderful projects are moving forward. Things have really expanded beautifully.

Wishing you all an amazing 2011 and wishing you all success and accomplishment in your goals.

Tina Turbin
www.TinaTurbin.com
r.n.

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March 9th, 2011

Traveling Gluten-Free Site

There seems to be a number of sites on travel.  Karen reached out to me to share a bit about her travel site and here is her story as well:

Tina,

I launched a website almost exactly two years ago to address this specific challenge: traveling safely on a gluten-free diet. My son, who was diagnosed with Celiac before he was even two years old, is now almost seven. We had taken a Caribbean vacation and had realized there wasn’t really any place to share our feedback with other Celiacs looking to plan safe and fun vacations with gluten-free family members…and few places to go to GET feedback when in the initial planning stages of a trip.

Two years ago I launched my own gluten free website to help people find restaurants, grocery stores, hotels/resorts, and cruise ships around the world that accommodate gluten-free diets. It is a review-based site, with dining and travel reviews submitted by people all over the country — and the world. We have over 800 reviews, and they are organized geographically to make it easy to access the ones most relevant to you. In fact, we just added new and improved search technology to allow users to narrow their search down to the city/town or zip code level — and map the results.

We also have a section of our site called Gluten Free Restaurant Menus ( http://www.glutenfreetravelsite.com/restaurants ) dedicated to listing some of the best national and regional chain restaurants with gluten-free menus (with direct links to those menus).

So all told, our site helps users find thousands of great places to safely dine gluten-free around the world. I hope you’ll find it useful Tina!
Karen Broussard
http://www.glutenfreetravelsite.com

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March 2nd, 2011

Coconut Flour and Coconut Oil

You may want to consider coconut as a regular part of your diet. There are endless ways to indulge! The best way to experience the many health-giving gifts of coconut is to try virgin coconut oil.

I truly believe Virgin coconut oil is one of the smartest oils you can eat. Rich in lauric acid, coconut oil contains NO trans fat, strengthens your immune system and boosts your metabolism! I am not diagnosing jut sharing my opinion.

Also, by substituting Coconut Flour in some baking recipes, you can literally recreate your favorite treats, turning them into delicious guilt-free health promoting foods.

Coconut flour which has been defatted and then finely ground into a powder has a very similar consistency to wheat flour. However, that’s where the similarities begin and end. Coconut flour is unlike any other consisting of 14% coconut oil and 58% dietary fiber! The remaining 28% consists of water, protein, and carbohydrate. If you haven’t tried coconut flour yet, here are some more excellent reasons to start:

·Coconut Flour is gluten-free and hypoallergenic. With as much protein as wheat flour, coconut flour has none of the specific protein in wheat called “gluten”. This is an advantage for a growing percentage of the population who have allergies to gluten or a wheat sensitivity.

·Coconut Flour consists of the highest percentage of dietary fiber( 58%) found in any flour. Wheat bran has only is 27% fiber.

Tina Turbin

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Posted in Advice, Cooking, Gluten-Free, Health | 4 Comments »


February 23rd, 2011

Genetic Testing Without a Doctors Visit

Can you control what genes you are born with? NO! You change your diet and lifestyle to avoid the troubles you may be facing and that seems to be about it.

Now gluten sensitivity and celiac disease can be evaluated with genetic testing. Traditional diagnostic testing has focused on blood antibody tests and or intestinal biopsies. Traditional tests for gluten sensitivity are often incorrect though.

These tests only measure a fraction of how a person’s immune system can react to gluten  Blood tests only measure the gluten found in wheat (gliadin). People react to gluten in different ways.  Some people may have one or multiple immune reactions: intestinal problems, psychological problems, migraine headaches, psoriasis, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis – the list goes on and on. Many patients go to a doctor’s office after they were already biopsied or blood tested and then told that they did not have gluten intolerance, to find out that their DNA tests were positive.

Traditional definition of gluten – clarified!

Most of the research regarding gluten intolerance, sensitivity and celiac disease focuses only on 3 grains “wheat, barley, rye” and sometimes a fourth, oats.   Many studies link the gluten in corn to adverse reactions and almost half of the people diagnosed with celiac disease do not get better on a traditionally defined gluten free diet – why is this? The answer: the traditionally defined Gluten Free Diet is not really gluten free.

You may read more about this very interesting topic at:

http://www.glutenfreesociety.org/genetic-testing-for-gluten-sensitivity

Tina Turbin
www.TinaTurbin.com
r.n.

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February 16th, 2011

Pharmacies and Gluten in Medication

Gluten is used in many medications as an excipient, so it is important for people with celiac disease to check with the manufacturer to be sure that each medication they take is gluten-free.

Some patients may ask for their pharmacist’s help in reading the list of ingredients or contacting the manufacturer directly.

It’s also important for pharmacists to be aware that medications may not work as expected in people with undiagnosed celiac disease, due to possible problems with malabsorption.

The Problem:

* There are currently NO requirements for  labeling gluten or common 
allergens
 found in drug ingredients.

* There are NO specific precautions for individuals with celiac disease in 
labeling.

* Potential sources of gluten in medication excipients are NOT 
well-recognized by 
health professionals or patients.

* Botanical sources of starch may not be specified.

* Generic formulations may include different excipients than the 
brand-name drug.

Starches found in medications:
 Starch derivatives:

* Dextrates (source not specified)

* Dextrin (source not  specified but usually corn or potato)

Other excipients:

* Dextrimaltose  (when barley malt is used)

* Caramel coloring (when barley malt is used)

* Corn (most common)

* Modified starch (source not specified)

* Potato

* Pregelatinized starch (source not specified)

* Wheat

* Tapioca

* Pregelatinized modified starch (source not  specified)

Manufacturers: Some drug manufacturers can advise a patient who contacts them about the 
gluten
content of a particular medication.
  On the web:
 www.glutenfreedrugs.com. (Maintained by
a pharmacist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus,  Ohio)

In Print: A Guide through the Medicine Cabinet. 
A book developed to  give those who suffer with Celiac Disease the tools to choose medications and  supplements that meet special dietary requirements.

Tina Turbin

www.TinaTurbin.com

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February 13th, 2011

Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs – Valentine’s Day Recipe

Below is a little teaser of a recipe from a soon to be released book, Gluten Free Cookies by Luane Kohnke. You will have an opportunity to read the review of many tested recipes we will be doing out of her book over the next two months. So check back soon!

Enjoy and Happy Valentines Day, Tina

Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup potato starch
2 1/2 tablespoons tapioca flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons almond flour
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg

Makes 48 to 60 cookies

I developed this recipe for my friend Gail.  She was diagnosed with celiac disease late in life, and really missed her sweets. She told me that these cookies reminded her of the sugar cookies her grandmother made.

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, sift together brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, baking soda,  cream of tartar, and salt. Whisk in almond flour. Set aside.

2. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar. Set mixer speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and egg. Beat until well combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Divide dough into quarters, and wrap each quarter in plastic wrap or wax paper. Chill for 1 to 2 hours, or overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment.

4. Roll dough, one quarter at a time, between sheets of wax paper, to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with heart-shaped cookie cutter, dipping cookie cutter in brown rice flour or all-purpose gluten-free flour to aid cutting.

5. Place cookies on prepared cookie sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. If dough becomes too soft to reroll easily, return it to the refrigerator or place it in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes, until it is firm enough to reroll. Sprinkle cookies with granulated sugar, demerara sugar, or gluten-free sanding sugar.

6. Bake until edges are pale golden brown, about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes.

7. Transfer cookies, still on parchment, to wire racks to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Recipe taken from Gluten-Free Cookies by Luane Kohnke
(978-1-4162-0623-1; $18.95; Pub date: March 2011; Sellers Publishing; 50+ full-color photos, Hardcover)

Author Bio:

Luane Kohnke has been an accomplished gourmet cookie baker for more than 20 years. Her love for cookie baking began when she was nine years old, living on her family’s farm in Wisconsin, and she developed an interest in gluten-free baking about 15 years ago. Luane lives in New York City. For more information, visit www.luanekohnke.com.

Tina Turbin
www.TinaTurbin.com

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Posted in Baking, Being a Mom, Children, Cooking, Family, Gluten-Free, Health, High Quality of Life, Recipes | 9 Comments »

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