Hey readers! 🌾 The holiday season is in full swing, and while that means festive gatherings and delicious treats, it also brings unique challenges for our community. This week we're diving into some fascinating research on long-term outcomes, a controversial prescription decision in the UK, and plenty of practical resources to help you navigate the season with confidence.
📰 This Week's Highlights
Celiac Disease Alarm Symptoms: Long-Term Health Predictors? — A Finnish study following 814 adults for nearly a decade found that presenting with alarm symptoms like anemia and weight loss at diagnosis doesn't lead to worse long-term outcomes once you're on a gluten-free diet. – Medscape
"Alarm symptoms at the time of CeD diagnosis might not always necessitate further investigations, at least in younger patients; however, the importance of careful clinical judgement and individualized follow‑up remains crucial."
This is reassuring news for anyone who received their diagnosis after experiencing severe symptoms. The one caveat: patients with alarm symptoms did show higher rates of osteopenia or osteoporosis, so bone health monitoring remains important.
Gluten-free prescriptions in South Yorkshire axed to save money — South Yorkshire's health board has eliminated gluten-free prescriptions for most residents despite 63% of consultation respondents opposing the change. – BBC News
"This is purely a financial decision, but it's actually going to save less than 1% of the South Yorkshire budget," said Dr Nick Trott.
This decision affects both adults and children, with exceptions only for those at highest risk. It's a frustrating reminder that gluten-free food access remains a policy battleground, even when the savings are minimal.
Drug Repurposing to Treat Celiac Disease — With GSK recently exiting celiac research, drug repurposing offers a faster path to treatment by leveraging already-tested medications. – Celiac Journey
"Because these drugs have already been tested in humans, early signals of efficacy in Celiac Disease can be generated much faster than with novel compounds." – Dr. David Fajgenbaum
The article also highlights the Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy Report, which calls for FDA labeling of gluten as a major food allergen.
🔬 Research Roundup
Hepatic Steatosis and Diet in Adult Celiac Disease — A Hungarian study found fatty liver disease in 34% of celiac patients, with BMI being the strongest predictor. Interestingly, olive oil consumption was linked to milder severity. – PubMed
Infection with Helicobacter pylori and the age at onset of coeliac disease — Norwegian researchers discovered that H. pylori-positive individuals were diagnosed with celiac disease at an older age (62.3 years vs. 54.8 years), suggesting the infection may somehow delay clinical onset. – HUNT Research Centre
Skin manifestations in individuals with undiagnosed celiac seropositivity — A Danish study of over 9,000 adults found no significant link between undiagnosed celiac seropositivity and skin symptoms, which may help clarify diagnostic priorities. – PubMed
Elevated Transaminases Revealing Celiac Disease — A case report of a 28-year-old woman with elevated liver enzymes but zero GI symptoms who was diagnosed with celiac disease. Her liver normalized within three months on a gluten-free diet. – Mughal et al.
🍞 Food Science Corner
Chickpea sourdough as a functional ingredient in gluten-free bread — Researchers found that chickpea flour fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum significantly improves gluten-free bread quality, increasing volume, reducing hardness, and boosting antioxidant activity. – Food Hydrocolloids
Innovative Technology for Gluten-free Food Products — An 80:20 corn-to-rice flour ratio delivers sensory quality comparable to wheat-based products while improving porosity and moisture retention. – Current Nutrition & Food Science
Comparison of sensory quality perceptions of gluten-free cookies — Good news for product development: celiac and non-celiac consumers rate gluten-free cookies similarly, meaning taste testing doesn't require exclusively celiac panels. – Frontiers Media SA
🛠️ Tools & Resources
Ask the Experts Dec 2025 — This month's expert is Joanna Perl, MS, RD from Vanderbilt's Celiac Clinic, answering questions about gluten challenges, tTG-IgA testing, and IBS overlap. – National Celiac Association
Restaurant Cards in 63 Languages — Free, printable dining cards to communicate your dietary needs when traveling abroad. Users report these significantly reduce accidental gluten exposure. – Celiac Travel
"I used your Spanish card in Panama with great success. Waitstaff were often bemused but were very helpful and we never once got an inadvertent dose of gluten." – Karla Maree
Participate in Research — Three active U.S. trials are recruiting adults 18-65 with confirmed celiac disease: TEV-CeD2, AVALON, and ASPIRION. Compensation may be available. – Celiac Disease Foundation
🎄 Holiday & Community
Events Around the Nation Dec 2025 — Virtual gingerbread decorating for kids ages 5-12 on December 18, plus monthly support meetings for all ages. – National Celiac Association
Ep 346 December 2025 Roundup — Canadian listeners: sign the e-petition for a federal gluten-free tax credit and participate in the University of Alberta cost survey. – A Canadian Celiac Podcast
Fighting for awareness: Chris Hunt Skelley MBE — Paralympic judo champion shares his long diagnostic journey and the challenges of maintaining a gluten-free diet as an elite athlete. – Coeliac UK
Join the 64 Challenge — Mark your calendars for May: Coeliac UK's awareness campaign highlights that 64% of UK celiacs remain undiagnosed. – Coeliac UK
📊 Industry News
Gluten-Free Packaged Food Market Forecast — The market is projected to reach $17.82 billion by 2032, driven by product innovation and direct-to-consumer models. – Research and Markets
Celiac Disease Diagnostics and the Future of Autoimmune Testing — AliveDx's new MosaiQ platform simultaneously detects multiple celiac antibodies with up to 100% positive agreement, streamlining lab workflows. – AliveDx
A Novel Tool for Celiac Disease Classification — Italian researchers developed a machine-learning classifier trained on nearly 2,500 patients to automatically categorize celiac subtypes from clinical data. – PubMed
💬 From the Community
Family ate my gf treat — A Reddit user shares the frustration of having their specially-made gluten-free candied walnuts eaten by family members who don't understand dietary restrictions. – r/glutenfree
"There are so many things we can't eat, and we live among people who don't have to consider things like that."
If this resonates with you during the holidays, you're not alone. Consider labeling your safe foods clearly or keeping a personal stash in a separate location.
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