Delete the Wheat - Blog

Do you wish you knew how to better care for yourself or your patient on the gluten-free diet?

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It all starts with a soup-to-nuts assessment of your physical, nutritional, social and emotional health. 

Click here to read a comprehensive, right off the press article on the nutritional assessment of patients with celiac disease and then send it to your own dietitian or doctor.  

I was honored to co-author this comprehensive article with my esteemed colleagues and friends – lead author dietitian Anne Lee, EdD, RD, dietitians Jessica Lebovits and Lori Welstead, Dr. Amelie Therrien, Dr. Ben Lebwohl and Dr. Ritu Verma.

A few KEY take-aways:

The frequency of visits with a dietitian skilled in celiac disease are sadly lacking worldwide. Standardized medical nutrition therapy for the gluten-free diet is also greatly overdue.

In our paper published online in early November, the team:

  • Called for ongoing nutrition monitoring of patients with celiac disease

  • Outlined a nutrition-focused physical and diet assessment of the person with celiac disease

  • Shone attention on the need for assessing and supporting  a person’s quality of life and psychosocial condition living on the gluten-free diet

  • Developed a new, short, easy-to-administer dietary adherence tool (GLUTEN-FREE DIET ADHERENCE SURVEY) which we will be validating in upcoming studies. 

The paper covers many topics: nutrient imbalances,  labs to check, weight concerns, managing two or more diseases with diet, oats, food insecurity, educational facilities, and more.

You will come away with a tremendous amount of useful information to share with your health care team. 

Thank you!

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Melinda Dennis, MS, RDN

Hi! I was diagnosed with celiac disease and Dermatitis Herpetiformis (an associated skin rash) in 1992 when celiac disease was considered to be rare. Following my passion for teaching, I received my MS in Nutrition and Health Promotion from Simmons College in Boston, MA, completed my clinical internship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and in 2004 co-founded the Celiac Center as the Nutrition Coordinator and a research co-investigator where I work today.

I enjoy lecturing nationally and internationally and have written extensively on the nutritional management of celiac disease, including the award-winning book Real Life with Celiac Disease: Troubleshooting and Thriving Gluten Free. I am lead author and editor of the comprehensive nutrition and medical website: celiacnow.org and served two terms as the first dietitian Councilor at Large for the North American Society for the Study of Celiac Disease.

I now serve as Executive Committee Member of the Celiac Research Program at Harvard Medical School. and as Senior Nutritionist Consultant to the National Celiac Association.

I've been interviewed by NPR, US News and World Report, Today's Dietitian, Boston Magazine, AARP, Eating Well, the Harvard Health Letter, the Boston Globe, the LA Times, WCVB TV Boston, Fox News, and numerous radio stations and gluten-free magazines. It's been my pleasure to work with many patients and multiple gluten-free companies to advance the awareness of gluten-related disorders. Click here to access links to various interviews and articles.

Banner Photo: Courtesy of Newton Community Farm, MA