We have way too much fun in part 2 of our summertime spectacular featuring Cam's dad, Brian and Mike's nephew, Sam. Topics include summer grilling, both meat and meatless options, some amazing donuts that Sam has fried up, and a seltzer that tastes a little too much like suntan lotion. Mike and Cam also realize during the podcast that Mike's affection for seltzer is likely greater than the three of them combined.

It's summertime and although we are still sadly dealing with the realities of the coronavirus, we aren't going to let that ruin our fun. Mike and Cam sit down with Cam's dad Brian and Mike's nephew, Sam (from a social distance) to taste and rate a couple of adult beverages and talk about what they have been cooking up during the pandemic. Part 1 includes Sam's foray into gluten free sourdough, a strange wedding you won't believe plus Brian's quest to find yeast. They also try High Noon Sun Sips Vodka & Soda and Odd Side's Fuzzy Navel.

Marilyn Geller, Chief Executive Officer of the Celiac Disease Foundation (CDF), joins Mike and Cam, candidly sharing her own personal story. Marilyn connects how her experience has led to her life's mission of creating a better world for people with celiac disease. We hear about all that the CDF is doing to support advocacy and an update on the search for new treatments and a cure for celiac. She also shares how you can get involved to make real systemic change for the better for those with CD and gluten intolerance.

Fellow Celiac, Julie Morgenlender, joins Mike and Cam to discuss her new nonfiction anthology, "The Things We Don't Say: An Anthology of Chronic Illness Truths."  In the book, Julie shares her own health journey among a compilation of at times jaw-dropping stories from other sufferers. She explains why giving the medical community and the general public a better understanding of what living with chronic illness looks like is so important.  Julie also talks about some of the biggest challenges people with chronic illness face on a day to day basis.

You can purchase the book on Amazon:

https://amzn.to/3i1rtyJ

For part 2 of the Spring Mailbag, Mike and Cam share one listener's amazing journey to diagnosis that they found to be highly relatable. They also talk about a possible correlation between schizophrenia and celiac disease. Plus, an update on The Celiac Project Documentary. Keep sharing your stories and comments with us and you might just make it on an upcoming podcast.

Mike and Cam dig down into their mailbag to share questions and comments from you, our amazing audience! Topics included in part 1 are a new listener who shares her road to diagnosis plus emails about pregnancy and child rearing with celiac disease.

The FDA has made some changes to labeling laws during the pandemic to make things easier for manufacturers to "tweak" their "lesser" ingredients without reflecting these changes on the label. Mike and Cam explore these new regulations and give their thoughts on the ramifications it can have on the gluten free and allergen free communities.

Before the pandemic, we interviewed Maureen Basye just after her very successful Celiac Cruise in January.  After much discussion with her, we ultimately felt it would still be great to share the adventure. So, we recorded an updated intro including a short discussion with Maureen on cruising in the future and what it might look like. After that, you'll hear the original podcast from January--with all of the sheltering in place, you can come sail away on this truly one-of-a-kind gluten free adventure!

Mike and Cam are happy to welcome back Dawn Scheu, owner and trainer at Willow's Service Dogs. Dawn discusses the final stages of Cam's journey training his dog Lacy to be a gluten detection dog and some of the challenges they faced. In addition to talking about what a person should take into account before thinking about the process of a gluten detection dog, Dawn talks about the things you need to think about before getting a pet in general and specifically during the pandemic.

Advocacy for celiac disease comes in all shapes and sizes. This is clearly apparent with two of our favorite young guests, Mike's daughters, Jessica (11) and Melanie (8). On the occasion of Melanie's 8th birthday she shares her experience of what it's like to be the only non celiac or gluten intolerant member of her household. Mike and his family have employed unique strategies to make sure Melanie can still enjoy a little gluten while keeping the rest of the family safe.

This year we do a new twist on our annual Celiac Awareness Month "State of the Union" podcast. We wanted to get an expanded view of what life has been like during this pandemic, so we brought in Aaron Bull, who is located in Virginia, to share his perspective on living with celiac disease during this unprecedented time. Mike, Cam and Aaron share their takeaways and tips that they have each used to get through life with celiac under quarantine.

To learn more about Aaron and the work he does:

https://www.bullcm.com/

It's Celiac Awareness Month and we want to make it special despite the continued need for social distancing. Today our guest, Andrea Tucker of Baltimore Gluten Free, shares what she is doing to help advocate for and educate young adults and their families who are making the transition from high school to college. This can often be a rocky road due to the fact that there is a vast range of support levels from school to school. Andrea helps guide families with the right tools to make the best decision of where to attend.

Here is the link to Andrea's GF College101 Facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/glutenfreecollege/?ref=share

Here is her list of "Must Ask Questions Every GF HS Student Should Have When Looking at Colleges":

https://mailchi.mp/fd9f9db44444/mustaskquestions

Do you have issues taking traditional recipes and converting them to gluten free recipes? Alex Hutchinson, who was diagnosed with celiac disease early in his life, made it his mission to help folks do just that. He created the app and website Recipe Revolution to help consumers and restaurants take traditional favorites and turn them into equally tasty gluten free versions.

Returning guest, Leah Davis, connects with us from Berlin, Germany. When we first talked to Leah (Episode 162) she told us what it was like to be newly diagnosed with celiac disease while also navigating living in a new country.  Leah is now pregnant with her first child, and she shares her experiences as a celiac. She shares her top takeaways and tips to others with celiac who are considering having a baby.

Before quarantine started, Mike and Cam sat down to talk about new research including the exciting new mouse model being conducted at the University of Chicago. Other topics include some reasons why it can be so hard at times to figure out if you were glutened at a restaurant.

Coral Barajas, founder of Serving Celiacs and the podcast, You & Me Gluten Free, stops by to chat with Mike and Cam. We also are excited to be joining Coral on her podcast, so make sure to check that out on Tuesday of this week. Learn all about Coral and what inspired her passion for helping people on their celiac and gluten free journey.

After a couple of weeks of special guests talking about the coronavirus we are back today with  part 2 of Cam's California adventure. Cam tells us about his journey to Big Bear National Park. We hear about the amazing food that he and his father Brian cooked up between skiing and snowboarding. The trip was not without setbacks as Cam had to push through a sinus infection at the tail end of their vacation, but that didn't stop him from checking out his favorite comedy show.

As things continue to evolve with COVID-19, we are joined by world renowned celiac expert Dr. Peter Green, Professor of Clinical Medicine and Director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University in New York City. Dr. Green illuminates us about the need for further studies to really understand how those with celiac disease will be affected by this virus and is currently setting up an international database to forward his research.

This has been a challenging and scary time to say the least, so to gain some clarity on the Coronavirus and Celiac Disease we reached out to Dr. Benny Kerzner, Pediatric Gastroenterologist and creator of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Children's National Health System.  Dr. Kerzner helps shed some light on how the virus impacts those of us with celiac disease.

Cam hasn't done much long distance travel lately, but he and his dad, Brian, recently packed their bags and headed to the Los Angeles area and ultimately on a trek to Big Bear National park for some skiing and snow boarding. In part 1 of their adventure, we hear about how they prepped for their trip, a rough beginning at the airport in Chicago, and how they satisfied their huge hunger once they arrived. Look for part 2 next week!

We are so excited that the Gluten in Medicine Disclosure Act was introduced as a Bill in Congress at the end of 2019. It been a long time coming and we hope it becomes a law soon! We also speculate on celiac diagnosis rates. Is it time for some of the numbers related to celiac diagnosis to be updated? Is it time for a "celiac census?"

General Mills recently put out feelers on a new line of products that they term "gluten friendly." These products start with gluten free ingredients, but would not necessarily be made on gluten free lines or made in gluten free facilities. We weigh in on this and also talk about the downside of the term "gluten friendly" as it is being used for restaurants and how we feel it negatively impacts our community.

New takeaways have been published pertaining to the 2018 Doggie Bag Study. This study was the first of its kind as it tested actual samples from the participant's food and then studied the reaction that the food had on each of the subjects (all with celiac disease). The major finding from this study is that it might, sadly, be impossible to live completely gluten free.

Mike and Cam welcome guest Vanessa Weisbrod, the Executive Director of the Celiac Disease Program at Children's National Hospital. Vanessa shares her personal celiac story, and talks about the work she is doing, including the groundbreaking cross-contact studies for home and school, which sent shockwaves throughout the celiac and gluten free communities.  Vanessa explains why these studies are so important moving forward.

Justin Bieber recently took to Instagram to announce he is gluten intolerant. This got Mike and Cam thinking about some of the gluten free celebrities who have already claimed gluten free status. They discuss what having a high profile spokesperson might do for the gluten free world. Also, the confusion around some of these celebs, in that one website might say that they are gluten intolerant and another will say they have celiac. We discuss whether it is something that should matter to our community.