Gluten-Free Baking Eases Allergies

On Wednesday, August 3, 2011, the Longview News-Journal featured an article on food allergies and intolerances in the Taste section titled "Gluten-free baking eases allergies." The article written by editor Charlotte Stewart, features a family who has had to learn to cook and prepare food without gluten and other ingredients that trigger severe health conditions for a member of their family.

The article includes an interview with Danielle Heard, MS, HHC, of Artemis in the City as an expert on food allergies and intolerances.

If you would like to read the article on the Longview News-Journal's website please click here or download the newspaper pdfs page 1 and page 2.

Thank you very much Charlotte and the Longview News-Journal for including Artemis in the City in the article! We are very grateful that you thought to interview Danielle.

The following is additional information which was provided during the interview. Danielle has extensive educational training, background and also professional experience in working with people who have food allergy and intolerance issues. She specializes in helping people who have various difficult to diagnose and treat health conditions that most often is linked to their food choices. Many of Danielle's clients initially have food intolerance or allergy issues but with dietary changes they are able to regain their health.

Food allergies and intolerances can be expressed through many symptoms such as headaches, migraines, stomachaches, diarrhea, depression, skin rashes, fatigue, bloating, gas, wheezing, asthma, brain fog, loss of balance, body pain and more.

People can become extremely ill and lose a lot of weight if they are consuming the wrong foods, drinks and even medications. Danielle has experience working with clients who have ulcerative colitis, IBS, Crohn's disease, cyclic vomiting syndrome, and unwanted weight loss. In some of these cases she has worked with adults who only weighed 80 pounds. They were extremely frail, had been to multiple gastroenterologists for help, were taking many medications and were having diarrhea six or more times each day. These people, who often are older women, were desperate for help because they wanted to live. Once their diet was assessed and potential problems were identified, these clients were able to make nutrition and lifestyle changes, their diarrhea stopped
and they were able to regain their strength.

In-depth food diaries are very telling. A lot of the products people believe will build their bodies or have even been advised to use by other health care professionals are laden with various sugars and chemicals that can make their health situation worse. The quality of the product really matters especially when a person is chronically ill and is trying to prevent or reverse disease. Danielle often discovers through assessing her clients' personal food diaries, that people are using multiple harmful products, and that they are completely unaware of its affect on their health and body.

People are all biologically different and a food that is healthy for one person can be
harmful to another. Most people, who have been able to connect their symptoms with foods, claim they have food allergies when in fact they really have food intolerances. There is a difference between food intolerances and food allergies. Often if a person has a food intolerance, the food can be rotated into the diet and tolerated in small amounts. But if the food is used on a regular basis, it can trigger health symptoms. Food allergies on the other hand can potentially cause life threatening situations and they generally should always be avoided.

Only in extreme and difficult cases will Danielle suggest a client implement a standard allergy elimination diet which consists of only five to seven foods. A person will eat only those select foods for a period of time to clear their system of symptoms. The foods are considered to be the least allergenic such as brown rice though it is possible for a person to have sensitivities to these foods as well. In many cases it is the combinations of foods that cause health issues which can be detected through the assessment of a client's food diary and within session discussions. After incorporating an elimination diet a person will then reintroduce foods one at a time to see how they react to the food.

For a person to achieve optimal health, rotation of food is key so that the person is not eating the same five to seven foods every day. This is a general recommendation that is helpful for everyone to follow and not just for people with food intolerances.

There is no one diet that is right for everyone. This is why connecting health symptoms to foods is often very difficult and requires much time and personalization. As a Health Counselor or Health Coach Danielle help's people identify what triggers their health symptoms, learn to listen to their body and helps them find healthier options so they can live healthy lives.

Since Danielle has experienced and overcome many health issues that were related to her food choices such as body pain, migraines and IBS, and was diagnosed with connective tissue disease and fibromyalgia in 1997 when she was just 28-years-old, she has a lot of knowledge in the area of food intolerances and allergies. Dietary change was key to her recovery. She has been living a healthy symptom and pain-free life for more than 13 years. Danielle firmly believes in the healing properties of natural whole foods, and is dedicated to helping people make better health choices in order to improve their health and prevent disease.

A Certified Holistic Health Counselor or Health Coach is somewhat of a new field. As a Health Counselor, Danielle works as an extension to health care to educate, teach and support people in order to help them implement healthy nutrition and lifestyle changes. She works with individuals, couples, partners, parents and mature children and groups. She also partners with medical doctors to better help patients address health issues related to lifestyle and diet.

Danielle obtained her education and training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and Teachers College Columbia University as well as the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts. Health and nutrition experts such as Andrew Weil MD, Deepak Chopra MD, Walter Willett MD, PhD (Harvard University) and Marion Nestle PhD (New York University) were educators in her programs along with many other renowned health experts including food and healing experts Paul Pitchford MS, Annemarie Colbin PhD and raw food expert David Wolfe MS,JD.

Danielle's education and training is inclusive of both Eastern and Western dietary theories which enables her to integrate many dietary theories in order to help people. Additionally, she has over 619 hours of culinary experience from the Natural Gourmet Institute, which is a leader in training professional chefs in natural whole foods cooking. She is trained in health supportive meal planning and cooking and food and healing. Danielle's experience includes special dietary cooking such as Macrobiotics, Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, Spa Cooking, Candida, Ayurvedic, Raw Cuisine, Regeneration Diets, Cooking for Cancer and Heart Disease and more!

Please click here to read the client testimonials and the complete success stories of some of Artemis in the City's clients.

Please click here to learn more about Artemis in the City's Holistic Nutrition Programs and Services.

Please click here to learn more about Danielle.

If you are experiencing food allergies or intolerances, are having difficulty in recovering your health, or simply just want to learn to improve your health and the health of your family nutritionally, please contact Danielle Heard, MS, HHC, of Artemis in the City 866-330-5421.

If you would like to create a more vibrant and healthy life and need personal support and assistance to help you get started, please contact me today! I can help you 866-330-5421. Services are provided nationally via telephone sessions. In person sessions are currently available for those living in the East Texas area!

Thank you very much for reading my blog and please continue to visit often.

I wish you good health, happiness and love!

Danielle

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