Salt Lake City Gluten Intolerance Group®
2809 E. Commonwealth Ave.
Salt Lake City , UT 84109
website: www.gfutah.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: Barb Shelley, (801) 487-4898
Today’s Date: July 21, 2005
Event Date: Tuesday, August 9, 2005, 7-8:30 p.m.
St. Mark’s Hospital Women’s Pavilion, Second Floor, Room A
Free and open to the public
Author to speak, provide hope: “Gluten intolerance is not a curse”
SALT LAKE CITY—As part of a six-city tour, author and chef, 28-year-old Shreve Stockton, will travel to Salt Lake City to speak to the Gluten Intolerance Group monthly community support meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 9.
“It can seem overwhelming when a person is first diagnosed with gluten intolerance,” says Stockton. “But I want to tell both diagnosed and undiagnosed Utahns that they don’t have to suffer anymore. Gluten intolerance is not a curse. There are many wonderful things you can do in your new life. There are hidden gifts.”
Stockton will speak from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the St. Mark’s Hospital Women’s Pavilion, second floor, classroom A. St. Mark’s Hospital is at 1200 East 3900 South. Sponsored by the Salt Lake City Gluten Intolerance Group, the event is free and open to the public.
Diagnosed as gluten intolerant three years ago at the age of 25 while living in San Francisco, Stockton remembers the frustration she felt when her first attempts to diagnose her baffling symptoms failed. “I was in horrific abdominal pain, had severe fatigue and depression. I couldn’t concentrate,” says Stockton who believes the stress of her recent move from New York City to San Francisco triggered her inherited potential to develop the disease. As her health deteriorated she says, “I lost hope.” Working through her pain, she searched for answers, and, after some research and experimentation with her diet, she approached her physician again. It was during this follow-up office visit, she learned that she might be gluten intolerant, and later confirmed the diagnosis.
Individuals with gluten intolerance are advised by physicians not to eat gluten which is found in wheat, rye, and barley. The Gluten Intolerance Group also recommends they not eat oats due to the potential for cross
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contamination with gluten containing grains. Individuals who suspect they are gluten intolerant should see a physician and request a blood test rather than treat themselves. Gluten intolerance is also referred to as celiac disease, gluten sensitive enteropathy and celiac sprue. For more information, go to www.gluten.net or www.gfutah.org
“Once I was diagnosed, I was both relieved and stunned. What would I eat? Gluten is everywhere.” Stockton remembers standing in the food isles at the grocery store crying. She soon realized that research, creativity, and self-reliance would be her best options. She read international cookbooks about whole grain flours that are highly nutritious such as teff flour used in Ethopia and sorghum common in India and Africa as well as millet, an ancient grain eaten by humans for thousands of years. She experimented and developed recipes now printed in her widely-available book, “Eating Gluten Free,” published by Marlow & Company.
Stockton, who has a bachelor’s degree in photography earned in California and who worked professionally in New York City, admits it is a surprise even to her that she became a chef.
“Before my diagnosis, I used my oven to store my books,” she quips. “Cooking is one of the surprise gifts from learning I have gluten intolerance.” Another gift is the opportunity to help others. “So many people are suffering or have been misdiagnosed,” says Stockton. “This is my chance to spread the word about gluten intolerance so that others will hopefully be diagnosed quickly and learn to cook healthy, nutritious gluten-free foods.”
Riding her Vespa scooter, Stockton will travel from San Francisco to Sacramento, Reno, Salt Lake City, Jackson, Wyo., and complete her tour in Bozeman, Mont. to meet with people who have or think they might have gluten intolerance.
About Gluten Intolerance Group in Utah
The Gluten Intolerance Group in Utah will host the national Gluten Intolerance Group Education Conference on June 9-11, 2006 at the Sheraton City Centre Hotel. The event will feature internationally recognized physicians and other medical professionals discussing the latest medical research, chefs who specialize in gluten-free cooking, a kids’ camp and teen program. Meals provided at the conference will be gluten free.
The Utah GIG branches will host the fourth annual Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Dinner Buffet at the Wasatch Presbyterian Church, 2:30-5:00 p.m., November 13, 2005. Attendance has more than doubled since its first year when it was held in a branch member’s dining room. Gluten-free holiday food recipes will be provided.
Utah County Gluten Intolerance Group®, the Salt Lake City Gluten Intolerance Group®, and the Celiac Support Group of Northern Utah are Branches of The Gluten Intolerance Group®, also known as GIG®, and are 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organizations. The Gluten Intolerance Group’s mission is to increase awareness of and knowledge about this common, but under-diagnosed illness. To learn more, go to www.gfutah.org
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