Celiac Disease – A Short Reading List

compiled for the Canadian Celiac Association – Toronto Chapter

by Bob Sealey, BSc, CA

Introduction

If you have celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity, a few good books can help you find quality care. Whether you call it reading to heal or bibliotherapy, books can teach you about symptoms, diagnoses and treatments. With the right information, you can help yourself or help a loved one to heal, recover and live well. You can develop a wellness recovery action plan before your next episode. Whether you have celiac disease or a sick family member, you can learn from books written by people who have celiac disease. You can also learn from books by health professionals who know how to diagnose and treat celiac patients.

With their waiting rooms full, some health professionals only offer marginal care. If doctors cut corners while trying to process too many patients, vulnerable people may only get shortcuts. They struggle to cope. Even with symptoms, patients can read and learn. Many people can take control of their healing by becoming part-time students, setting up self-study programs and reading their way to quality care.

A book list can prove useful but if you feel sick, it takes time and effort to learn about tests and procedures, diagnoses and treatments. Then it takes energy to learn how researchers developed safe and effective treatments. It takes even more time, energy and effort to find physicians and specialists who have the knowledge and experience to treat celiac disease and gluten sensitivity - properly. You may also wish to consult nutritionists, dieticians and naturopaths about the gluten-free diet and nutritional supplements.

Please consider this short reading list. One book at a time, you can find quality care -

Celiac Disease: A Guide to Living with Gluten Intolerance

by Sylvia Bower w/ Mary Sharrett & Steven Plogstead; Demos Medical Publishing, NY, 2007

Three health professional co-authors – nurse, dietitian and clinical pharmacist

• symptoms, diagnosis, management, complications and current research

• tips, recipes, nutritional guidelines, ideals for traveling and dining out

• emotional issues; raising celiac children

Celiac Disease and Living Gluten-free
An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed

by Jules E. Dowler Shepard; Da Capo Press, Cambridge, MA, 2008

A Patient-Expert walks you through everything you need to learn and do in the first year.

 

The Gluten Connection
How Gluten Sensitivity May be Sabotaging Your Health – What You Can Do

 

by Shari Liberman, PhD, CNS, FACN with Linda Segall, Rodale books, New York, 2007

Celiac disease affects 1% of the population but nearly 30% are sensitive to gluten.

The author, a clinical nutritionist, has helped many people improve on a gluten-free diet.

Read the Review

 

The Gluten-Free Baking Classics
(revised and expanded Second Edition)

by Annalise Roberts, Surrey Books, 2008

• How to bake no-gluten cookies, breads, muffins, pies and cakes

The Gluten-Free Bible

(updated after the author’s previous book Against the Grain)

by Jax Peters Lowell; Owl Books, H. Holt & Co., New York 2005 Review on pg. 4

• a guide for living well without wheat

• comprehensive resources: the best gluten-free products, recipes from top chefs
• commonsense guide with advice for thriving with celiac not just surviving
  

Read the Gluten-Free Girl Review on pg. 6

 

 

How I Found the Food that Loves Me Back . . . and You Can Too

by Shauna James Ahern, New Jersey, Wiley & Sons, 2007

The author went for twenty years before getting her diagnosis – celiac disease. Her book

says ‘yes’ to finding gluten-free foods and learning how to live joyfully without gluten.

The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods

by Better Hagman, Holt & Co., NY, 2004 (author of The Gluten-Free Gourmet and other books)

More than 200 recipes for creating old favourites with new flours.

Gluten-Free Quick & Easy

(200 recipes for people w/ food sensitivities)

by Carol Fenster, PhD; Avery Publishing, New York, 2007

• gluten-free food from prep to plate without the fuss

• recipes you can use every day – 200 of them

• suggestions for organizing an efficient gluten-free kitchen

Living Well with Celiac Disease
Abundance Beyond Wheat and Gluten

by Claudine Crangle; Yourheath Press, in assoc. w/ Trafford Publishing, BC, 2006

• the facts, the food, the feelings support: strength in numbers

• shopping without dropping recipes if you can’t stand the wheat

A Personal Touch on . . . Celiac Disease
An anthology of stories by people touched by celiac, sharing to help you

edited by Peter Berlin & Jerry Stone; Personal Touch Publ., LA, 2004

Personal stories about celiac, various categories include – finding out what’s wrong,

living with celiac, traveling tales, my new life and recipes for success.

Lunch with Quinn: One Child’s Diagnosis & Management of Celiac Disease

by Angela Porter; Authorhouse, Ind., 2006

• written by Quinn’s mother, a registered nurse with a master’s degree

• concise, clear, diagrams and large print make it useful for the whole family

Wheat-Free Worry-Free:

The Art of Happy Healthy Gluten-Free Living

by Danna Korn; Hay House, Inc, New York., 2002

• author wrote Kids with Celiac Disease: A Family Guide, runs R.O.C.K. (Raising Our Celiac Kids)

• comprehensive – a wealth of helpful information, clearly explained

Read the Review

 

100 Questions & Answers about Celiac Disease and Sprue

A Lahey Clinic Guide

By David Burns, MD, Jones & Bartlett Publishers, Toronto, 2008

• The Basics; Symptoms and Manifestations; Children and Celiac Disease

• Treatment – the Gluten-Free Diet; Management; Diseases Associated with Celiac
  

Other Books for Patients, Families and Caregivers

Adventures in Psychiatry: The Scientific Memoirs of Dr. Abram Hoffer

by Abram Hoffer, PhD, MD, KOS Publishing, Caledon, ON, 2005

A remarkable memoir about co-founding orthomolecular medicine; complementary and restorative care using medicinal doses of vital amines i.e., vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other nutritional supplements; researching and healing patients with schizophrenia, depression, anxiety.

Note – restorative orthomolecular medicine can help celiac patients too. See The Journal of

Orthomolecular Medicine, archive of back issues available free at - www.orthomed.org

Could it Be B12?
an epidemic of Misdiagnoses

[involving a deficiency of vitamin B12]

by Sally Pacholok, RN and Jeffrey Stuart, DO; Quill Driver Books, CA, 2005

Feel Better and Live Longer with Vitamin B-3
Nutrient Deficiency and Dependency

by Abram Hoffer, PhD, MD and Harold Foster, PhD; CCNM Press, Toronto, 2007

How Doctors Think

by Jerome Groopman, MD, Houghton Mifflin, NY, 2007

The intro. tells how Anne D. finally got an accurate diagnosis and proper care for her longstanding case of celiac disease which was misdiagnosed and mistreated by a succession of doctors.

Mental Health Regained: 18 Personal Stories of Recovery

by patients who recovered from serious mental illness and used supplements to restore their health

compiled by Abram Hoffer, PhD, MD; ISF, Toronto, 2007 www.orthomed.org

Orthomolecular Medicine for Everyone

by Abram Hoffer, PhD, MD and Andrew Saul, PhD, Basic Health Publications, CA, 2008

Rules for healthy eating; how to take vitamins, minerals and other nutrients in optimum doses

Read the Review

Principles and Practices of Naturopathic Clinical Nutrition

by Jonathan Prousky, ND, MSc, CCNM Press, Toronto, 2008

A clinician’s guide to the diagnosis and restorative treatment of a range of health problems including GI disorders such as celiac disease. Detailed, accessible information.

Read the Review

The Secrets to Recovery from Mental Illness – A Mother’s Guide

Finding and using restorative orthomolecular medicine to recover from schizophrenia and ADHD

by Linda Santini, MEd, BookSurge, Seattle, 2008 www.amazon.com

The W.R.A.P. Story [Wellness Recovery Action Planning]

Read the Review

First Person Accounts of Personal and System Recovery and Transformation

With 82 recovery stories written by patients with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder etc.

W.R.A.P. wellness planning can be adapted to help patients cope with celiac disease and depression.

compiled by Mary Ellen Copeland, PhD, Peach Press, VY, 2008 www.mentalhealthrecovery.com

Compiled for the CCA - Toronto chapter

- by Robert Sealey, BSc, CA www.searpubl.ca