The usual treatment for Coeliac disease is a gluten-free diet, however many people overlook other possible sources of gluten that may be present in their homes – Research and Development Manager for ecostore, Huia Iti.

For many of us it probably doesn’t matter if there’s gluten in our shampoo or mouthwash but for people with Coeliac disease or a heightened sensitivity to gluten it could make a lot of difference.

Coeliac disease is a condition affecting the intestines that is often triggered by intolerance to gluten. Its symptoms include diarrhea, fatigue, and weight loss. Coeliac disease affects the healthy function of the tiny, finger-like structures called villi, which line the inside of the intestines and help break down and absorb the nutrients contained in your food.

Gluten is a form of protein found in foods processed from wheat, barley and rye and can react with the villi in small intestine lining, causing the villi to become fat and inflamed and affecting their ability to absorb nutrients. The usual treatment for Coeliac disease is a gluten-free diet, however many people overlook other possible sources of gluten that may be present in their homes and which come into regular contact with their skin. The skin is the body’s largest organ and being porous, it can absorb some of the chemicals applied to it. Some common household items that may contain gluten are:

• Lipstick and lip balm
• Sunscreen
• Certain medications and antibiotics
• Adhesives on stamps and envelopes
• Toothpaste and mouthwash
• Soap and shampoo

Cross-contamination can also be a problem when you’re trying to follow a strict gluten-free diet, so here are a few tips to avoid it:

• Use different utensils and cookware for foods containing gluten
• Avoid oats – although oats themselves don’t contain gluten, they can often be contaminated with gluten from wheat products, due to being grown in close proximity and processed using the same equipment
• Keep processed foods to a minimum. Some processed foods can be contaminated with gluten due to being processed on the same lines as foods containing gluten
• Read the labels on your skin and body care products, if unsure ask the company concerned whether their products contain gluten.

If you’ve had any experience or luck trying to find gluten free products, we’d love to hear about it, please tell us your story in the comments field below. Meanwhile here are a couple of other useful links for anyone wanting to know more about coeliac disease:

http://www.coeliac.org.nz/index

http://www.celiac.org/index.php

If you have a couple of cups of cooked or canned chickpeas on hand then this is a super quick, delicious and satisfying recipe.

You’ll need:
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 carrot
1 tomato
2 c *cooked chickpeas
1 c vegetable stock
sea salt or tamari to taste

Soften onions and garlic in a pan with a little olive oil.
Add carrots, tomatoes and any other vegetables you have on hand –  things like zucchini, leeks, brussell sprouts or pumpkin work well.
Pour in vegetable stock and simmer gently until all vegetables are tender.
Add cooked chick peas and heat through.
Serve with toasted gluten free bread torn into smallish pieces and mixed through.
You can adjust the amounts depending on your own preferences and how much liquid you like to have in your stew. Experiment with your own herbs and seasonings.

* To cook chickpeas:
Cover dried chickpeas with cold water and leave overnight. Drain and cover with fresh water. Bring to the boil and reduce heat and simmer until tender (about 60 minutes). Any extra chick peas you have can be frozen and used at a later time
Canned chick peas work just as well in this recipe but it can be almost impossible to find BPA free cans.

Do you have any favourite gluten free recipes to share?

‘If you eat wheat and notice you get sore abdomen, bloating, tired, aching, period pains (for females) or get foggy in your thinking you might like to try gluten free diets’. – Dr Helen Smith.

We asked Dr. Helen to share her tips and advice for anyone wondering if they might have a gluten related health problem or who simply wishes to avoid gluten.

Gluten is the protein found in some grains like wheat, oats, barley and rye. It can create problems in the body like gut upsets and inflammation, poor absorption of nutrients and aching joints or fluid retention. The gluten protein basically punches holes in the gut and gets inside and creates inflammation in your tissues of your body and some organs. At its most severe when the gut has actually been destroyed or flattened due to damage from gluten we call it ‘coeliac disease’ and when you look inside the small bowel of someone with coeliac disease you see flat ‘villi’ (little fingerlike protrusions that help absorb the food) and you see poor absorption of iron, B vitamins and minerals on the blood tests.

‘Over the years I have seen patients with hair loss, skin rashes and bone thinning due to coeliac disease undiagnosed’.

What is much more common is for a person to be ‘gluten intolerant’ and have problems with digesting gluten. Especially these days when we bake bread very fast and don’t give the gluten a chance to break down; also some wheat has been bred to be rich in gluten so the bread is more bouncy or glue like as a dough. If you eat wheat and notice you get sore abdomen, bloating, tired, aching, period pains (for females) or get foggy in your thinking you might like to try gluten free diets. Even arthritis and sinus sufferers sometimes benefit from gluten free and certainly children on the autistic spectrum often do better on gluten free diets. Gluten acts like ‘morphine’ in the body. Morphine is that strong pain killer from poppy plants that is known as an “opiate” and works in the body to put you to sleep, dull pain and senses. Have you ever seen someone go to sleep after a big feed of wheat or sandwich or pasta? I hear a lot of reports from patients ‘I lost several kilos weight and fluid retention improved when I went gluten free.

So what is ‘gluten free’?
It means taking out wheat, barley, oats and rye. Some people find taking out wheat does the trick and they can still eat porridge etc and some find they need to take out all gluten even hidden sources of gluten like soy sauce, sauce mixes, processed foods, soups, anything with traces of wheat to really feel well. It can take several months to really clean it out of your system and feel really well, but it is worth persisting if you have signs on your blood tests or symptoms of having a problem with gluten in your diet. Try it and see.

Foods for a gluten free diet:
All vegetables, all meats, all fish and shellfish, grains: buckwheat, rice, amaranth, millet and corn flour. Tapioca is okay. Tamari is a wheat free soy sauce. Soy is okay in the sense it does not contain gluten. Many products are now labelled ‘gluten free’ so look for this. Most people say to me ‘gluten free bread is so boring or so expensive’, but if you look around you will see there is more and more on the market that is gluten free and more tasty. More gluten free loaves are around and more choices so it is worth checking in your supermarket or your local wholefood store.

Some of Dr. Helen’s gluten free favourites: Venerdi brown rice bread or six grain bread gluten free, but she says, there is a cost factor.
Other options you will see are Gluten Free Pizza Bases by Venerdi, BakeHouse loaves. Countdown supermarkets have Macro range foods with gluten free choices. There are ginger nuts and afghans gluten free in New World and so on. Some patients save costs by making their own with a bread maker and some patients are losing weight and staying off bread anyway so that is another approach you can try with the “paleo” or bread free simple diets with vegetables and proteins, nuts and seeds and some seasonal fruit, water and so on. There are also classes you can do on gluten free cooking so you can take some of the costs out of eating gluten free baking. Check out http://www.gfme.co.nz/

Dr. Helen Smith is a holistic medical doctor who has been working in medicine for over 20 years. The last 10 years have been with a completely nutritional and holistic focus. Educated at the University of Western Australia Dr Helen has lived and worked in Auckland, New Zealand for over 17 years helping patients with an emphasis on natural options for their health needs.

We’d love to hear from you. Do you follow a gluten free diet? Have you tips for gluten free living that you’d like to share? What are some of your favourite gluten free foods?

According to Allergy New Zealand, one in ten babies born in New Zealand will develop an allergy. We thought this number was alarmingly high and decided to talk to three Auckland based experts, Dr Vincent Crump, Dr Libby Weaver and Dr Helen Smith to find out why this is happening and what we can do about it. Here is the first of a series of three video’s we made to start the discussion on #AllergyAwareness and we think you’ll be surprised at what we found. Stay tuned for further updates and of course we welcome your comments.

New Zealand has some of the highest allergy rates in the world, in fact according to statistics from the Allergy New Zealand website, at least one in ten babies born in New Zealand will develop an allergy. It didn’t used to be that way, so what’s changed? For one thing, we’re using more chemicals.

Dr Vincent Crump, Allergy Specialist at Auckland Allergy Clinic advises that, ‘A lot of people will develop a reaction and get labelled as having eczema, when in fact they are probably reacting to a chemical they are applying to their skin.’

Chemicals may account for some of the allergy triggers, but there many others including dust mites, mould and pet dander.

If you have a diagnosed allergy then you’ll probably already know how to manage your symptoms by avoiding or minimising your exposure to known triggers, and if you think you might have an allergy it’s a good idea to get yourself tested. Meanwhile here are some tips to help you protect yourself and your family from everyday things around us that commonly lead to allergies.

Read labels and avoid products containing these chemicals:

1. Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulphate (SLS and SLES). These are known skin and eye irritants. SLS is the industry benchmark for skin irritancy.
2. Cocoamidopropyl Betaine (CAPB) is another skin irritant. Voted Allergen of the Year by the American Contact Dermatitis Society (2004).
3. Enzymes found in laundry detergents, can remain in your clothes even after the final rinse. These are designed to break down fats and protein stains in your clothes but can keep working when in contact with your skin, causing allergic reactions and skin irritation.
4. EWG’s Cosmetic Database is a great tool for identifying ingredients and figuring out whether they are safe or not.

Use Fragrance Free products wherever possible.
Fragrances – even natural ones, can trigger an allergic reaction for sensitive people, with symptoms like dizziness, light headedness, headaches and nausea.

1. Avoid scented candles, artificial air fresheners or products with fragrances. These products contain multiple chemicals, which can include dangerous solvents and fragrances.
2. Avoid air fresheners – these disperse a mix of chemicals which may include synthetic fragrances and phthalates to mask unpleasant odours in your home. It’s better to open a window.
3. Use indoor houseplants to help filter the air – like the Peace Lily or Maidenhair Fern.

Dr. Crump says, ‘Fragrances rank number 3 in terms of the chemicals that people are allergic to when we do patch testing. Fragrance is found in almost every skin care product unless it specifically says fragrance free, you also get fragrance in your laundry powders, moisturisers, soaps and shampoos’.

Dust regularly.
Dust mites are a common allergen that causes asthma. They are tiny microscopic organisms that live on mattresses, bedding, upholstered furniture, carpets and curtains.

1. Always use a damp mop or cleaning rag to remove dust. Never use a dry cloth as this tends to stir up mite allergens.
2. Non-washable bedding can be frozen overnight to kill dust mites.

Take precautions around renovations and new building projects
Many common interior building and finishing materials – like MDF flooring, paints and carpets – give off fumes that can contribute to asthma and other health problems.

1. Look for materials and finishes that are low in volatile organic compounds.
2. Babies inhale more air than adults, which means they are more vulnerable to any potentially harmful effects from fumes.
3. Use a vacuum cleaner with either a double-layered microfilter bag or a HEPA filter to trap allergens that pass through a vacuum’s exhaust.

Keep babies and children away from strong cleaning product fumes.

1. Try to put off cleaning until your child is asleep or in another room.
2. If your child is in the room while you’re cleaning, try to have an open window to let some fresh air inside.

Get rid of Mould.
Moulds can cause allergic reactions, asthma, nose bleeds and a range of other symptoms.

1. Avoid drying your clothes on an inside line as they release moisture into your home.
2. Condensation on windows or walls, stuffy air and mould and mildew are tell-tale signs that you need better ventilation.

Do you have other tips for managing allergies by minimising possible triggers? We’d love to hear about them in our comments section below.

What is Canstar Blue? Canstar Blue is a division of financial research and ratings company, CANSTAR, which has been operating in NZ for nearly a decade. They use market research to determine customer satisfaction ratings across a range of products and services to help consumers make the best purchasing decisions for their needs.

The award will start showing up on our Laundry Powder, Laundry Liquid, Laundry Soaker, Fabric Softener and our Delicates and Wool Wash from the beginning of April so do keep an eye out for it. If you’re interested, full results of the product survey can be seen on the Canstar Blue Website.

Buy a bundle of our laundry products at half price. Big thanks to anyone who voted for us – we’d like to show you some love too with a HALF PRICE OFFER on a bundle of ecostore laundry products - full details at ecostore direct (NZ only).

If you have a spare 47 seconds – take a peek at the video Ahi made of Malcolm receiving the award from Greg Abbey, CEO of CANSTAR Australaisa.

It’s been one of the hottest and driest Summers in New Zealand and even though we’re well into Autumn there is still no rain. In Auckland we’ve had the second driest summer in 50 years and many of parts of the country have been declared official drought zones – bringing home the need to use water sparingly and wisely in our gardens.

ecostore Founder and CEO Malcolm Rands is a keen organic gardener and permaculturist. Click here to listen to Malcolm on our Audioboo channel as he talks about practical ways we can use water wisely in the garden (otherwise the text of the interview is available below)

What’s the best time of day to water?

I would always recommend watering the garden first thing in the morning – if you water during the day you run the danger of the droplets of water on the plants acting like tiny little magnifying glasses and you can actually burn the plants. So the very best time is early in the morning just at the break of day as the soil is beginning to warm up and the water will warm up with the soil. If you’re not an early riser you can buy a timer and make sure it turns on at the right time of day and also runs for as long as you want it to run. The other time you can water the garden is at the end of the day – you won’t burn the plants because the sun is getting weaker – the down side is that the soil is getting colder and the plants will be getting a bit cold and damp; some people worry that you can encourage moulds by doing this.

How often should we be watering?

What a lot of us love doing is watering the garden ourselves – standing there with the hose admiring our beautiful gardens and that’s o.k but the danger of doing shorter waters is that you encourage the feeding roots up into the very top of the soil. To drought-proof your plants you want to encourage the roots to go very deep into the soil. The way to do that is to do less frequent but much longer waterings – even up to half an hour. If you have an automatic watering system not only do you set it to turn on at the beginning of the day, you can also time it to run for about half an hour each time.

What are some of the ways we can reduce the need to water the garden?

Any organic gardener will always tell you to use mulch, it’s  a key part of any organic garden and what we’re doing is we’re using other plant material to cover the earth. In nature you will never find bare soil (unless you’re in the desert!). The trouble with bare soil is that when it rains the water will evaporate straight away and when the wind comes along it’s even worse it’ll actually suck the moisture out of even quite deep soil. The other thing that’s important is that in that top layer of soil is where lots of the life in the soil happens – all the microorganisms, even beneficial fungi and science is still discovering the complexities of these and how they add to plant health. Aside from mulch you could also use drip hoses which you place under the mulch and water will slowly ooze out into the soil or another type of irrigation that sits on top of the mulch which has tiny little sprinkler systems and a third way is something called a leaky hose. You can find these on the internet, they are made from recycled tyres and they sit in the soil itself and the walls are permeable enough that the soil will draw water out of he hose as its needed so you can leave it on all the time and it’ll automatically keep the soil at a moist level. The fourth thing we can look at is using your greywater or the wastewater from your laundry and your shower and you can reuse this on your garden particularly if you’re using good eco products to wash with. I wouldn’t recommend using water from your kitchen (and you’ll need council permission to reuse your household greywater on the garden).

Choosing plants that are naturally drought resistant.

If you’re following the principles of permaculture then what you’ll need to do is find plants that really ‘belong’ in your garden; plants that suit the type of soil you have – whether it’s a rich volcanic soil or a hard clay soil, the type of rainfall you have, the wind, the sun – your plant choice should suit those particular conditions.

And how do we find plants which are best suited to our gardens?

The best way is by asking friends and neighbours and the real gold (if you can do this) is by joining your local garden club. Often these people have been in your area for decades and they’re fanatic gardeners and you’ll often find that certain tomato plant variety that never gets attacked by bugs or fungi and they don’t need as much water and that variety will be particularly suited to the conditions in your garden.

Choose plants which are known to be naturally drought resistant – the classic ones are Mediterranean type herbs like Rosemary with their woody stems love the dry, an example of a NZ plant we’ve got is NZ spinach – (actually an Australian native!) its very much like a succulent – it’s got a juicy leaf and will survive dry times and will grow all year-long here in NZ so it’s a great one to have up your sleeve an extra green to pick.

And one last tip: when we plant our plants close together the roots are competing with each other (for moisture) so space your plants out quite well, keep the mulch up and you wont need to water them nearly as much.

We tend to spend a lot of time indoors – particularly when our kids are little – so it’s important to make sure the air inside our homes is safe to breathe. Many things can affect our indoor air quality including fumes from paint, new furniture, cleaning products, disinfectants, air fresheners, insect repellents and more. The problem is that babies and young children are more vulnerable to pollutants in the air because they have narrower airways and need more oxygen relative to their size, they also breathe more rapidly which means they inhale more pollutant per kg of body weight than adults do (Source: World Health Organisation). So what’s the answer? Our ‘Breathe Easy’ video (which takes less than 2 mins to view) will give you some simple and effective tips to make sure the air inside your home is safer to breathe for yourself and your family and as always – if you have any other great tips to share we’d love to hear them.

One of the things we always love about this time of year is the chance to show our gratitude and support for the hard work done by charity organisations and volunteers. This year we gave gifts of thanks to Northland Women’s Refuge, Otara Health Centre, Nelson Hospice and SPCA Christchurch as well as a gift of cleaning products to Auckland City Mission for their Christmas Day Lunch. Thanks also to our lovely friends at Kokako and Good Magazine for their contributions to our gift baskets.

Between the fake snow filled shopping malls, Vince Martin ‘Walking in a Winter Wonderland’ on TV and the sun beating down outside you’d be forgiven for feeling a bit like the world’s gone a bit haywire. It’s very easy at this time of year to get caught up in the mad rush towards the holidays and forget about the things that matter most to us, whether that’s spending unhurried time with family and friends or taking quiet time out by ourselves. So with holidays fast approaching we thought it was time to share a quick round-up of things to help you get there in one piece and even have a few laughs on the way:

1. Remember to take care of yourself so you can take better care of others. You know the stuff – breathe, stretch, don’t eat and drink too much, and make sure you get enough sleep. Author of Rushing Woman’s syndrome, Dr Libby Weaver, has some Simple Stress Management Techniques that are a great reminder for us all.
2. Make a list of things you need to do and make decisions about what’s most important to get done this holiday season. Do your best to stick to your goals but don’t beat yourself up if you can’t do it all. Nobody’s perfect. Workflowy is a great online tool for lists.
3. Practice gratitude – keeping a gratitude journal can really help you see the world in a fresh light or if you use twitter you could write a daily tweet using the hashtag #thankfulfor
4. Remember to love the planet. Last year in a NZ Herald article called ‘Unwanted gifts flogged off online’ a spokesperson for Trade Me said, ‘More than 18,000 items have been added to online trading site Trade Me since lunchtime on Christmas Day’.

For more on Sustainable Giving:

1. We share some simple homemade gift ideas and tips for gift wrapping that’ll help you avoid a mountain of rubbish on our ecostore blog.
2. Read about sharing experiences rather than gifts on our ecostore blog.
3. For homemade gifts that are a bit different including things like jars of home-made granola, take a look at this blog from the folks at Grist.
4. Check out our Pinterest boards for Green Gift Ideas and Christmas Fun.

Happy Holidays everyone! If you have any tried and true tips you’d like to share that might help others these holidays, we’d love to hear them.