GIG Conference, Day 1

Registration started at 7:30. They had our badges ready, with the meal tickets inside the holders. They handed us goodie bags, with all the handouts from the conference bound into a book (Yay!) and a big bag of Snyder's new GF Pretzels inside. The bags also held some information on the sponsors and donors, and are really nice, reusable shopping bags. ]

Breakfast was pretty good, although I would have really liked some breads or rolls, or even a sweet roll or danish to try. Maybe I'll have to come up with a recipe for those... they don't seem to be readily available on the market.

The first speaker, Dr. Joseph Murray, told us about the new research being conducted near Rochester. They have studied old blood samples from Army recruits (about fifty years old) and then followed up with information about mortality in the interim. It turns out that undiagnosed Celiac Disease leads to far greater early mortality than the average for healthy men. This information appears to agree with another study that states there is a correlation between CD and mortality over the course of fifteen or more years from the time of diagnosis. (This would be untreated CD, of course.)

Two other studies didn't find the same thing, but neither of them used young, healthy subjects and then followed them for a period of more than ten years. One of those studies suggested that perhaps those with undiagnosed or untreated CD died before they even started studying the group - after age 50. There was no correlation between CD and mortality in those subjects, but then... perhaps that is because all the people who were going to have the really bad complications had already left the group. At least, that is what the good Doctor suggested.

I chose the Starting GF Life/Emergency Preparedness lecture for my second of the day. I wanted to find out what was available out there for emergencies, and how others had coped with the longer than three day emergencies that do come up.

It was a good review of how to set up your gluten free pantry, and how to make a three day emergency kit, but left me wanting as far as other resources go. I'm considering making that a project... how to find gluten-free resources when in a long-term evacuation or other massive disaster situation. I know the Red Cross does *not* provide gf foods for evacuees. Not certain about FEMA, though. I'll have to check that out.

Lunch was... a salad bar and ravioli. The ravioli was good, but kind of boring. Cheese, and pasta that tasted pretty much the same as the cheese. Similar texture, too. Of course, being made and held for a large group does strange things to any sort of pasta, so that may have been the problem.

I only attended one of the afternoon sessions. Believe me when I say to arrive rested and refreshed... I napped through the first of the afternoon sessions.

But at around 2, Bonnie Presti spoke about metabolic syndrome. She did a great job of explaining what it is, and ways to combat both the syndrome and the complications that can arise from it. I know I have to battle this weight, and that once it is down, the cholesterol levels should start to resolve themselves. At least, the ldl and triglycerides will do so. Got to get back into the exercise to raise the hdl to the level recommended for a woman my age. Diet doesn't play a very big role in hdl levels. But exercise will increase it, and as it helps to prevent both heart attacks and strokes (big factors with my family history) I really do need to get out there more.

Tomorrow I'm attending the lectures on nutrition recommendations, saving money on a gf diet, allergies, CD and gluten intolerance - what's the difference? and osteoporosis. They all sound interesting, and they all apply to my situation. That's why I chose this conference, after all... the ability to pick and choose topics that interest me.

There were great displays, and I'll describe some of them in a later post... suffice it to say I found a good tasting pancake and a great tasting beer!