Cookie Dilemma? How exciting is this?!! Silvana Nardone, author of Cooking For Isaiah (and my patient), has started a gluten-free, holiday cookie countdown for December! Each day she posts a new recipe from a different gluten-free expert, including one (coming soon) from me! Click here to see the countdown so far (with yummy-looking photos).

Need Recipes? Cooking for Isaiah is now the cook book I pick up first when I need a recipe! If you need to avoid additional food types (eggs, fructose, etc), you can easily substitute in the recipes. Silvana, like many of you, has learned to cook gluten and dairy free to improve the health of her family, and shares her inventive recipes in her book, which you can purchase online. She has taken the tricky part out of the gluten-free equation by testing and then translating well-known favorites into gluten, and dairy-free, delights!

• Join Silvana’s mailing list to receive gluten-free recipes on a regular basis by email.
• Meet Silvana in-person in Manhattan, on December 14th, at the Whole Foods at Union square.

Shopping Struggles? For those of you who would love some help in the grocery store, click to play this recently recorded video with my sister and niece: Gluten-free Shopping with Dr. Doni.

Gluten-Free Shopping with Dr. Doni from Donielle Wilson on Vimeo.

Avoiding Weight Gain? Worry no more! Implementing a gluten-free (and dairy-free) diet is a great way to lose weight…as long as you follow my eating guidelines: eat 1/2 sized meals, every 3 hours and always include protein. Perhaps the holidays is the perfect time for you to do my cleanse? Or save it for the New Year (coming soon!); Click here to plan your 2011 cleanse!

Wondering if eating gluten-free is just hype?  Research shows that 1 in 4 people have Gluten Intolerance, it is NOT found on conventional tests for Celiac Disease, and that it doesn’t just cause symptoms in the digestive tract.  I saw in practice that many patients with symptoms in the nervous system (fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, depression, brain fog, weakness, tinnitus, etc) also had Gluten Intolerance. Upon reviewing research I discovered that others were finding the same thing.  In fact some researchers actually consider Gluten Intolerance to be a neurological disease.  I presented on the subject at the 2010 Integrative Health Symposium in New York City.  See the presentation here.

Understanding Gluten Intolerance from Donielle Wilson on Vimeo.

Just as this patient wrote to me, “we had an egg-free, dairy-free, gluten-free thanksgiving for 10 people and the food was amazing,” it truly is possible to have a fabulous holiday without gluten! To see a list of favorite products recommended by me, Ella and patients, click here.

Happy holidays, and happy gluten-free cooking, to you!

Dr. Doni

PS. I completely enjoyed a dinner out with colleagues at GustOrganics on 6th Avenue in Manhattan.  The menu has many gluten-free, and ALL organic, options to choose from. I will be back soon for more!

Donielle Wilson, is a women’s health expert and Naturopathic Doctor with a private practice in New York City, Port Jefferson, NY and Connecticut. She specializes in showing women and their loved ones how to achieve their wellness goals by finally getting the answers they’ve been looking for to their most perplexing health challenges. To learn more about Dr. Doni and her unique approach to achieving health naturally, please visit http://DrDoni.com today.