With the holidays just around the corner, thoughts turn to indulging in baked goods and traditional recipes with all the trimmings. For the millions of people in the U.S. with Celiac Disease, an intolerance of the protein gluten, getting through all the holiday parties and family soirees can be challenging, particularly for children.
For some kids gluten-free is just another Hollywood message but for others, like 12-yr-old Kieran Frazer, who was diagnosed with Celiac Disease at the age of eight, it’s a necessary way of life.
But how does a kid turn a dis-ease into a life of ease?
When Frazer was first diagnosed just shy of his eighth birthday he’d never heard of Celiac Disease and thought he was just suffering from a case of reflux. No doubt, the gluten-free craze has hit the middle and high school levels but Frazer admits that most of his friends with similar digestive sensitivities don’t have the slightest clue about the many safe options out there and how to actually live a joyful gluten-free life.
He went on a quest to empower himself and others about eating gluten-free. He made it a fun journey, visiting area restaurants weekly with his mother, Marlen Frazer, meeting with chefs personally to spread the word about Celiac Disease and encouraging them to consider more gluten-free options on their menu. In the process, Frazer has developed a love for healthy gluten-free eating, saying “I have so much fun being a Celiac kid because I get to experiment with so many foods; it’s fun.”
Frazer doesn’t like to say he “suffers” from Celiac
Quite the opposite – he says “Celiac Disease is the best thing that ever happened to me.” Although Frazer is just like most kids, who loves soccer, likes to ride his bike and spends hours playing electronic games, he’s found a much better way to spend his time these days.
JPEG
The process has morphed into a passion and a dream to own his own gluten-free franchise or restaurant some day. He even has a title for his new food chain “Kieran’s Gluten-free Palace.” Frazer’s idea is to create a storefront, a cafe and a fresh bakery. Enter global cookie company “Cookies By Design (CBD).” Frazer’s story reached the likes of Jack Long, CEO of CBD. They sent Frazer a gluten-free cookie bouquet and it was love at first bite. Now, as a Holiday surprise, the company has offered Frazer the opportunity to run their San Diego storefront for a day!
The Texas-based company is rolling out a new line of gluten-free cookies just in time for the holidays to chip away at the $4.5 billion dollar market that gluten-free has become. According to the CEO Jack Long reaching out to kids like Frazer is an important spoke in the outreach for a company that wants to be a game changer, “To stay viable, you have to be relevant…we are dedicated to serving our customers with food allergens — as well as those who have chosen gluten-free as a lifestyle.”
When Frazer takes reigns of the San Diego storefront for a day, he says he looks forward to exposing as many people as possible to an array of cookies: from gluten-free hand decorated sugar cookie bouquets to Chocolate Chip, White Chocolate Macadamia and Millionaire cookies – great additions to a holiday party or a kid’s lunch box.
Long says that offering as many options as possible to attract the attention of kids like Frazer is what it’s all about, adding “Research suggests that 18 million people in our country suffer from a gluten sensitivity,” said Long. “We’re anticipating our gluten-free cookies and healthy energy bars will make up 10 percent of sales.”
There’s no cure for Celiac Disease, but following a strict gluten-free diet can help manage symptoms and promote intestinal healing, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic, which is the leading center for diagnosis and treatment of Celiac Disease.
For Kieran Frazer and others like him, this holiday season appears to offer options not available even five years ago as well as another niche market for a budding entrepreneur. The trick is finding a food product that passes both the FDA Test and the Taste Test.
For more on the cookies, log onto: www.cookiesbydesign.com
FDA Regulations: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm363474.htm
The information in this video has been called the missing link in mental health and personal development. In a world full of shallow, quick-fix techniques, second rate psychology and pharmaceutical takeovers, real solutions have become nearly impossible to find. This presentation will turn your world upside down.
Mike Bundrant is co-founder of the iNLP Center and host of Mental Health Exposed, a Natural News Radio program.
Follow Mike on Facebook for daily personal development tips.
