Book Review: "The Living Gluten Free Answer Book: Practical Answers to 275 of Your Most Pressing Questions" by Suzanne Bowland

"The Living Gluten Free Answer Book: Practical Answers to 275 of Your Most Pressing Questions" by Suzanne Bowland was published in 2008 by Sourcebooks, Inc. located in Naperville, IL.

I found this book through the online catalog of the library system in my county. It is not part of my local library's collection, but I was able to have the book sent to my local library so I could read it. I found "The Living Gluten Free Answer Book" to be extremely educational and easy to understand. I liked it so well that I went to Amazon.com and purchased a copy of the book for $11.53.

Suzanne Bowland has been gluten free for seven years and has some great tips, advice, and answers to many important questions for both the newbies and the old timers to the gluten free lifestyle. Ms. Bowland has important information in her book that I had not read anywhere else. Let me tell you that I've been eating gluten free since 2004 and have spent a lot of hours researching Celiac Disease and gluten intolerance. Not to brag, but I am a librarian so research is something I do extremely well.

I like that Ms. Bowland includes different gluten free flours and tells you how to use them. She also has tips on how to eat safely away from home, how to read food labels, what other names wheat, barley and rye can be hidden under, foods to avoid, and how to tell your friends, co-workers and relatives about your need to eat gluten free. In her appendix, she has a five page listing of companies that sell gluten free items; this is extremely handy for anyone needing gluten free food.

The one fact from "Living Green Free Answer Book" that struck the most was that 37 percent of Americans have the gene for Celiac Disease. That's a high number, but don't let it confuse you; just because you have the gene for Celiac Disease doesn't mean you have or will have Celiac Disease. Right now, the medical community gives the statistic that 1 in 133 Americans has Celiac Disease, but only three percent of these people have actually been diagnosed. That is too many unsuspecting Americans that could be feeling better in a few days by simply eliminating gluten from their diet.

The only complaint I can come up with about this book is that Ms. Bowland lists the common symptoms, but not all or most of the possible systems. I think it would be helpful to more people if not all but most of the possible symptoms were included. I do like how she organized them by 11 different categories: abdomen, head, skin, circulatory/blood, skeleton and muscles, reproduction, spirit/energy, mental/neurological, autoimmune system, nervous system and cancer.

Let me list the chapters and appendix titles and you will be able to see for yourself how much work she put into "The Living Gluten Free Answer Book: Practical Answers to 275 of Your Most Pressing Questions" to provide much needed information.
1. Gluten-Intolerance: What Is It?
2. Living Gluten-Free: What Are You In For? Realities, Expectations, and Perspectives
3. Gluten 101: Defining, Finding, and Avoiding Gluten
4. Reading Food Labels: Put on Your Sleuth Hat and Read the Fine Print
5. The Kitchen: Making Your Kitchen Gluten-Free
6. Food Products: What Are Your Options?
7. Staple Ingredients: Broadening Your Pantry
8. Grocery Shopping: Basis, Tips and Strategies
9. The Bathroom and Medicine Cabinet: Looking Beyond the Kitchen
10. Dining Our: Survival Tactics and Proactive Approaches
11. Ethnic Cuisines: Tips for Recipes and What to Look for on Restaurant Menus
12. Traveling: Making Trips Worry-and-Hunger-Free
13. Baking and Cooking: Making Transitions
14. Family and Children: What They Need to Know
15. Friends, Social Events, and Work: Tips for Holding the Line
16. Health and Nutrition: Looking Beyond Gluten for Better Health
17. Psychology: Developing Coping Strategies and Managing Cravings
Conclusion: Brave New Gluten-Free World: Hopeful Musings for the Future
Appendix A: Art & Science: Gluten-Free Chemistry and Substitution Tips
Appendix B: Gluten-Free Food Company Directory

Bottom line: This is an excellent resource book for anyone who needs or wants to follow a gluten free diet. I think it would be overwhelming for our loved ones who just want to learn the basics because it is crammed full of information. I still recommend, "Living Gluten-free for Dummies" by Danna Korn as the book to give to loved ones who want to know more about our gluten free lifestyle. Buy "The Living Gluten Free Answer Book: Practical Answers to 275 of Your Most Pressing Questions" if you are considering or already living the gluten free lifestyle it contains much needed information.