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Product Review- Bio-K Plus

by Tina Turbin on February 8th, 2010

After my personal success with Bio-K+, which has their home base in Canada, I reached out to find out more about this company.

Bio-K+ started with two people and a vision, which all merged into a reality. Dr. Francois-Marie Luquet and Mr. Claude Chevalier met over twenty years ago at a dairy industry conference and discussed the health benefits of probiotics. Fast forward many years and their paths crossed again. Dr. Luquet shared his new strains of acidophilus with healing and health benefits. A company evolved.

Dr. Luquet is by no means new to this business. He brought many years of research and development with him from well-known names as Dannon and Activia. This new “strain” and concept was new, unique, and allowed the strains to live in high dosages before getting to work in the body, unlike its predecessors.

Each product contains a proprietary type of L. acidophilus and L. Casei. I was well-informed each behave different—acidophilus more antibacterial, and L. Casei more antiviral, yet when together they can antagonize one another. Bio-K+ has developed a way these strains can survive together, in the manufacturing, in combining, and in refrigerator storage—all until it reaches our system, producing effects well-documented over and over in individual, clinical, and hospital studies. Nothing comes close to these studies in what products I’ve tested and what I’ve read thus far. I am impressed.

The company currently has less than sixty high-quality people in the facility itself overseeing the two-week process it takes to make each and every batch. Currently it’s available in soy (mango flavor), original (unflavored), and fruity (pineapple and vanilla flavor), and soon a rice-based vanilla will be available.

Bio-K+ has a minimum of 50 billion L. acidophilus and L. casei per 3.5-oz. little bottle. Compare for yourself—nothing comes close. I was also sent (and you can read on their website) a number of clinical results and hospital testimonials. The company’s products are superior, and so is its staff.

Note: It was explained to me that the number CL1285 after the name Bio-K+ simply indicates the specific C strain and is just arbitrary, but that the strain is unlike any other available.

This product is given a thumbs up and is HIGHLY recommended and I will be on the radio with BioK PLus as well as an supporting an product give-away for four days.

Tina Turbin- founder of www.glutenfreehelp.info.

 

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Gluten-Free Dessert- Calling all Mint Lovers

by Tina Turbin on February 7th, 2010

I have a new absolutely favorite dessert. I feel like I am in the snow and eating clean bright snow as this ice-cream touches my tongue. This magic is the Decadent Coconut Milk Mint ice-cream from Turtle Mountain. No casein and no dairy!

Tonight I was on my way back to my studio in the car, fighting no traffic as my husband and everyone else in the USA ( or so it seemed) was tucked behind the TV watching the SuperBowl. I stopped for a few necessities, such as a dessert to dive into before walking the puppies when I go there. I have tried Turtle Mountain’s Chocolate( delicious) and Vanilla, as this is what my husband always gets us. Tonight it was my choice. I never knew they had Mint! My hubby has been holding out on me. My oh my! How did they know MINT is my absolute favorite ( besides a delicious GF carrot cake with thick cream cheese frosting). I then stopped for a quick meeting with their manager at the Health Food store discussing a GF event I will do and then I had to stop at one other store for another necessity, not so glamorous as a dessert- for Swiffer Sweeper wipes. The puppies are forever tracking in dirt everywhere from the yard with a smile as if this is their job and I appreciate all their hard work.

Anyhow, I got home about 35 minutes after grabbing that little pint of yum- my mint ice-cream. I opened the top, I knew it would be slightly melted but what the heck. Ice-cream is good no matter what. Well, let me tell you, it was perfectly creamy, soft-serve style and the best darn ice-cream I have had in years. No dairy reaction ( all coconut milk) and no sugar shock. It was so minty and had this large very thin shavings of  curled chocolate all throughout. Oh my, I can not even describe the experience and I was not even hungry, so that gives it even a greater rating.

This is not a technical food review. This is a moment of bliss that I am still on a high from and had to run in to my studio and share this with you. Please do yourself a favor and take a moment for yourself one day and give this a try. Let me know what you think.

The company has a number of other types of ice-creams but this is by far the BEST one for any mint lover, like me.

Tina Turbin

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Gluten-Free Cruise with Holland America

by Tina Turbin on February 7th, 2010

 
The below information regarding Holland America cruise line was shared and Bonnie in NYC has approved me to share this broadly with all of you:
 
“I just came back from a one week Caribbean cruise on Holland America and had
no food issues.    They are set up to GF and really do it well:  they stock many GF options and I  had no cross-contamination issues.   

“Each night, they provided the GF passengers with the next day’s menu, which was modified for us.  Even made us special soups and a flourless chocolate cake.  

“We  had pre-ordered breads, muffins, etc and they had them waiting for us.

“I’m pretty sensitive and react to the slightest amount of gluten.  For the
first time in a long time, I was able to travel and eat with relative ease. Would do it again in a heartbeat.”

“If you go: call their Special Diet people at least 30 days in advance.  There’s a GF form, where you make your bread and dessert requests.  And eat your dinners in the main dining room and stay with the same waiter.  That’s what made it much easier for us.”

Bonnie in NYC

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Traveling with Your Celiac Child

by Tina Turbin on February 7th, 2010

     As a gluten-free advocate and mother, I am often asked by parents for tips on how to travel with celiac children. A surprisingly easy task, traveling with your celiac child requires a little planning and a few of the same adjustments you’re already mastering at home.

     First of all, how you’ll manage your trip depends on your travel arrangements—will you be flying or driving? Each airline has its own set of guidelines which you can usually find online or ask a customer service representative about over the phone. Bring extra gluten-free foods, at least twice as much as you’ll think you’ll require, just in case there are layovers. Oftentimes airplane attendants will be happy to store your gluten-free food for you upon request.

     For car trips, bring along a cooler or two with already-prepared gluten-free foods and snacks for your celiac child. Luckily for your child, there are more and more gluten-free snacks available which are perfect for road trips. For instance, you can order online various snacks such as gluten-free jerky, gluten-free potato puffs, and gluten-free popcorn. If you’ll be stopping at restaurants along the way, you can visit a gluten-free restaurant site such as glutenfreerestaurants.org before your trip and plan ahead to eat at restaurants which offer gluten-free foods to its gluten-intolerant patrons. As with flying, I recommend bringing extra gluten-free food just in case there are any delays in your travel such as traffic or car problems.

Tina Turbin

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Free Product Giveaway: Bio-K+

by Tina Turbin on February 7th, 2010

Bio-K+ Giveaway of February

This month I’m pleased to announce the Bio-K+ Product Giveway of their 6 pack boxes of any flavored Bio-K+ product (value of over $300) to TEN lucky winners.

Deadline 2/10/10

Instructions to enter:

1. Sign up to follow Guest and Co-Host: http://Twitter.com/TinaTurbin  

2. Follow Guest   http://Twitter.com/BioKPlus

3. Follow Host: http://Twitter.com/ThriveInBalance  

4. After doing the 3 simple steps above, email info@TinaTurbin.com, and title your subject line:  “Free Give Away”. Your email address will be entered.

Winner to be announced Thursday, February 11th. You must sign up on the above Twitter accounts by 2/10/10 to be eligible to enter.  Good luck!

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Researching “Mind-Body” to Treat Celiac Disease

by Tina Turbin on February 6th, 2010

As you know, treating celiac disease with a gluten-free diet can  be quite a challenge, as even just the smallest exposure to gluten can cause damage to the small intestine and make us celiac quite sick.

With this in mind, Dr. Ali Keshavarzian, vice chairman of medicine and gastroenterologist at Rush University Medical Center, has been looking into the effectiveness of mind/body techniques in the treatment of celiac disease.

Celiac patients who are enrolled into the celiac disease and mind/body study at Rush will be randomly assigned to two course assignments for a period of eight weeks. If you’d like to find out more information about the study or to enroll, you can contact Dr. Sunana Sohi at 312-942-1551 or Sunana_Sohi@rush.edu.

Tina Turbin

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