Arwen Ungar / The South County Spotlight PROMISE KEPT ? Linda MacDonald (left) of Simply Baked! started her business based on a promise to a little girl who, because of allergies, had never eaten a donut. With a dash of science and a pinch of trial-and-error, Simply Baked!, a recent bakery addition to St. Helens, hopes to perfect the recipe for gluten, wheat and dairy-free sweets to those with allergies in the area. Linda MacDonald, owner of the new bakery and native to Columbia County, said she first started sifting through ideas about allergy-free baking about five years ago. But after getting a lukewarm response when she asked community members about the need for allergy-conscious sweets, she decided to dole out her baked goods at events in the area.MacDonald said she baked donuts and brought them to a festival where the reception was strong. She promised a little girl, who had never eaten a donut, she would open up a shop in St. Helens just for her.That little girl at the fair is not the only one suffering from gluten allergies; increasingly, people are removing gluten from their diets, said Dee Sandquist, an American Dietetic Association Spokeswoman.Gluten–a protein deposit that appears in wheat, barley and rye and is oftentimes used as a binding agent in foods–has increasingly been cited as a cause of allergic reactions and stomach problems, Sandquist said. But that could be for a few different reasons. Sandquist said people try out a gluten-free diet and feel better, but it’s hard to tell whether it’s due to an elimination of gluten in the diet or an overall diet change.“People become much more conscious of everything they eat and are generally healthier,” Sandquist said. In addition to gluten-intolerance gaining prominence, celiac disease–an autoimmune disorder–has also seen a boom in diagnosis. This new preponderance of allergic reactions is largely due to increasing awareness of symptoms and new techniques for diagnosis, Sandquist said. Although celiac disease used to be considered extremely rare, the disease afflicts about one in 133 people, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse.Now flash-forward a few years. MacDonald was still working out of a rented kitchen when she ran into that little girl at a gas station. 1 | 2 Next Page >>6/22/2011
Batter up: Simply Baked! rises to the allergy-free challenge
By Arwen UngarThe South County Spotlight, May 18, 2011 Arwen Ungar / The South County Spotlight PROMISE KEPT ? Linda MacDonald (left) of Simply Baked! started her business based on a promise to a little girl who, because of allergies, had never eaten a donut. With a dash of science and a pinch of trial-and-error, Simply Baked!, a recent bakery addition to St. Helens, hopes to perfect the recipe for gluten, wheat and dairy-free sweets to those with allergies in the area. Linda MacDonald, owner of the new bakery and native to Columbia County, said she first started sifting through ideas about allergy-free baking about five years ago. But after getting a lukewarm response when she asked community members about the need for allergy-conscious sweets, she decided to dole out her baked goods at events in the area.MacDonald said she baked donuts and brought them to a festival where the reception was strong. She promised a little girl, who had never eaten a donut, she would open up a shop in St. Helens just for her.That little girl at the fair is not the only one suffering from gluten allergies; increasingly, people are removing gluten from their diets, said Dee Sandquist, an American Dietetic Association Spokeswoman.Gluten–a protein deposit that appears in wheat, barley and rye and is oftentimes used as a binding agent in foods–has increasingly been cited as a cause of allergic reactions and stomach problems, Sandquist said. But that could be for a few different reasons. Sandquist said people try out a gluten-free diet and feel better, but it’s hard to tell whether it’s due to an elimination of gluten in the diet or an overall diet change.“People become much more conscious of everything they eat and are generally healthier,” Sandquist said. In addition to gluten-intolerance gaining prominence, celiac disease–an autoimmune disorder–has also seen a boom in diagnosis. This new preponderance of allergic reactions is largely due to increasing awareness of symptoms and new techniques for diagnosis, Sandquist said. Although celiac disease used to be considered extremely rare, the disease afflicts about one in 133 people, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse.Now flash-forward a few years. MacDonald was still working out of a rented kitchen when she ran into that little girl at a gas station. 1 | 2 Next Page >>
Arwen Ungar / The South County Spotlight PROMISE KEPT ? Linda MacDonald (left) of Simply Baked! started her business based on a promise to a little girl who, because of allergies, had never eaten a donut. With a dash of science and a pinch of trial-and-error, Simply Baked!, a recent bakery addition to St. Helens, hopes to perfect the recipe for gluten, wheat and dairy-free sweets to those with allergies in the area. Linda MacDonald, owner of the new bakery and native to Columbia County, said she first started sifting through ideas about allergy-free baking about five years ago. But after getting a lukewarm response when she asked community members about the need for allergy-conscious sweets, she decided to dole out her baked goods at events in the area.MacDonald said she baked donuts and brought them to a festival where the reception was strong. She promised a little girl, who had never eaten a donut, she would open up a shop in St. Helens just for her.That little girl at the fair is not the only one suffering from gluten allergies; increasingly, people are removing gluten from their diets, said Dee Sandquist, an American Dietetic Association Spokeswoman.Gluten–a protein deposit that appears in wheat, barley and rye and is oftentimes used as a binding agent in foods–has increasingly been cited as a cause of allergic reactions and stomach problems, Sandquist said. But that could be for a few different reasons. Sandquist said people try out a gluten-free diet and feel better, but it’s hard to tell whether it’s due to an elimination of gluten in the diet or an overall diet change.“People become much more conscious of everything they eat and are generally healthier,” Sandquist said. In addition to gluten-intolerance gaining prominence, celiac disease–an autoimmune disorder–has also seen a boom in diagnosis. This new preponderance of allergic reactions is largely due to increasing awareness of symptoms and new techniques for diagnosis, Sandquist said. Although celiac disease used to be considered extremely rare, the disease afflicts about one in 133 people, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse.Now flash-forward a few years. MacDonald was still working out of a rented kitchen when she ran into that little girl at a gas station. 1 | 2 Next Page >>