Ask the expert: Gluten-free tax deduction?

My son was recently diagnosed with Celiac disease. He's allergic to gluten. Gluten-free foods are so expensive! I've heard I can claim the cost of his food on my taxes because it's medically necessary. Is that true?
Yes. But the deduction is less helpful than you think. Find out if you have access to an employee benefit called a medical flexible spending account. It can save you money by letting you buy your son's medically required food with pretax dollars.
Regarding your question, if you itemize deductions, the extra cost of gluten-free food is a medical deduction. If a loaf of bread containing gluten costs $2.89, for example, and gluten-free bread costs $6, the extra $3.11 is deductible. And if you must travel to a special store to buy gluten-free food, the cost of transportation to and from the store is deductible. But you can only take medical deductions to the extent that your total unreimbursed expenses exceed 7.5 percent of your income. If you earned $75,000 annually, for example, you could only deduct medical expenses in excess of $5,625.
A flexible spending account is a better deal. You tell your employer how much of each paycheck you want to set aside for uninsured medical expenses. These contributions reduce your taxable income; they aren't subject to federal, state or payroll taxes. As you incur uninsured medical expenses, you submit the receipts to your employer or insurance company, and you're reimbursed from your account. If you're in the 25-percent federal tax bracket, your total federal tax saving is about $33 for each $100 in expenses. But don't contribute more to the account than your anticipated expenses; by law you forfeit any money you don't spend in the calendar year.
The bottom line
Unreimbursed medical expenses are tax deductible only if they exceed 7.5 percent of your income

Gluten-containing cosmetics could explain puzzling cases of GI symptoms and rashes in consumers with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. Yet information about this important ingredient is mostly unrevealed.

“The use of some cosmetics, including products used on the lips and face, can result in unexpected exposure to gluten,” explain George Washington University gastroenterologists Marie L Borum, MD and Pia Prakash, MD.

As they reported Nov 31 at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology,(1) their interest in the subject began with one of Dr. Borum’s patients, a 28-year-old woman who experienced exacerbation of her celiac symptoms, including gastrointestinal complications and a recurring skin rash, after using a body lotion advertised as “natural.” 

“It was difficult to determine whether gluten was contained in the product she was using,” says Dr. Prakash. “But once she stopped using the body lotion her symptoms resolved.”

The lack of readily available information about cosmetic ingredients that Dr. Borum experienced first-hand with her patient prompted the researchers to expand their research.

They first identified the top cosmetic companies in the United States and visited the official website for each company as part of a search for “gluten” and “gluten free” - to identify products specifically manufactured without gluten.

Only 2 of the top 10 cosmetic companies in the United States offered any detailed ingredient information, and no mention was made of gluten sources, according to the study.

Next, Drs. Borum and Prakash researched the ingredients for individual cosmetic products using an independent website. The independent website offered lists of ingredients for products marketed by 5 of the top 10 companies - but again no mentions of gluten sources were identified.

Overall, ingredient information was unavailable for 4 of the top 10 companies - and none of the large companies specifically offered gluten-free cosmetic options, according to the study findings.

““This study revealed that information about the ingredients, including the potential gluten content, in cosmetics is not readily available,” Dr. Prakash concludes.

While smaller companies may specifically advertise gluten-free alternatives, she says, “top-selling manufacturers should indicate whether their products can be safely used by individuals with gluten sensitivity.”

About Celiac Disease

Affecting as many as 2-3 million people in the United States and 20 million worldwide, celiac disease is an autoimmune digestive disease that damages the villi of the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. Approximately 1 out of every 100 people may have celiac disease - though only 1 out of 10 people with celiac disease may be actually diagnosed and are aware that they have this disease.

Women are diagnosed with celiac disease two to three times more often than men and current research indicates that 60% to 70% of those diagnosed with celiac disease are women, according to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness.

The only treatment option for those with celiac disease is gluten avoidance. Patients who do not adhere to the gluten-free diet usually continue to suffer from symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, gas and diarrhea.

In addition, these patients are at higher risk for developing complications of celiac disease such as cancer of the small bowel and esophagus, and narrowing in the bowel due to inflammation.
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When treats can be tricky, thats is also the reason why I chose to do these Gluten Free fairy cakes for these children who are Gluten sufferer!

hough he's only 7, Shane Keller knows more about the human body than most adults learn in a lifetime. One thing he knows is that he can't attack a bag of Halloween candy face-first.

"I'm the same as you," said the San Ramon second-grader, who has Type 1 diabetes. "I just can't eat the same as you."
Years ago, his condition might have made Halloween scarier than a masked guy running around with a chain saw. Now the annual sugarfest serves as an illustration of how doctors, parents and even children have learned to manage the disease.
"The technology of diabetes management has changed dramatically the past 10 years," said Kathy Solis, a registered dietitian from the Center for Diabetes Services at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. "One major stride is when the child is able to make small and simple decisions for himself."
Shane, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 10 months old, also has celiac disease, a digestive disorder which makes him intolerant of gluten. Neither condition, however, will stop him from trick-or-treating. He will be accompanied by his mother, Keri, as well as "the kit" -- a container that holds glucose tablets, syringes, apple juice, insulin, snacks and an automatic one-dose injector called a glucagon, which contains a substance that lowers his blood-sugar level if needed.
"I just have to watch out for candy," said Shane, who takes at least four shots of insulin a day,

plus at least 10 finger pricks to test his blood sugar."If my mom doesn't know how many carbs are in the candy, she asks the people to get the box to see.

It's an increasingly familiar scenario. Shane is one of 215,000 Americans younger than 20 living with Type 1 diabetes. A 2009 study published in The Lancet, a British medical journal, predicted that the number of children younger than 5 diagnosed with Type 1 -- which usually occurs in people younger than 20 -- could double by 2020. Unlike Type 2 diabetes, Type 1 is not lifestyle-related, and researchers aren't sure what's behind the increase.
For thousands of parents and their children, living with diabetes means having to tiptoe through holidays and events that involve sweets -- mindful of the acute health risks, yet not wanting to ruin a holiday that many hold dear. The caveat, of course, is there's little margin for error.
"His life is so established," Keri Keller said of her son. "He always asks before he eats something. He trick or treats like any kid. But we check his insulin level before he goes out and we say, 'OK, you can have six pieces of candy.' He knows the rules and that a big bag of M&Ms don't count as one piece of candy."
Things are trickier for kids with food allergies, however. One peanut can send a child to the emergency room, so it's imperative that parents such as Noriko Swanson pay attention to what's in the candy.
Swanson owns LiveFreeFoods.com, an online store that specializes in food for families affected by food allergies and diabetes. The Walnut Creek resident was inspired to start the business by her 4-year-old daughter, Willa, who has life-threatening allergies to dairy, gluten, eggs, sesame and most nuts.
"I like to focus on what I want Halloween to mean for my family -- dressing up and having fun," she said. "It's inevitable that candy will be part of that fun, but I try to not let that be the focus. There are so many ways to take part in Halloween that don't involve sweets."
Swanson's children inevitably encounter candy on Halloween, so they know which kinds they need to steer clear of. She suggests homemade treats at parties, where ingredients can be controlled by parents and children can help in the kitchen. She suggests making gluten-free cake or putting dried fruit in a bowl of gluten-free pretzels, for example.
As for trick-or-treating, the Swansons have a system in place. After sorting what can and cannot be eaten safely, the kids get to trade their candy for other prizes or safe treats picked out ahead of time.
"At home, I only pass out candy that's safe for our household as well," she said. "This is both a way of supporting our daughter and ensuring she feels safe."
Different parents tackle the holiday in different ways. Scott Corey, of American Canyon, whose 12-year-old daughter, Shelby, is diabetic, said his family doesn't make a big deal out of Halloween, as the kids prefer not to.
"Halloween is just like any other day when it comes to the candy," he said. "We count the carbohydrates and give her the right amount of insulin to cover it. We do watch her blood sugars more closely because it's really easy to spike them to potentially dangerous levels if we don't track things correctly. Unfortunately, Shelby and I -- the two Type 1 diabetics in the family -- have the biggest sweet tooths. Go figure."
Mike Muller, of Concord, said his 9-year-old diabetic daughter gets involved with costumes and going out, but then the candy comes home and goes through the parental filter.
"Her nondiabetic brother is subject to the same screening and doesn't feel left out," he said. The parents screen the candy for safety and put the highest-quality treats into one pile, he said. The subpar pile gets bagged and traded in at the orthodontist for cool stuff. The good treats get rationed out for a few days until the Halloween hype has faded.
Children with dietary restrictions have annual Halloween traditions, just like other kids. Keri Keller said her son doesn't see it differently than his friends do. Except, of course, that none of his friends have as much experience reading food labels.
"You're supposed to treat him like a kid," she said, "not a diabetic."