Hello Reader,

There's a LOT happening in gluten-free land this week. New celiac research, some influencer drama (you know I have thoughts 😅), big moves in the food world, and FIVE brand-new gluten-free products to share.

Let's get into it! ❤️

September Box Is Here!

Last week, I flew across the country and visited the warehouse where all your Love Me Gluten Free boxes come together. Seeing thousands of products lined up and watching everything get packed is always a little surreal. We built this! 🥹

And friends, September turned out SO good. We have just a handful of boxes left, and honestly, once everyone sees what's inside, I don't expect them to last long.

A few ways to join the fun:

• Attend my Facebook Live later today (Friday, Sept. 4 at 11 am Central) and watch me reveal everything inside the September box. It's always more fun when you join, and please don't make me talk to myself!! RSVP HERE​
• Take a peek behind the scenes and watch my warehouse tour Reel.
• Enter to WIN a September box over on Instagram.
• Grab one of the very few remaining September boxes here. 🔥

👀 Five NEW Gluten-Free Products to Try This Week

Our September box includes FIVE brand-new products, some so new you may not have even spotted them in stores yet:

🥜 The GFB Peanut Butter Cup Bites, a brand-new flavor

🍚 Boostcous, a first-of-its-kind gluten-free couscous that just launched this spring

🍞 Schär 10 Grains & Seeds Sourdough, one of their newest breads

🍪 King Arthur Double Chocolate Cookie Mix

🧀 Banza Brown Rice Mac & Cheese

🧪 Science vs. Influencer Hot Takes

There's been a lot of Nima bashing on social media lately, including some pretty harsh shaming of people who choose to use one.

Here's the funny thing: I rarely use my Nima anymore. I used to be an active user, but testing my food at restaurants made me more anxious, not less. I still occasionally use it to test something I'm unsure about.

But regardless of my feelings about the device, I'd never shame someone who uses it to feel safer. And I don't think anyone in our community should.

Especially because Nima just shared some new data worth paying attention to.

Bia Diagnostics, an independent, accredited food-testing laboratory, compared Nima with the ELISA laboratory method using real restaurant meals. According to the report, the two methods agreed 99% of the time across 200 individual tests.

Does that mean Nima is perfect? No. A tiny sample can't tell you what's happening everywhere on your plate, and Nima has limitations, including with fermented foods.

But can't we talk about those limitations without mocking people who choose to use it?

Use Nima. Don't use Nima. Make that decision based on the facts and what works for you, not because an influencer has a hot take about how you're supposed to manage your celiac disease.

And maybe that's the bigger reminder: Be selective about who you allow to "influence" you. There's a big difference between educating people and making them feel stupid for making a different choice.

​Read my Nima article | Listen to my interview with the CEO

💰 Big Food Is Buying the Brands We Love

Something interesting is happening in the food world.

Last month, Purely Elizabeth announced it was being acquired by Ferrero, the company behind Nutella and Ferrero Rocher. And just this week, GOODLES announced it's being acquired by pasta giant Barilla.

These aren't struggling brands being rescued. Purely Elizabeth has more than doubled its sales in two years, while GOODLES has gone from virtually zero to capturing nearly 8% of the U.S. shelf-stable mac-and-cheese market in just a few years.

Both started relatively small, shook up sleepy food categories, and built loyal followings. Eventually, Big Food paid attention.

As someone building a food brand myself (more on that later 😉), I find this fascinating. It's proof that smaller brands really can change what we expect from food.

Both say they'll continue operating independently with their existing leadership teams. Hopefully that means more resources and distribution without messing with what made us love them in the first place. 🤞

💊 A Celiac Drug Just Had Promising Trial Results

Some potentially exciting celiac research this week.

Teva announced positive Phase 2a results for an experimental drug that blocks part of the immune response involved in celiac disease.

Researchers gave 50 adults either one injection of the drug or a placebo, then had them consume gluten daily for six weeks.

The exciting part? Those who received the drug experienced significantly less gluten-induced intestinal damage and inflammation and reported fewer GI symptoms.

Now, don't start ordering pizza just yet. 😅 This was a small, early-stage study, and the drug is still investigational.

But considering our only treatment today is a strict gluten-free diet, seeing a potential treatment actually protect the intestine from gluten-induced damage in a human trial is pretty darn exciting.

I'll definitely be watching this one. 👀

💛 Have a Great Holiday Weekend!

It's a holiday weekend here in the U.S., and I hope you get some special time with the people you love, whether you're doing something fun or absolutely nothing at all!

My husband and I are finally doing a little shopping for our house. Our summer was consumed with getting our daughter off to school, so we have some catching up to do around here. 😅

Peace and love to all!

Sincerely,

Jenny

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Read about my journey to break up with gluten in my book, Dear Gluten, It's Not Me, It's You.

Visit Good For You Gluten Free for more tips and recipes to help you live your best gluten-free life.