In 1994 I was diagnosed with celiac disease, which led me to create Celiac.com in 1995. I created this site for a single purpose: To help as many people as possible with celiac disease get diagnosed so they can begin to live happy, healthy gluten-free lives. Celiac.com was the first site on the Internet dedicated solely to celiac disease, and since then it has become an invaluable resource to people worldwide who seek information about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet. In 1998 I created The Gluten-Free Mall, Your Special Diet Superstore! which was also another Internet first—it was the first gluten-free food site to offer a shopping cart-style interface, and the ability for people to order gluten-free products manufactured by many different companies at a single Web site.
I am also co-author of the book Cereal Killers, and founder and publisher of Journal of Gluten Sensitivity.
The following was written by Donald D. Kasarda who is a research chemist in the Crop Improvement and Utilization Research Unit of the United States Department of Agriculture. If you have any questions or comments regarding the piece, please address them to Don at: kasarda@pw.usda.gov
The work from Prof. Auricchios laboratory (Troncone et al.) in Naples is certainly of interest and I shall look forward to seeing the details, but I will just point out for the sake of balance that studies with patients who ingest, or have instilled into their intestines, the substance to be tested represent the gold standard and in vitro testing (that is, in glass, or in the test-tube), while valuable, does not carry as much weight. The results from the Finnish group and from Dr. Feigherys group (not yet published), Dublin, Ireland, are very impressive. The results based on in vitro testing would have to be truly exceptional to undermine the excellent work that has been done on the safety of oats. So, we shall have to wait and see, but I doubt there is reason to be overly concerned just yet.