Whey?

[MallysMama 1]

Okay, so my 81 year old grandpa was diagnosed with Celiac (on his deathbed - having a last chance surgery to remove something from his pancreas...and then they went "digging" around to see if anything else was wrong - when they discovered no villi in his intestines). It's nice to know where I got this disease from...I'm no longer the only one in my family with it. Had they just done a simple blood test months and months ago (especially after my mom suggested it) - he could be just fine by now. However, he's still on IV's.... and they might be allowing him to start on liquids soon. So - anyway... my mom calls me today and says that they've told him that Whey contains gluten (comes from barley)?! We're completely flabbergasted! No research I've done proves that these idiot doctors are correct. I'm wondering if any of you know what they're talking about?? Whey, in my knowledge, is a dairy product or derivative. But we don't want to give my grandpa false information that could make him sooo sick again. (I'd actually like him to be able to meet my next baby!!) So, any help - and as soon as possible - is greatly appreciated.

[Lisa 464]

To the best of my knowledge, whey, is diary durived and it not connected to gluten.

If he is having a problem with dairy, yes that may be an issue for him.

[lindalee 2]

The SCDer's eat whey and they are totally no grains. I hope some others can help.

[jerseyangel 413]

You are right--whey does not contain gluten--it is from milk.

[MallysMama 1]

Thanks! Now I just need to convince my grandma that the nutrionist they talked too is Wrong! (Easier said than done!) She said that the nutrionist told them that whey can come from either milk or barley. Which is completely stupid! No information I've found says that. I even looked on the Whey Protein Institute's website!! (www.wheyoflife.org) Argh! Stupid people making my grandpa's new diet more complicated than it needs to be. Thanks for the input, though!! I'll pass on the info!

[Ursa Major 5]

Thanks! Now I just need to convince my grandma that the nutrionist they talked too is Wrong! (Easier said than done!) She said that the nutrionist told them that whey can come from either milk or barley. Which is completely stupid! No information I've found says that. I even looked on the Whey Protein Institute's website!! (www.wheyoflife.org) Argh! Stupid people making my grandpa's new diet more complicated than it needs to be. Thanks for the input, though!! I'll pass on the info!

You're right, and there is another incompetent nutritionist in a hospital, of all places. Whey is definitely ALWAYS derived from milk.

But do you know that casein can blunt the villi as well? And also, most celiacs are unable to digest dairy for at least six months after being diagnosed (even if they're not casein intolerant), because the tips of the villi produce an enzyme called lactase, which helps in dairy digestion.

So, since your grandpa is so sick, it would be a very good idea to eliminate all dairy from his diet for several months, before reintroducing it to see if it causes a problem. He may not get well if he has dairy products at this point. In fact, he needs to start out with a simple, non-irritating diet to heal. And dairy is hard to digest at the best of times.

[tarnalberry 314]

Whey can't be "derived from barley"! It's a milk protein! Wiki's site is helpful as well. "They" are smoking something funny over there!

[MallysMama 1]

Yeah, I had already checked the wikipedia site and got their definition. I sent all the info to my mom in an email for her to pass on to my grandparents. I let my grandma know about the dairy being hard to digest at first....thinking maybe that's why they told her to keep him off of whey. That wasn't the case... but she knows about the dairy issues now, at least. I plan on making a visit up there sometime this week - so I can hopefully make sure they got the correct info. Thanks for your help... it's good to know that I'm not the only one who thinks that "nutritionist" is crazy!

[debmidge 8]

One way to get to the bottom of this is to find out the manufacturer of the product and call their support number and ask about gluten and whey....(by I.V. I think you mean liquid nutrition, not the clear saline/sugar solution hospitals give you to keep you hydrated).