Warning: The Gluten-free Bible

[pixiegirl]

Yes, I agree that this is an interesting thread. I've not read the book in question so I'm not going to comment on it but I will comment on the cheating issue. I'm someone that couldn't cheat because I get so sick, often for months at a time so its just not an option for me. I can't imagine doing it intentionally. My mom has celiac disease and she does cheat and it drives me nuts, the reason she cheats is that she doens't get symptoms (well hardly any) when she does cheat. I constantly tell her about the damage she is doing but she says she is 80 and will live her life on her terms. And she's right, its her life and we all have to make that decision. But I can't imagine people who understand the consequences of cheating would do so.

Lastly, I'm catholic and all I can say is "shame on you" if your feeding the host to the birds!

susan

[celiac3270]

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[Canadian Karen]

Well, this is VERY INTERESTING!!!!

Geesh, I am off line for a few weeks, come back, and BOY! have I missed some interesting stuff!!!!

celiac3270, my dear friend, I, being a Canadian, am not well versed in American law, but I do believe that you (and anyone else for that matter) have the right, under your Bill of Rights Amendment 1, to free speech. I'm no legal wizard by a long shot, but I do believe that the last time I checked, the American people were not suppressed in any way and your right to free speech is one of your most cherished and protected rights....... You need not worry one speck about any of this.....

As for this lady calling her book a "Bible", well.......... anyone who feeds a host (representing the body of Christ) to the birds forfeits the right to call her book a Bible, (in my books, anyhow!!! pardon the pun!)

celiac3270, you and any other person who has brought attention to the inaccurate information in this lady's book has done a great service to all the celiacs who otherwise would not have known any better. The fact that you state that your main concern is the newbies who might be mislead just shows that amount of courage and leadership you possess at such an early age! My lord, tell your parents I said that they should be darn proud of the son they have raised....

Well, gotta go, my back is killing me (for those who don't know what's been going on, I was very busy the last few weeks building a new front patio, a raised interlocking one, and just happened to put my back out while doing so!!! It is still on the mend and really sore to sit here too long.......)

Hugs to all!

Karen

[Guest Viola]

Oh Karen, I'm so sorry to hear you've put your back out. I've done that before and can relate. You take care of it and don't rush the healing process! Get your family to give you a bit more help around the place for awhile

I agree ... Threatening a law suit is quite rediculous I should think it would be thrown out of court. Surely people can't be sued for helping to guard other peoples health and lives.

[tarnalberry]

It sounds like, from what's been posted here, that Jax would be going for libel in a lawsuit. I don't know exactly how hard it is to prove, easier than I thought it should be from what I recall the last time someone mentioned it to me, but based on what I've read, it would be a tough call even at that, as the comments I've seen haven't been directed at *her* but rather at *her book*. I could be wrong about that, of course, but that's what it seemed like from the information I saw.

[celiac3270]

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[Jnkmnky]

ok. My sister is the "smart one" in the family. She's a lawyer. I hate it when she rolls her eyes at me. She did this because I asked her if there would be any merit to a lawsuit in this situation. She said, "No".

[Guest BellyTimber]

REVIEW OF REVIEWS - BUT GOING ON WHAT I'VE GOT TO GO ON:

I've just been to the Amazon site and:

- almost all the seventeen reviews I saw point out something good in the book and of points the named reviewer mentions, other reviewers mention the same and I would not find anything peculiar in overlap in the content of reviews, basically ...

- several reviewers find her previous book(s) good

- almost all reviewers found the style and upbeat attitude of the author good

Phrases like 'Bible' and 'thoroughly indispensible' are overused and subjective and prospective readers should let themselves be influenced by them at their own responsibility and I've no doubt the publisher and author would agree with what I am saying about that. Readers looking for points to take action on should no doubt gravitate towards books having more neutral titles (remaining on guard of course). (A different and similar example would be books entitled "The Facts" which of course are no more - at most - than only "some of" the facts.)

I think that in general, authors sometimes have to compromise with publishers' staff about titles.

In view of her previous titles' success was a reprint, accompanied by a new volume of new material, considered?

Information about the changing gluten content of medicine and food products would normally be found in frequently updated media like annual directories, newsletters, web sites and the like. A book would not be an expected place to give information of this kind in my observation, and my understanding of the practicalities. A book might at a pinch mention long-standing policies of certain companies if they have such.

There is barely a book published in any field but reviewers point out a number of erroneous points.

It is often said in the public domain that one person's joke is another person's offensive remark and it would be strange not to expect to give rise to a certain amount of disapproval over any such specific points if anyone had found any.

I am most intrigued about the apparent incident of the giving of a communion wafer to a bird, the context for which hasn't been explained in any reviews or the author's message, but which some weren't impressed by, and I for one suspect I would find meaningless.

It would appear she used the word "cheat" and as I raised before in several other threads with other people that employ it, I wonder really whether this is appropriate vocabulary - and I wonder the more so if she is supposed to be so upbeat. Surely 'slip up', 'glutened', 'infringe' etc are more factual.

I honestly don't think one gets tempted. Only plain confused. Anyone out there actually know what I mean?

Anyway I have found this site (celiac.com) the best I've found so far on the subject despite plenty of posts I don't agree altogether with, and I have also come to value a number of books on the subject.

My book budget is limited. I know from the seventeen reviews what this book's weak and strong points may be for my needs. I know that one of my bigger needs in this connection remains to cultivate a more positive attitude and more joie-de-vivre in the face of my bodily differences from most of the folks around. Therefore that might be a reason for me to obtain this book if my budget allowed. Therefore the seventeen reviews - including the one cited - are a good thing and not destructive.

I can't get any where near Delphi (my computer doesn't let me and one can't spend one's whole life surfing) therefore am unable to form a view on any more of the posts on there or any goings-on among people posting. Also I've only found 17 reviews so am unaware of what any more reviews are saying.

Authors and publishers are always taking a risk on how their productions are going to be seen and the public domain is there to spread word of such productions, and specific and undestructive critique of the kind I've read in all 17 of those reviews on the Amazon site is vital to the public domain. Otherwise we would all ignore reviews if they were bland and unreasonably approving. Then reviews would have no value as a publicity tool.

I wish author, publishers and readers success ...

[lovegrov]

"Information about the changing gluten content of medicine and food products would normally be found in frequently updated media like annual directories, newsletters, web sites and the like. A book would not be an expected place to give information of this kind in my observation, and my understanding of the practicalities. A book might at a pinch mention long-standing policies of certain companies if they have such."

I would agree that a book is not the place to look for a list of gluten-free items. The problem here (according to those who have read the book; I have not) is that the book says certain products that have always been gluten-free or at least have been gluten-free for many years are not gluten-free. Tootsie Roll products in the U.S., for instance, have never contained gluten that I know of.

richard

[celiac3270]

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[Guest BellyTimber]

Slightly off-topic but, sometimes on Amazon I see "look inside" but this time I didn't, was that a real difference on the site or was it a glitch?

Interesting that - presumably not just in this case - a balance of views among reviewers may have been tilted a little. Anyway what I look for in reviews is not only what kind of facts are in a book but how a spread of reviewers evaluate them. If I don't get enough spread I lose interest.

Anyway I fancy myself as a peace maker and wanted to say that despite some probable meaningless incidents and some inappropriate language (I shall always see red at "cheat") if I was to have a list of five more gluten-free living books to go with the approx five I've got already (which are mainly UK ones), one of Lowell's would probably be on it. (Several people both on this site and on Amazon preferred her older book)

Emotionally and physically one has had immense intimacy with wheat and gluten many times a day all ones life then suddenly a really major significant change - like becoming a monk or a fish out of water?

[celiac3270]

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[printmaker81]

As a newbie, I definitely went straight to the bookstore after being diagnosed, and guess what I picked up...you got it, The Gluten-Free Bible. I read it quickly because it's a pretty quick read. It simplified things and made them digestable at first, and I even recommeded it in the beginning (oops). However, the more I learned from other sources, the less indespinsible it seemed. I don't want to repeat all the things that have already been said, but I did want to say that I think this was an important topic to bring up. I could definitely see how someone who is less inclined to research things would pick this book up first and stop there. Plus it is a warning in general to us newbies not to believe everything you hear from ANY source.

As a side note, I have worked in the restaraunt industry while I've been in school, and the book advocates being rude when your server isn't helpful. I may not know much about Celiac disease, but I know that this is the quickest way to get your food deliberately contaminated (wheat or otherwise) by a wait staff. Anyone who has ever waited tables, I'm sure, has seen this type of thing go on.

[ajay]

OK, I admit it, I read "Against The Grain" as a newbie. I had to get it, since I loved the play on the classic novel's title. I haven't read it since, so I can't honestly say what I'd think of it now. I remember liking it.... which after reading some of the above comments, makes me a little nervous.

What I did want to mention was about cheating. When I was first going gluten-free, I did cheat about every 3 months or so... then maybe every 6 months... Now I don't ever deliberately cheat. For me, I think in the beginning I resented that I couldn't eat what I wanted, and there were foods I really missed. I was pretty sure that I was allergic to wheat, not celiac, so I'd just feel not-so-great for a few days, no biggie. As I spent more time gluten-free, I was able to really notice the difference in how I feel. And my exposures felt more and more severe. So I got to a point where I realized that no matter how tasty that croissant may be, it's just not worth it.

No, cheating is NOT a good idea, and not everyone does it. But I can understand why someone might, because I was once willing to do so. I can imagine it would be harder for someone who is asymptomatic, since you don't get the feedback ("This really sucks, and I voluntarily did this to myself?!"). Maybe some of us are really thick on the issue ("a little bit of arsenic can't be all that bad...") but the sooner we come around, the better.

I can't believe she'd suggest being rude to a server in a restaurant. This person handles your food, for goodness sake!

[prinsessa]

About being rude to a server in a restuarant. I was a waitress about 4 years ago. One man was being rude to one of the waitresses. She got sick of it and told him "you should never be rude to a waitress before getting your food". I thought it was really funny and it shut him up really quick. I agree that being rude to a waitress is not good. Some people I worked with would "do things" (not saying what ) to food if the customer was rude to them. I never did anything to the food, but I would ignore rude customers because I knew I probably wouldn't get a good tip anyway.

[wozzy]

Hmmm when I read it, I liked it, but maybe I didn't read all of it because I don't remember all this contraversial stuff.

I interpreted the cheating chapter differently.

I always feel like I'm in the middle of this no gluten at all vs. some gluten is ok debate. My dad and his doctor claim it's ok to cheat now and then because you won't react to small amounts or immediately.

But I disagree, because I know that I react immediately.

Sometimes I wonder where they get this information from, and if it's actually based on anything.

[gfp]

It's not getting bad reviews from everyone, but it's mostly the new celiacs who like it and the more experienced, long-term celiacs who don't. I think this can be explained through what I said in the last paragraph: she has a great writing style and connects with the reader (therefore, newbies love it). Yet, if you know this diet well enough and read the book, you realize that despite it being a "good read" so to speak, it's factually incorrect and therefore, a hazard.

I agree (from your description since I haven't read it myself).

What new celiac doesn't want to be told its OK to cheat... etc.

The book is just playing to telling people what they want to hear...

My warning is primarily against blindly buying this book, for example, through the internet, due to a misleading title.

Yep I expected a completly rewritten bible where manna transforms to corn tortilla's and the last supper has rice bread?

sorry couldn't resist....

[wozzy]

I don't think it really was trying to say that it's ok to cheat, but that was my interpretation. She was saying that most people probably will cheat at least once, and I think there is merit to that, especially in the beginning when you're frustrated and hungry...But that doesn't mean it's a good thing to do, and I don't think she was saying it was.

[jerseyangel]

I expected a completly rewritten bible where manna transforms to corn tortilla's and the last supper has rice bread?

sorry couldn't resist....

[Guest celiacsher]

I bought this book and have been refering to it ever since. I read all labels just to be sure and was a little confused about the cheetos. I eat them but she was definately mistaken. It makes you wonder what other things in the book have been inacurate. I will get a copy of the other book. Thanks for the info.

[Dwight Senne]

Well, I can't comment on the book because I have not read it, but I can comment on the author as I have had some personal experience with her.

Two different times, Jax has contacted me via email regarding some cooperative ventures. Both times I responded that I wanted to work with her. Both times, I never heard back. The last time, I even went through a third party who I knew would be speaking to Jax and provided all of my contact info just in case there was a problem with the email. Still no response.

In my (apparently distorted) world of common courtesy, when you ask someone to do something for you and they agree, you should either graciously accept their help, or politely inform them that you changed your mind.

One occurence is understandable. When it happens twice, it indicates to me that the person is either too busy to follow through with her commitments, or she is simply flighty. Either explanation could provide some insight into the current controversy regarding her book.

[Coolclimates]

she does strike me as pretty holier-than-thou. I think she has some good information in this book, but also some very bad information. I've never cheated. It's funny as the gi doctor who diagnosed me told me it was fine if I wanted to cheat every once and awhile. BS!

[kareng]

FYI, the last post on here was 5 years ago.

[Coolclimates]

I'm aware that the last post was 5 years ago. Yet I didn't want to start a new thread because I thought this might annoy people?

[kareng]

I went back to try to figure out what book you were talking about, but it really doesn't say. I think some things have been deleted?

The topic is sooo old in Forum time, & most of the posters are long gone. If I wanted to discuss it, I think I would start a new topic.