JennyC

Coppertone SUNBLOCK is gluten free. The tannilng oils may not be gluten free.

Yeah! No more Lays from the bag. If there is an alternative with little to no risk of cross contamination I will definitely pick it over the other brands.

How about the glue that holds the toilet paper on the roll!

Well at least we wash our hands after we touch it!

(Chamin' and Cotonelle brands are gluten-free.)

We have this issue too. I could list some of the same old things we have, they may be different than yours. We eat quite a bit of gluten free pasta. We like to make spaghetti or alfredo. You could also buy frozen gluten free pizza crusts and make pizza. Tacos/nachos are also pretty fast. Of course healthier options such as salad or grilled meats are also quick to make. Baked potatoes are a fast dinner, especially if you start them in the microwave.

I think many people likely have this problem. It will be interesting to hear all of the ideas.

Not even to mention that taking low doses of antibiotics is just begging for the bacteria to evolve antibiotic resistance to the antibiotic administered. Recently there has been a shift away from frequent antibiotic use--and for good reason. Bacteria are very effective when it comes to antibiotic resistance. Apparently he has not studied biology either.

Also see the posts about companies that will not hide their gluten. I try to stick with those safe brands as much as possible. It's pretty easy since it seems most food is actually produced by Kraft, Con Agra, or General Mills when it comes down to it. There is also a safe food list from Safeway posted here, or you can call them yourself and they will email it to you. There are also independent gluten free lists. Delphi (sp?) puts out a good list. There was a new one out 2/2007. There's a link to that somewhere on this site or you can google it.

Best of luck

Thanks for posting. It's always nice to add to my gluten free repertoire.

I remembered previously someone was looking for gluten-free frosting. All Pillsbury frosting is gluten free except coconut pecan. I have read conflicting things about Duncan Hines. All their CREAMY frosting is gluten free except butter cream and coconut pecan. None of their whipped frosting is gluten-free.

Happy Baking!

I always thought that both the blood test and skin test were both effective. If he's had a blood test I would think that is sufficient. I have never been allergy tested, but from what I have been told the skin test is pretty painful/itchy and your son would have to hold his arm very still. My son was blood tested and had no food allergies, but tested positive for celiac disease. I would not put him through a skin test, it just seems redundant. It's likely that your son is experiencing lactose intolerance.

I bought a subscription to Clan Thompson's software. (Not sure it was worth it, but that's another story.) According to the software, Albertson's, Tillamook, and Lucrene (Sefeway) yogurt are gluten free. Yoplait will clearly list the ingredients. Dannon uses gluten products as stabilizers.

Just thought I would share.

Kinnikinnick also has crispy chicken coating mix. It's really good. In the past I used Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flour and it browned pretty fast, so make sure that you keep the heat down/watch the meat closely.

For me one of the major dangers of biopsy is not really the biopsy itself, it is the perception of a large but decreasing majoirty of doctors that the test is in any way definitive in the negative.

This is exactly why my son has not been biopsied. I was infuriated by the pediatric gastro my son saw. My son had highly positive tTG, and all other IG were normal, and he also had no "allergies." His pediatrician called me with the results and told me that he has celiac disease, remove gluten from his diet, and see a specialist. I consequently did all those things. At the specialist appointment, I expected him to educate me on celiac disease, offer help with nutrition, and talk to me about diseases related to celiac disease and their prevention. Instead he spent 45 minutes trying to pressure me into a biopsy for my son. He had been off of gluten for one month at that point and had made fantastic improvement. All of his celiac symptoms were gone and he had gained 3 pounds! In the doctor's opinion celiac disease is not a spotty disease, and if the single biopsy does not show that he has celiac disease, then he doesn't have it. Then the blood work would be considered wrong. At that point I could go home and order pizza. Needless to say I have not gone back. I have scheduled an appointment for a second opinion with another pediatric gastro, and if that doesn't work maybe I'll seek out an allergist. After that...I'll just get follow up testing through his pediatrician. I am mainly concerned with checking him for diabetes annually and also testing his tTG levels.

I have not found any good fish like crackers, but Glutino makes Ritz looking crackers and pretzels. My son really likes both of them. He also likes Cheese flavored Blue Diamond Nut Thins, although they are made in a shared facility.

Sorry I could be of more help.

From what I've read here, blood tests are very inaccurate in young children. Many of her symptoms sound like Celiac. To me, it seems like you have two immediate options. You keep her on gluten and keep searching for an adequate doctor. (Which may take a lot of time. My son's 2nd opinion app with a pediatric gastro is 3 months from when I got his blood work results.) Or you take your child off of gluten now and see how it goes. If you do this and it's a success, you will probably not want to put her back on gluten for a diagnosis. Many people here feel that dietary response is adequate diagnosis, while others want the official diagnosis. That is totally up to you. Your situation does sound pretty desperate though. If she does have celiac disease then she is also lactose intolerance, at least temporarily. If you do decide to go gluten free leave me a personal message with your email and I'll email you a couple really long lists of gluten-free foods.

Best of luck.

I've gotten French fries that that (ooops!) a breaded onion ring in amongst the fries....

Me too.

The issue of what to trust is the hardest issue for me. At my home, the limited gluten that is here never touches any surface, never washed with gluten-free dishes, ect. I basically treat it as anthrax. But I can't bring myself to restrict my son to only eating food made at dedicated facilities on dedicated lines. SO MANY normal food companies say that they wash their lines between gluten-free and non-gluten-free foods. I take that as being sufficient but I'm not very comfortable with it. Like the Blue Diamond Nut Thins. At the health food store the guy told me that they were no longer gluten-free because it says on the box that they are made in a shared facility. I bought them anyway. They are the first gluten-free product that my son recognizes and really wants. I just think of it as they're being upfront about it, while other companies that many of us use like Frito-Lay are most likely made in a shared facility and probably on shared lines but don't state that on the package. At the risk of being cliche, it is like drawing lines in the sand.

Sorry. Needed to vent!

Lactose intolerance causes diarrhea, gas, and bloating. Try taking Lactaid to see if that helps your situation. I know that the vanilla chewable ones are gluten free and they appear to be soy free.

Best of luck.

While doing some online research I found a great article about the molecular pathogenesis of celiac disease. As a molecular biology fanatic, it really bothered me that I couldn't get a clear picture of the molecular steps to this disease. This article really helped. It goes into GREAT DETAIL about all components of the disease. (Although it must have been written before the work on zonulin was published.) If the scientific jargon gets to be too much, then click on figure 5 and it will give you a nice and to the point summary of the disease.

Open Original Shared Link

I''m happy to know that I'm not the only biology scholar on the board. Zonulin is a protein that regulates tight junctions in the intestinal mucosa. The normal function of this protein is to aid in diffusion by letting some species in (ions, ect.) while keeping others out, such as large proteins and microorganisms. From my research it seems that high levels of zonulin play a role in gluten's ability to cross the intestinal mucosa in celiac disease, which triggers the subsequent autoimmune reaction and the destruction of intestinal villi. In celiac disease there are elevated levels of anti-zonulin antibodies.

From an evolutionary stand point, zonulin is an important protein for regulating intestinal tight junctions as mentioned above. It follows that since it is an important protein, and it will be positively selected through evolution. Increased levels relative to Celiac disease, would not largely affect the gene pool. People with undiagnosed/untreated celiac disease to not tend to die before reproduction age. (Although infertility is associated with the disease.) So even if untreated celiac patients passed away by 40, they still would have had a chance to breed and pass on their genes to the next generation. Infertility would probably explain why the prevalence of celiac disease is as low as it is. The rate of diagnosed celiac disease is most likely rising due to increased awareness and better serological testing methods.

I found a good article on zonulin if anyone is interested:

Open Original Shared Link

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease. If the tests results are accurate, then a person with Celiac should have elevated tTG levels and damage to their intestinal villi. High tTG levels are indicative of autoimmune disorders. Gluten intolerance should not cause intestinal damage or elevated tTG levels. Gluten intolerance is similar in nature to other intolerances, such as lactose intolerance. An intolerant person may not be able to digest the gluten protein and this osmotically active protein draws water into the intestine. This results in diarrhea, cramps, bloating, and possibly dehydration. As in other intolerances, there can be levels of severity.

They are different diseases, but many of the symptoms are the same. And the diet is the same.

Hope this helps.

This is part of a list that I got from Tylenol/Merk a couple of weeks ago.

The following Johnson & Johnson/Merck Consumer Pharmaceuticals products have been tested and do not contain detectable levels of gluten:

Children's Mylanta® Tablets Bubblegum

Regular Strength Mylanta® Liquid Original Flavor

Maximum Strength Mylanta® Liquid Original Flavor

Mylanta® Ultra Tablets Cool Mint

Infant's Mylicon® Drops Non-Staining

Maximum Strength Mylanta® Gas Mint Tablets

Pepcid® AC 10 mg Tablets

Pepcid® Complete Chewable Mint Tablets

Hope you feel better.

Welcome.

gluten free.com has a pretty good product selection. Kinnikinnick has some great products and they have a website kinnikinnick.com. Glutino (or Glutano?) also has some great products, especially for children. I have personally decided to start shopping online for lots of things. Last weekend we drove 25 miles to go to this "great new store" and ended up going to 3 stores and still didn't get everything that I wanted to get.

Things will get much easier. It's been about a month and a half for us. It's almost normal. Things fall into place once you figure out what your children like. I'll list some of the things my 3 yr old likes:

Amy's and Glutino macaroni and cheese

Tinkyada (sp?) pasta with home-made Alfredo (It's SO easy to make your own!)

Tinkyada pasta with spaghetti sauce

various meats

potatoes (they do make gluten free gravy mixes)

French fries

Health Valley corn or rice Crunch-ems (like Chex)

Health Valley also makes some gluten-free soups and broths

Cocoa and fruity pebbles, Trix (make sure it's a new box made with modified corn starch)

Van's gluten-free waffles

Pamela's pancake and waffle mix (Pamela's brand makes all kinds of yummy mixes)

Cheese quesadilla made with corn tortillas

Nachos

Grilled cheese (Kinnikinnick bread is good. They also make buns.)

Homemade pizza with kinnikinnick crusts

Kinnikinnick also makes good doughnuts

Popcorn

Various gluten-free cookies

Many candies

Various corn-based chips (Cheetos, tortilla chips, many Doritos, and Lay's stacks)

Rice crackers and Glutino crackers and pretzels

Cheese whiz

Ian brand has gluten-free chicken nuggets, fish sticks, and corn dogs

Large Ener-G crackers with cream cheese and Oscar Meyer lunch meat

Make sure that you read every label, every time. There are some good brands such as Kraft that will not hide their gluten in other ingredients.

It really does get better. It takes time and learning. (And failed attempts.) I hope that you will be amazed by the difference this diet makes in your child, as I have been.

Thanks everyone. It just smells so go when it's cooking. I think I too might give up on Chebe. I'm just glad to know that I'm not alone in my problem. I can't imagine eating them the way they turn out. Even after I let them set they are still underdone.

Thanks again for all replies.

The perception of autoimmune disease as the body attacking itself is old news - Marshall (and others) has discovered otherwise:

Open Original Shared Link

Most, if not all, these "autoimmune" diseases/syndromes have the same root cause - they present themselves differently (symptoms, damage) and thus we have different labels. People with various of these so-called autoimmune/rheumatic/arthritic diseases are recovering from the same treatment. Getting your D-metabolites tested is the best test you can have as this hormone is often dysregulated in these diseases.

One should be cautious before jumping fully on board and committing one's beliefs to small amounts of controversial research. Autoimmune diseases are largely dependant upon T-cells. It is T-cells that must recognize "self" verses "non-self." They may go on to activate B-cells that can secrete antibodies. The idea that all autoimmune disorders are caused by pathogens living within macrophages and other innate immune response cells is a little out there. I won't say that it could not happen, but it is unlikely to be the cause of the majority of cases. To determine this, one would nearly need to make a slide of the infected area and look at the immune cells. Secondly, macrophages are well equipped to handle infection. Their job is to engulf bacteria, digest them, and then present them to B-cells.

Autoimmune disorders do have the same basic groupings of causes. This does not mean they are the same disease. Some diseases may be caused by cell surface marker mutations. Others may be caused by poor negative selection of T-cells, ect.

Just give the research time to be peer reviewed (again and again...), as this is the way science works.

I have read lots of good things about Chebe mixes. I have tried to make their products twice and both times it turned out horribly. It really sucks because the bread smells so good when it's cooking. What a disappointment! The bread will never cook completely. Even the thin squished bread sticks that my son helped me make were undercooked. I cook them until the bottom is dark brown. Is there some secret that I don't know?

Please help.

Autoimmune diseases are real. They are not bacterial/viral infections. Some may be triggered by such. I don't know the specifics of all autoimmune diseases. They all involve the body attacking "self" antigens. For example, RA occurs when the body attacks synovial membranes in the body and starts to degrade them. MS occurs when the immune system attacks mylen of the peripheral neurons. They are different diseases, yet related because they are all brought on by the immune system's failure to recognize "self" antigens.

As for drug companies. Yes some drugs are bad. Tums for example gives your acid-secreting cells in your stomach exactly what they need to continue secreting acid--calcium! But many others are good. Scientists do try to cure disease. Some are very hard to cure, and there are different guidlines in different parts of the world. I have dedicated my life to science to try to cure disease. You just need to use cation and do your own medical research when making health care decisions.