prana

I just got off the phone with Starbucks (1-800-235-2883) to ask about the protein powder in their new Vivanno smoothies and the very nice gentleman who helped me said that the only drinks that are not gluten free are the one's containing the malted milk chips (ie drinks like the chocolaty chip frap) and vanilla bean powder (ie drinks like the vanilla bean frap). Can anyone confirm this and does anyone have a list of which drinks contain these ingredients? To my knowledge it's only two or three drinks but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Hello,

We'd like to make a deli platter for the holidays but I'm having trouble pinning down a brand of lunch meat that is gluten free. We'd like ham, turkey and possibly chicken but I find that when I try them randomly (from the deli case at my local Albertson's) that half the time I get sick. Does anyone know which brands of lunch meat are gluten free? I live in a very small town without access to any kind of health food store and it's a little late to order something online so it has to be something we can get from the regular grocery store. I really appreciate the help. Happy Holiday's all. Good luck and blessings, Prana

Hello again,

First thanks a million for the advice, I'll discuss it with my doctor. She really is a nice lady and even if she wasn't I live in a very small and secluded town so I don't have a lot of options as far as doctors. Next appointment we will seriously discuss it and see what we need to do to find out once and for all what is the cause.

Second I don't eat oatmeal or drink milk. It's my fault, the way I said it was confusing. I just wanted to point out the consistancy of foods that make me sick and oatmeal is gluey. I do eat dairy but not very much as I'm lactose intolerant and to much makes me sick, I use soy milk or rice milk for pretty much everything. Also I don't eat msg, caffiene or processed foods. Everything I eat is very carefully checked and almost everything I eat is made by me from scratch. So there is no possibility of hidden gluten. And I don't wear makeup because of my other allergies to chemicals.

I did have a colonoscopy and they didn't see anything but that is only for the large intestine and I know most damage in a Celiac's patient is in the small intestine. So maybe I need to have those tests done (even if it will be torture for three months) and maybe I need to have my small intestine checked. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy because it really upset me to get sick off gluten free foods. If it weren't for the fact that I can eat other gluten free foods just fine (like soup, salad dressing, etc) I would have thought I was allergic to rice but it is only the bread based stuff.

Anyway, thank you again and I will let you know how things go. Good luck and blessings, Prana

Hello all, I'm hoping you can help me with something. I've been sick since I was 15 (now 25) with classic Celiac symptoms. I was diagnosed with many things over the years including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and IBS. Every diagnosis was based on the doctors opinion and no tests were run or medications tried. I was sent home to just deal with it. Finally last year I cam across this website and realized I may have Celiacs. I tried an exclusion diet and the minute I added bread back in I got terribly sick. Since then I have been gluten free and only get sick when I accidently eat something with hidden gluten.

My trouble is recently I've been very sick again and I know I haven't had any gluten. We moved to a new larger place and I bought a new bread machine and lots of stuff from the gluten free pantry. I was very excited to finally get to have cookies and bread and pancakes again but I only ate a small amount every other day just to see how things would go. As soon as I started eating these things I got very sick. I've noticed that anything, whether it's wheat based or not, that is gluey or becomes gluey when eaten (think bread, oatmeal, real mashed potatoes, rice pudding, etc) makes me very sick (ie cramps, hot flashes, bathroom problems). So now I'm very confused. My new doctor says she has her doubts that I have Celiacs because I'm overwieght (I also have liver disease, hypothyroidism and lots of allergies) and now that I'm getting sick on foods without gluten I'm begining to wonder myself. I was actively sick and eating gluten for ten years so maybe my intestines and stomache are so damaged that I can't handle any gluey food? I just don't know and I would like your advice, suggestion and thoughts especially if you have the same problem.

Thank you very much for your time. Good luck and blessings, Prana