gfp

Comments: One of the things I would like in a store for people with food restrictions is clear and seperate sections for different types of food. One section for gluten-free that is ONLY gluten-free. Then a clear divider of some sort before the next xyz-free section. I would also stock products in multiple sections. For example, an item might be gluten-free, dairy-free and soy free. I'd stock it in all three sections. The idea is that we all have to analyze and read labels in the regular grocery stores all the time. It would be AMAZING to be able to walk into a store, go to the section I need and not have to read the label.

Yep that really annoys me... I think I just found something new and then its "whole wheat" or something....

A serious store could label everything really clearly on the aisles with big bold warnings on every item...

In most healthfood stores that have a gluten free "section", the gluten-free stuff is blended in with non gluten-free stuff. So you still have to read labels and know what you're doing as far as reading labels. I'm sure there are a lot of people new to the gluten-free diet who get sick because they're eating something from the gluten-free section that isn't gluten-free.

Its not your fault but this question is really pointless.

It would depend of course what they carried but far more importantly it would depend on how they handled the products, so many "healthfood stores" accidentally contaminate gluten-free items. I hate this, my local healthfood store has gluten-free bread.. but its on the same shelf as the other bread so its pointless. I then end up having to buy packaged bread just to be safe... and since I don't like packaged breads and they are not worth the money to me on the whole I rarely buy them and rarely use the store.

The also have a seperate gluten-free section but it merges into the wholewheat section.....

-is the staff knowledgeable and friendly (i.e. they don't tell you things like: oh, you can just take lactese if you're allergic to caseine, etc)

-what would also be great is a courtesy telephone in the store where customers can call a manufacturer right on the spot to ask them about possible allergens.

-a computer with internet connection might also be a good idea to have available so customers can just check out the manufacturer's website right there and get the nitty-gritty on suspect ingredients

These are fantastic ideas....

Oh, and one more thing that would be totally awesome:

-lots of us have trouble getting certain products that are not carried in regular stores, because the shipping costs make the products too expensive (ever tried getting 10lb of a specialty flour delivered plus shipping???). So it would be great if you could offer this service:

-group ordering: let's say you can't carry a product regularly because it isn't that popular. But one person wants it. Well, put it on a list and let other customers order it too, so that in the end they can all share the shipping cost.

Especially the staff thing, my local store I end up asking other intolerants.... what's that stuff like, did you try it before?

as are these....

I think this answers the question much better.... Follow gabby's advice and your onto a winner and so are your customers!

From what I've read the protien in oats is starting to be different enough from the wheat gluten protien that some celiacs react and some don't (and I mean an actual autoimmune reaction, not just symptoms of glutening because some celiacs are asymptomatic even when damage is being done). I have no idea if I react, but I choose not to eat oats. Not worth it. And I didn't like oatmeal much anyhow so no biggie.

This reminds me of England. Some things are labeled gluten-free but contain wheat starch. I know in those cases wheat starch is tested to be below a certain number of ppm, but if it's got a few ppm and I eat several, that's might put me over the limit. Again, not worth it.

Exactly my experience. If I have the under 20ppm bread I can perhaps get away with a couple of slices ..at least as far as GI

symptoms but who can say what damage its causing. but I know from experience if I eat it all then I'll be ill.

I have no idea if I react, but I choose not to eat oats. Not worth it. And I didn't like oatmeal much anyhow so no biggie.

Well, I have to say, I'd quiite like some oat flapjacks and real oatcakes ... BUT even so I still agree, its just not worth it.

I think the only test I would be happy with would be screening me direct for antibodies.... and quite simply if they elevated at all then NO.

You might want to wash your own dishes with your own personal dish rag. Sponges hold all kinds of foods and bacteria and are not recommended for the kitchen, especially if it's come in contact with gluten.

We don't have a dishwasher and all dishes are washed by hand. We first rinse all the food off the dishes with a brush, then wash with a soapy rag. After the dinner dishes are washed, the dish rag is retired and a new one is used the next day. I would never use a dish rag that has come in contact with gluten foods or has wiped down the counter, but will get a clean one. (I go through a lot of dish rags in one week!)

You also might want to invest in a large plastic or glass cutting board to use to prepare your food on so your food doesn't touch the counter.

Don't use any non-stick pans or plastic colanders that have had gluten foods in them, and be sure to pre-wash any metal pans that you all share - before you cook your gluten-free food in them.

I think sharing a kitchen with gluten eaters can be done, but it takes diligence on your part and a good deal of cooperation on the part of the others to contain their crumbs, etc.

Oh, yes, and don't forget to keep the cupboard door and drawer handles washed down and especially the refrigerator handles. Do you all share one coffee pot? That could also get contaminated (the handle, I mean). You'll have to be sure you wash your hands before touching any of your foods.

Just remembered another kitchen thing that can easily cause contamination - the hot pot holders. You probably need to have your own set of these, too.

Good luck.

This is all good advice.

Seriously, I don't think dishwashers are safer in general. I know my dishwasher doesn't get rid of EVERYTHING, it has a problem with coffee grounds or tea leaves for instance. It mostly gets rid oif them but far from completely... and because they are almost black they are very easy to see.

I think its of value here to examine how gluten is made industrially... by far the most common process is you take wheat flour and wash it and what remains is the gluten, a glue like transparent (difficult to see smeared over utensils)thing.

The more "efficient" way is its washed in a alkali which helps wash away the starches and keeps the gluten... and this is exactly what you are putting into your dishwasher... an alkali (usually potassium hydroxide)

In conclusion I don't wash stuff in the dishwasher that has not been already handwashed....

Gluten is basically a glue, its going to be the last thing washed away and its going to attach to something else if it gets a chance.

My girlfriend has her stash of corn flakes whioch are marginal gluten anyway (horedin wash of barley malt) and at least that gluten is already mobile... but we still don't put the dishes into the dishwasher.

What I do is buy the really big (1' wide) rolls of kitchen/utility paper from our equivalent of KMart... and also Johnson do some very cheap rags that come in a tube type arrangement (you pull them out and they are attached with a perforation, a bit like baby wipes etc.) They are used once and then thrown away or used on the floor then thrown away....

I bought seperate pots and pans. They're red. So, he knows that anything red (you could even just mark pans with a red Sharpie) means do NOT cook gluten in this.

Yep the bigger and bolder the better....

However, this leads me to the second thing....

By far the most important thing is going to be to get support from the peoople you share with.

I don't mean they nod and say uh-huy ... they have to realise that a tiny speck of gluten will make you ill.

If you continue to share pans and plates the chance is you will keep being ill. This is even more likely in shared accomadation because people are doing their own thing, not everyone knows what everyone else is cooking all the time etc.

My experience and I think that of many here is trying to convonce people who knew you before diagnosis is REALLY HARD... even best friends and close family members. They are not being nasty, mostly they think you have gone cookoo and fallen for some strange sect... and gone completely over the top ... people find it very hard when you have eaten gluten all your life and suddenly you can't. (especially since because symptoms wise we tend to not tell people due to the nature of the symptoms)

I have friends who keep saying how much better I look and how happier I am yet still think the gluten thing is ... a bit much. On the other hand people you meet AFTER never know the pizza eating, pasta munching bread lover ... and seem to have far less problems accepting.

It takes me 3 weeks to feel 100% again. The longest D has lasted is one week. I usualy feel better and better but I get terrible heartburn that does last for 3 weeks. I sometimes wonder if I've been glutened again while I'm still getting over the first one but I really only get glutened every 4-5 months so I doubt that it would happen twice within a week. I am very careful so this is glutening from very small amounts.

Hope you feel better soon.

This is exactly what I used to think....

When I found out the average person has D 2-3 times a year maximum and even high risk groups like nursing mothers 4-5 max per year I started to realise it wasn't just something else giving me the runs.

When I have been in a position to do what I call 100% gluten-free where I don't eat any packets or tins or anything that can't be 100% guaranteed I started to realise the whole process for me goes in cycles... at first its D 2-3 times a day or more but after a week I could be fine for a week then get another epidode or two... then even 4-5 weeks later I can still get an odd unexplained bout...

before I realised this i used to confuse myself by thinking I had somehow been glutened...

Hi again,

I just have a quick question....I have a lot of the main symptoms of Celiacs, and am currently awaiting the test results to confirm for sure, but I was wondering...one of the things I read over and over is the weight loss....but I have the opposite problem, I have had unexplianed weigh gain in the past year or so. Is this normal???

Its certainly not unusual...

While you are waiting for test results say what tests you had, if you didn't have a biopsy you might want to consider one because once you go gluten-free you would have to go back on gluten for a long time in order to have on.... the value of the biopsy is questionable but the sure thing is the time to have one if you decide is before you go gluten-free.

I have to say this is one of those issues people ignore or think they will worry about later.

Its really not like that, later will be too late once the GM crops have cross pollented... sure theoretically they are not meant to but this is nature, albeit a frankenstein equavalent.

When you grow hundreds of millions of GM crops every year one of them will mutate, nothing is more certain over time.

I'm not saying Jurassic park is a scientifically accurate film but the point were the guy says "They can't breed" is pretty spot on...

Breeding is the primary directive of all life... nature will find a way and always does.

If GM foods were not so actively opposed by gruops who go over the top in other things perhaps more people would take this seriously.

I got glutened 10 days ago and I am still wretched. Normally, if I get cross-contaminated it's about 3-4 days of wretchedness but this is just going on and on and on and on........

I think I just want someone to tell me it's going to end

Well I can't do that....

For me its not a simple number of days.. but a gradual reduction in the frequency and severity of the symptoms.

From times Ive been in complete control Ive had batches of D after 4-5 weeks, of course it could be something else but I think we all get to know the feeling.

One thing helps me gauge is actually my casein sensitivity. When Im 100% gluten-free its really unnoticable but after an incident I can be casein intolerant for 4-5 weeks...

Thanks. I'm not feeling particularly healthy and happy right now but that it my own fault for not being careful at a restaurant.

Yeah, it sucks but I do the same thing. To me its a question of me controlling the disease not becoming a slave to it. No matter how careful you are it still happens form time to time but equally once the fog has lifted you usually learn something.

All I want to add is that you shouldn't assume. I am following the diet I am for health reasons.

A problem I perceive is that because of moral issues they can't put aside (nor should they have to) many vegans spend a lot of time trying to evangelise. When they do this the aruaments they propose are for a large part not balanced because they extract what they want to see from the evidence and ignore what they don't want to see.

This is human nature, these people are not doing this because they are nasty people or want to deceive, they are doing it because that is what they see.

In many ways I think they ask the wrong questions. For instance is a vegan diet healthier/better etc. than the standard American diet. To me this is pointless because almost any diet that makes you think before you put something in your mouth has to be healthier and better. Its very easy to find a study where someone becomes vegan and see's health, performance benefits etc. because on the whole the Western diet is so bad to start off with but there are equal numbers of people who make terrific health gains on the complete inverse with high protein diets like Atkins.

In the same way proponents of Atkins who have seen health benefits will make all sorts of claims and say how much better they are. If you want to set out to prove Atkins is "the best diet" there are 1001 internet sources stating studies saying how its the best most natural diet along with an equal number for the Hay's diet or Paleolithic diets.

I said nothing to indicate I was doing so because I object to eating animals for ethical reasons (I spent decades eating animals, and currently wear leather and even fur [albeit hesitantly when I go to my favorite vegetarian restaurants ])

I also eat very little soy (Enterolab is now testing for that, inter alia) and try to avoid isolated soy protein altogether.

I've read about nutrition for years and will continue to do so. I urge everyone to do the same because of its importance to our health.

Obviously, all I am saying really is that neutral sources are best.

If you want to determine what paleolithic man ate then do so as an excersize, not with an agenda of proving he was either a vegan or carnivore. It will be very interesting to find out more on this because I love the whole subject of anthropology but there is also a lot of evidence already that paleolithic man not only ate a lot of animals but each other too. However, I just don't see how this is an arguament for or against Veganism... after all if we find paleolithic man got a large amount of protein from canibalism we are not going to suddenly start eating each other?

Hope you start feeling better soon...... more cyber HUGS....

Are the foods in the supermarkets all labelled with ingredients? What is Italian for Gluten , Wheat Starch, Malt etc. I hope to be making a trip to Italy next year and am quite terrified about being gluten-free!

Labelling is pretty good anyway but the usual place to buy specialist gluten-free food is at a pharmacy. However ... last time I was in Italy (6 months ago) there were a new chain of Gluten Free supermarkets startig up which were being advertised everywhere.

From what I could see these were out of town type ones but it shows how popular it is.

On the whole you don't need to be terrified, Italian health certification covers courses in celiac and the diagnosis rate is so high almost everyone knows someone with celiac disease.

If you check out www.celiactravel.com they have a resto card for Italy. Its more than enough you just need to get across you are a celiac.... because diagnosis is so high and Italians love eating out many resto's use gluten-free ingredients by choice anyway.. I don't mean bread, pizza and pasta, you need a specialist resto for this but I mean things like preservatives or thickening agents because the chance is they will get a celiac in so they just tend towards leaving their options more open.

I have a European language sheet but I can't post to it from here because of the board rules... if you do a google search for "gluten Free Lexicon" you should find it pretty easily, if not pm me and I'll send a link or work out a way to get this to you.

Incidentally where abouts are you in Oz? and where are you going in Italy? I have tried lots of gluten-free places and some of them are absolutely fantastic. I started writing it up at one point but I have been to so many wonderful places in many different areas so if you can give me a clue I can be specific about recommendations:D

Are you guys sure it's not just "mind over batter"?

best regards, lm

p.s. sorry, couldn't resist making that stupid pun (really, just kidding).

LOL....

I know- me too! I know the protein is different but I don't think it's been definitively proven that oats DON'T do damage. Does anyone know otherwise? If oats were not cross-contaminated would they be safe? I woouldn't eat them, but I'm curious.

I'm pretty certain there is as much evidence in both directions....

Since this is a health issue then IMHO they should be labelled....

However I don't think they should be labelled "gluten" since this is technically incorrect and once you actually take a step away from "gluten free" meaning exactly that you are inviting all sorts of exceptions.

When you look at the whole way its been done in Europe the justification is that we are too stupid to understand .. its the same with additives and "E" numbers. I find that very concept disturbing. If it disturbs someone to have a list of additives making up 90% of the label then perhaps they should think of reducing the additives, not the numer of numbers/letters it takes up on the jar.

If you ever read shampoo etc. its entirely the opposite... instead of writing water they write "aqua" and then a whole load of invented words like "enriched with <insert catchy phrase here>" ...

I just don't trust the organisation behind them. McDo's seem to get picked on most, perhaps that's just because they are the most known but its a matter of court records that they have made misleading statements and just plain lied on many occaisions.

The problem is you can have the best run local franchise but they still have to use the same stuff as everyone else.

I don't really see McDonalds as a food company, they seem to operate simply as a process and a highly oiled machine where every last thing is maximising profit, pretty much to the exclusion of all else. Anyway, try and at least read the whole thing before jumping to conclusions.

I realise this is what a business is meant to do... but McDonalds just seem to have gone that extra step or mile at each juncture to the point where for me their product is immaterial.

Like someone posted earlier the whole aim of the fast food chains is to get you in/out as quick as possible and they have done this very well, but from the consumer side we as a whole have been trained to accept this whole different concept where we order from the counter (or drive through now) and sit on chairs designed to start getting uncomfortable quickly with our fingers.

Now there is nothing wrong with this, what I'm saying is McDonalds are so successful at this they have actually trained their customers to see this as part of the experience. In other words we have been trained into not only accepting this cost cutting at each turn but also we as a whole embrace it as part of the whole experience?

I know a lot of people who get a McDo once in a while and then afterwards feel a bit "icky" ... its not exactly they feel ill, they just feel (in their own words usually) "like they had a McDo's". Again its amazing the customers actually know that it makes them feel a bit ill afterwards and still eat it?

Anyway, that part is just setting the scene, McDonalds have thier process and they manage to get the customers not only to accept this process when it gives them what would usually be a poor experience to actual embrace it as an experience.

The real problem for me trusting McDonalds is that their process is everything. They have spent billions refining their process and control it from the farming through delivery and processing, its really no longer food from my perspective but a commodity beig processed, packaged and sold all at the lowest possible costs.

McDonalds are very reluctant to change any part of that highly refined process because well, its obviously a winner for profits but also because the process is so industrialised and its parts interdependant.

If all you do is search the internet for court cases against Mcdonalds time after time they are found guilty of mis-representing facts with everything from direct lies to misleading advertising.

They are consistently getting fines etc. but and this is the crucial part they don't change the process because its so interdependent and finely tuned, its cheaper to pay fines.

This is why I don't really see McDonalds as a food company, they have in many ways become just a process from field to table.

Perhaps this is just an inescapable part of modern life but its not a process I have any confidence in. The court records show McDonalds will make false statements if the alternatives affects their process... equally they will make misleading tests or analyses...

This is really the bottom line for me...

Just to say I'm not ignoring you. I will look at what you've said in more depth. I accidentally glutened myself yesterday and feel completely awful/nonfunctional ...

Ouch ... _____HUGS__________

especially when I've for instance been on vacation in Italy and managed not to get glutened for 2 1/2 weeks and thought screw it, Ive only 3 days left and I can eat real pizza, pasta and drink real beer..... my justificaqtion is I'm goiung to be ill for 2-6 weeks (depending on severity) so x weeks or x weeks+3 days ??? From your first post.

its making the most of the end of my vacation... I dreads to admit but faced with 3 days of not eating on route to Australia I willingly ate gluten too.

Are you actually writing your posts, you said the "3 days" were when you decided to cheat--I didn't make it up, you did--go read your own words. I read very well and I understand what I read and you don't have to block me--I will not waste anymore of my precious time on someone who has no idea what he is writing!

Just stick to the truth and stop trying to bend it.. I didn't say that in my first post on the subject or this thread what I said was

Open Original Shared Link

What I have found when accidentally glutened is if I keep it "topped up" I don't actually crash... immediately.

I

did not choose to be glutened, I took every possible precaution not to get glutened and probably a lot more precautions than most people here take on a daily basis.

I suspect I know where it happened but I couldn't say for sure... I react to the smallest amount of CC violently..

It could have been a salad in a tratoria but it could equally have been a gluten-free pizza that somehow touched a non gluten-free one while being carried....or the bottom of a plate which had touched some non gluten-free flour????

In all these cases it has been apprent to everyone but you that this took place AFTER I WAS ACCIDENTALLY GLUTENED....

The ONLY exception was on the flight through Vietnam on route to Australia. A flight I had planned meticulously only to have the rules change on me over what I could take onto the plane or not... yet again you claim I made no plans???

It basically seems you are either obsessed with picking on me or have a problem relating the posts in order, I truly don't know which.

People often skip through posts, thats pretty normal but if you are going to launch a vitereolic attack on someone at least have the courtousy to quote the posts in order and not go out of your way to quote out of context and try and put my words into a random order.

If you somehow missed the

What I have found when accidentally glutened is if I keep it "topped up" I don't actually crash... immediately.

angie, chances are, that when the gi checked your son for EE they also took a biopsy of the duodenum----just ask for a copy of the pathology report and see what it says.

Good point although I don't know what biopsy tool they use in kids so small?

I know when I had a stomach biopsy years ago they didn't check the duodenum nor would it have been possible with that tool... but I guess these things progress, as I understand it the duodenal biopsy tool has to be more flexible and "drivable" so it can negotiate the stomach into the intestines but perhaps they already use something capable of both in kids...

However I'm still not sure it matters because from what I have read biopsies in toddlers are highly inaccurate and also the toddlers are developing so quickly that damage to villi is repaired much more quickily so the chance of finding the damage is smaller.

Michelle, pediatricians are horrible about scaring you and making you feel guilty, aren't they?!?!?! It's like we don't feel guilty enough when our kids get hurt. Do we really need them to add insult to injury? I understand they're just trying to prevent accidents, but come on...

Trying to prevent accidents is of course good but to say all accidents is preventable isn't true... if your driving along the highway and a passing plane engine falls on your car then this was so far out of your control its silly to worry about.

The point is you simply cannot cover every possible accident that might possibly happen, you have to draw a sensible limit and use judgement. A child falling on kitchen knives left point up in a open dishwasher is obviously easily preventable, the child finding a chair, opening the dishwasher and taking out a knife and hurting themself is beyond planning....

Children are resourceful little tykes... I know I was one... I have my share of scars and broken bones I had my share of moments but I can't look back and say my mom should've protected me, in most cases I made a big effort to be a brat and defeat her attempts at safety...

I really wish I could give you a definitive answer but it seems to depend on so much...

Firstly your age at diagnosis and how long you were eating gluten for.... and also just age because we recover more slowly as we get older. I'm 38 and my mom 60 (don't tell anyone I said) and we both went gluten-free together... my mom had a much harder time and recovered a lot more slowly.

A second aspect, again my mom was mostly gluten-free but still getting contaminated.... most of us seem to find after going what we think is gluten-free we were making mistakes...the problem is the closer to the start of your gluten-free journey and the more a accidental glutening seems to set you back ... once your healthier and your villi repair your much stronger and recover better ...

What I have recommended before (and I wish I had started like this) is if its possible go 100% gluten-free... no packaged food, nothing even the tiniest bit suspicious, no eating out etc. for 1-2 months... apart from feeling better eating fresh produce anyway this gives the maximum healing time and condistions for your poor damaged GI tract.

I won't kid you and say its easy, its not at first... but I do beleive it gives the best results fastest.

Also if you have secondary intolerances this is the best way to identify them... while you eat things that should be OK but your not 100% sure its hard to determine what is making you ill. If you go 100% gluten-free you will find out if its this or something else.. its unlilkely but you could have something else wrong too so making 100% sure will identify or hopefully not identify this.

The chance is if you can be real strict for 1-2 monhs you will see that last part of getting your life back you so deserve!

I was diagnosed w/ celiac through blood work a few months ago. I had decided not to get a biopsy done and I started the gluten-free diet. But now I have realized that may have been a mistake. My dd saw an allergist yesterday and he kept asking if my other dd and I had gotten a biopsy. Then he even questioned if it were really celiac since it wasn't "confirmed" w/ a biopsy.

So my question is, should I start eating gluten again and get the biopsy? I already know that I have celiac because I have a horrible, miserable reaction when I have gluten. But from a medical standpoint it seems like I need to have it confirmed so the dr's will be more accepting of mine and my dd's diagnoses.

What do you guys think?

ptkds

IMHO the time to have a biopsy is before going gluten-free.... the longer you leave it the less attractive it is.

Then he even questioned if it were really celiac since it wasn't "confirmed" w/ a biopsy.

Find yourself another allergist or take this one the literature and see if you can reason with them.

Start here and print out what is useful... Open Original Shared Link . if the allergist is not willing to make concessions then forget them and find another...

If the allergist hasn't read the articles on pro-s and cons of biopsy you have to ask if they are qualified to be treating you anyway.

You need someone on top of the disease, not someone you need to continually educate.

If your stuck for one then hopefully someone here will have a good well educated one close to you...

Angie, why does she need a diagnosis for school? (I have no kids and no clue).

Neither do I but I read other peoples posts

Its proably always better to have a certificate... it shouldn't be teachers should respect parents wishes IMHO regardless but if you want to impress on them about not exposing the child to gluten its much easier with a medical cert... and they are much more likely to follow it letter for letter in case of litigation. In the end its hard for a child to assert themselves like you or I against a teacher telling them play-doh or some other thing is OK...

From what Angie said about the school and sending home her 5yr old then I'd say it would make a big differences if the nurses are more interested in CYA than anything?

I'm just wondering because my daughters pediatric GI swears up and down that the endoscopy is just as reliable in a 2 yr. old then in any other age? All the literature says otherwise!! How many of you have children who tested negative with a biopsy or blood tests at the age of 3 or younger and then later found out your child did indeed have Celiac? Thanks so much everyone!!

very good idea

Yah and the gastroentologists office TOTALLY denies that an endoscopy in children as young as my daughter are unreliable. They say that is COMPLETELY NOT TRUE!!

Well they don't even know where to take the biopsy.... I can tell from the pm you sent me you are a very kind, polite person who considers other peoples feelings, perhaps they are taking advatange of this? (GRRRR) ... perhaps you could get your hubby or someone to make a visit with you and give you extra backup?

I guess a diagnosis isn't really necessary, but when she gets in school she WILL need the diagnosis, and I just do not want to have to put her back on gluten (after being off from it for years) just for a chance that something will show up.

There is no doubt in my mind that she has it,as a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure my 5 yr. old has it too and he just came home from school AGAIN because he vommitted and he's fine (it happens all the time GRRRRR)!! I get so sick of running up there to get him just because he throws up. CAN SOMEONE CONVINCE THESE SCHOOL NURSES THAT NOT EVERY CHILD THAT THROWS UP IS AUTOMATICALLY CARRYING A VIRUS!!

I'm just so sick of fighting it already. What in the world am I going to do when I have to fight it all over again UG?

Honestly I think that's your problem, you are simply fatigued by the whole process and who can blame you.

An old boss once told me that its the creaking wheel gets the most oil.... I hate to admit he was right.... I hate having to keep nagging people it offends my sensibility but sometimes its just the only way....

Try and relax a bit, take a day from worrying if you can and try and attack the thing with renewed vigor, armed with facts.

Start here, Ill try and find more

Open Original Shared Link

I made cookies last night that were definitely not gluten-free. They were pre-made refrigerated dough, that you just break off and bake. Afterwards I had a headache which I still have today. I feel really bad today and am wondering if I could have been glutened by just handling the dough?

Ami

This debate has gone forwards and backwards... can you adsorb it? (possibly but unlikely) but regardless its always a risk, under finger nails and such and really better not done... if you are going to do it then pre-made refrigerated dough is a huge plus over having flour floating around which is a almost dead cert...

Did you dust the cookies etc. ???

In the end I never ever mess about with gluten flour, experience has taught me that sooner or later I mess up...

i'm going to italy in march! i've been to europe before, i find the language barrier is the biggest problem (i don't speak any foreign languages). DEFINITELY bring cards in italian that explain celiac and bring a bunch so you can just give them to the waitstaff and chefs.

i went on the italian celiac website but it's in italian only (as far as i could tell) and i tried getting restaurant info, i'm not sure how accurate my translations were!

i will post when i get home what restaurants worked out and any other new ones i might have discovered and general advice.

Just post them and I'll translate... Italian isn't my best language but I can read it perfectly well.

Hey Lexis:

Europe is far more advanced than in the States regarding Celiac. Your dining options will be more available to you.

Believe me its a big mix.... Italy is really good, France sucks in a lot of ways.... part of the problem is that many of the chefs take umbrage for suggesting they may have used an industrail additive. A friend of mine owns his own resto and in the early days I used to have to go through everything but he did it because we have a very good mutual friend... for instance his fois gras (home made) was stabilised with gelatin but the gelatin he used had gluten... or pretty high chance. (He now switched to a definiate gluten-free one)

If I recall, there are several people from Italy and many frequent travelers. I am sure that they will post soon.

I visit Italy as frequently as I can

Anyway this site is excellent Open Original Shared Link (the free cards are MORE THAN adequate for Italy because its so well known)

The Italian celaic soc has done an incredible job... here you find certified gluten-free places by region..

Open Original Shared Link

I have turned up in towns, gone to the tourist office and asked and they have helped me out...

Last night I ate at an Italian in Paris ... WOW its GOOD ....

I started explaining the problems and the guy suddenly twigged ... No problem he went and asked the chef who knew all about celiac, they made me gluten-free bruchettas and grilled them on a grill usually only used for meat and cheese...

I have to admit it helped that my friend I was with speaks perfect Italian, but once we got the concept and I remembered the Italian for celiac disease it was a dream!

Ugh! What a pain!

I'm going to have to bring some gluten free crackers and cheese spread I think. I found some corn wafers in Germany that taste better than wheat--with cheese and salami, they should be great (as long as I can get in the cheese and salami!).

The security I will go through will be Italian, and there's a lot of awareness of celiac in Italy, so I hope I'll have that on my side. And of course I will have to eat everything before landing in Atlanta or throw it out.

Okay, I'm feeling much better about it now. No need to panic. I may not starve after all.

Italy is pretty good, last time I flew out I had an early flight so I had already bought a huge gluten-free pizza the night before (this was before the current regulations though which now seem to change daily) .. I figured on taking it on the flight but in the end ate it while waiting...course I had a miuch shorter flight but 10hrs isn't too long... (we do it everynight)