gfp

well i am bending over to write this now and i feel fine but when i was sitting here writing before i was feeling it.

If you have a lot of stomach acid it acts on your lungs and causes breathlessness.

Most people notice it worse if lying down, especailly if the head is not propped up or when really bending over like hands and kness under a bed but any sitting type activity makes it happen....

Its really bad if you dive.... you naturally have your feet above your head and being 100m down and needing decompression to surface while sucking on a tube but not being able to breath is not nice!

You could have a haitus hernia and/or excessive acid production. The latter is very common in celiac disease if undiagnosed.

Either way its something to get checked out.... it could be asthma or acid but very effective meds are available for both. Asthma is usually associated with wheezing but ....

I know its easy to say but don't panic! .... Yeah I know.... but really .. don't panic, it will subside and the worst thing for either is stressing yourself!

Unless Smuckers just changed their tune, they do not know if any of their products are gluten free. They told me so 5 months ago and again last week. I depise them for their disinterest in knowing what's in their products. They say they are working on it but why buy something from a company that can't tell you 5 months if their stuff is gluten free. Down with Smuckers big time!

5 months isn't so long... when they have suppliers and the suppliers have suppliers etc.

During a recent "worcester sauce affair" in the UK they found some carcinogen in part of it and this was if I remember down to some factory in Africa somewhere that made a particualr coloring.

However from this point forwards they then had to go to all the foods that had contained this batch of worcester sauce (I obviously didn't need to check because its a non gluten-free one) ... it was hundreds and hundreds of foods .. supermarket own brands and all sorts and this was classed as an emergency... and still took weeks.

and this still doesn't even touch other foods that had the same flavoring component...

If they phone a supplier and say, hey we have a restricted carcinogen in our product I expect they act a lot quicker than a general query is your product gluten-free so when this has to go through a few chains 5 months really isn't that much and I bet most of the suppliers answer is "how would we know." we need to ask our supplier...

well one of the weird things is that my breathlessness happens most when I am sitting down....it rarely happens when I am active.

How about when you bend over... under a bed or tying laces standing up etc...

I use the glue stick while at work, it works great. I have never been a big licker because I am always the clumsy one who got her tongue/lips cut

And WOW does that hurt beyond all proportion!

LMAO! I wish I kept a copy of the article that was out recently of testing that was done and it showed there was more germs on our cell phones than on a public toilet!

Perhaps... that's the last time I sit on my cellphone! Ugggh

I also felt there were some very fuzzy statements in this one, & thought some of you might want to reply to the article as the site allows. But I still find it encouraging that some form of information is trickling out into the mainstream press...

I guess newspaper readers these days are themselves a minority, but at least some will have heard that Celiac exists & have some vague concept of what gluten is...

To me they obfusciated a fact and not perhaps without motive.

The fact is the prevalance of celiac disease is exactly the same (or US researches took Italian data)...

What is different is the screening of all kids.

Given we have already seen a "screening doesn't work" study... (GRRR) one has to wonder if this isn't funded by the same people who decided testing downs syndrome kids is a waste of money.

Just curious, are you a historian by profession, or do you study all this avocationally?

You missed the 50 questions thread!

41. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? I always read 4-5 books in parallel, Presently Tristram Shandy, Harry Potter (in French), Hugo Italian in 30 days (yeah right), Stephen hawkins " brief history of time" (toilet - gluten nights), Wilber Smith "the third prophet" in French.. don't know the exact title, Last chance to see Douglas Adams, Seutonius (latin and English versions concurrently), Voltaire, letters regarding the English nation (original English), Who dares Sells and Small business startup guide (work like), The Gallery, John Horne burns (very slowly because its a rere 1st ed. and this restricts me carying it around)

Cripes....

Actually I'm actually reading a couple more... a " Kafka for beginners" .. slowly making my way through the complete works of Dodgson... (and have been for a year) ...

meanwhile me thinks of a way to post a photo of "the Gallery" from the book which is in Naples and doesn't refer to my website.....(wouldn't want to break any more rules!)

methinks google images should do it! google Galleria napoli (but I bet my photo's are better)

I also don't believe you can absorb gluten through the skin. I can't present you with an authoritative study, but most if not all experts don't believe it can happen. The skin barrier is a tough thing to penetrate. That's why pharmaceutical and nicotine patches have to be specially engineered with a carrier designed to breech the barrier. I still would avoid gluten products because kids put things in the mouth.

richard

I also tend to think its not likely but .... there is always the chance of ingesting some not to mention skin creams etc. are all supposedly engineered to carry the "product" into the skin. Quite how much marketing hype this is I don't know.... but they add pro-vitamin this and extract of who knows what and sell it while claiming its dermatologically tested and aids adsorbtion, reduces aging and ..... OK I'm still waiting on this one is irresistable to the opposite sex..

Wow that is interesting! I had always wondered why there was such a Celiac presence in Italy! I just googled it and read about the Norman invasion of southern Italy! Cool!

Thats not really what I'm saying....

Indeed the Vikings invaded most areas of looting and they were not exactly know for consentual sex with the locals.

The Longobards invaded Northern italy... and the goths and visigoths invaded right down to Rome.

but hardly before the Romans had already spread their DNA thoughout most of Europe and the Middle east and exchanged DNA with all of these cultures.

If you choose Italy (and its history is well documented so its a good bet) then follow the whole history from 10,000BC through to 1847.

Or Open Original Shared Link

that covers the basics of genetics on who we call Italian.

The celiac presence in Italy has only one reason, they screen all pre-school children.

The results of screening are EXACTLY the same as the US... 1:133 and this varies little throughout of most of Europe.

So

I am curious to know how Celiac's is related, in the majority, to people of an Irish background. Everyone I have spoken too, who have the disease, have some Irish background. I just want to know if there is a connection. If you have no Irish background, please let me know what nationalities you are.

Is meaningless..... possibly half of caucasian Americans claim some Irish background.

and of those that do not 1:25 children in the US are not the child of the presumed father.

I can trace part of my family tree back to 1219 ... that part is all "English" ... but the other parts all have everything from Irish, Jewish and possible Spanish... but stick me in Scandanavia and everyone is convinced I'm an (albeit short) typical Scandanvian. this is hardly suprising the Danish ruled the Nothern part of England for 400 years .. and even then they eventually met up and lost to the vikings in the south.

the battle of Hastings so often referred to as the last time the english were invaded is a farce, it was two vikings !

One who called himself English and the other who called himself Norman French...

Yes, there's a lot of debate on the skin absorption, but even if it doesn't work that way, there is always an issue (especially with children) that what touches the skin eventually might make its way to the mouth. I'm always careful about lotion & soap for that reason.

I think the paper issue is not so worrisome, though-- it was mainly the concern that if you use paper in the microwave, trace amounts might get into the food. Few products actually contain wheat. I know Bounty is safe, I checked since I do occasionally use it in the microwave or to wipe my mouth. The main concern is the glue that holds the towel to the roll, so I doubt napkins or plates would pose the problem.

Leah

I agree....

We know lots of things are adsorbed through the skin .. everything from contraceptives, nicotine and various medications.... so far as I know noone has conculsive evidence it can't be.

My personal rule is "when in doubt, leave it out" and I have this for many reasons one of which is directly related to this.

A while ago I got increasingly ill. I really couldn't put my finger on it and went through every last thing I ate... it took weeks... hmm is this ketchup really gluten-free... hmm how about these tortilla chips... what about cutting out dairy again... etc. etc.

One night I returned home pretty much in tears after having a very embarassing incident in a local bar I knew.

I got home and had to jump in the shower ... (for reasons relating to the incident) and picked up the shower gel I'd been using since my soap ran out (it was an old Xmas present from an aunt and had been pushed back and back in the cupboard)

AND THERE IS WAS .... not even hidden but big letters on the front "Enriched with pure wheat protein"

Seriously, it sounds like this doctor's not going to stop running tests until the insurance company pulls the plug. Has anybody ever asked a doctor what they mean when they say the diet is expensive/costly/prohibitive? How expensive can it be compared to the testing he's put you through?

First this made me LOL ... then the more i think about it the more your simple statement seems even truer.

The breathlessness could also be asthma. I was just diagnosed with asthma last year, although I've had some of the symptoms for a long time, and now I'm questioning whether I have gluten problems. I have read that celiac can trigger asthma.

Strangely enough this is where my celiac journey began...

The first thing the Dr did on my shortness of breath was give me a tube you blow into which measures lung efficiency and capacity.

First blow it went off the end of the scale... so he asked me to repeat..which I did....

Hardly a surprise .... really

What a fascinating theory! And now I understand about those Norwegian batchelor farmers.

There is a whole lot of extra stuff I missed out.

If you see a traditional Norwegain costume Jewelry is very important.... the women folk needed to be able to take their wealth with them when the men folk went "a viking".

Vikings never built permanant villiages ... they used wood even when in many places wood was scarcer than stone.

The whole concept of viking was to provide more space for the sons to start families ... because the land and sea could only support low population densities. Whenever Vikings did build permanant cities it was usually in combination with the local farmers such as Celts in Ireland.

The Viking colony of Greenland died off mainly it is thought because they would not interact with the native inuit.

While Vikings starved the inuit survived with their traditional methods.

The starkest evidence of this is them eating their prized hunting dogs while we know contemporaneous Inuit's had no food shortages.

On the other hand genetic testing of a country shows that the average European person has little in common with someone form the other end of the country. Indeed there is less genetic diversity between an Australian aboriginal and a inuit (or any two far flung humans you can think of) than in a single troop of chimps.

Further the size of a chimp troop is genetically controlled.

Those from big troops will stay in big troops ... those from small ones stay as small groups.

If a big troop meets a small one they genocide it.

All these threads on "Where do you come from" and trying to link that to celiac got me thinking.

Take any European country and it is non homogenious. There is no French gene pool or Italian gene pool... etc.

A Northern Italian is related much more closly with a Scandanavian than someone who's family have spent 1000 years inbreeding in Napoli but probably share the Scandanavian genes from Normans in Sicly,

So Someone saying they have Italian genes is just pointess. There is NO Italian gene... NO Irish gene ... etc. etc.

Scandanavian genes are somewhat purer if you ignore the Mongol and Slavic influence. (very few people wanted to invade the inhospitable North)

However this got me thinking... about from a European perspective pre-Roman gene pools.

Growing wheat or rye is a labour intensive task and one which is almost impossible to survive on without a community. Ever since 10 cavemen decided if they banded together and picked up sticks they could kill 100 individuals and steal their goats, women and whatever the "group" has become increasingly dominant in society.

(On top of this Scandanavian society is also rather different, the people are much more self reliant and traditionally prefer not to speak to anyone outside their immediate family and only then only if strictly necassary. Many West coast Norwegians would ideally like to live on their own mountain and see nooone (Xenophobes guide to Norwegians - written by a Norwegian) and if they ever do see anyone then they don't want to say much except "this is my mountain - go away you are in my personal space" Personal space in Norwegian terms means I can't see you or hear you.) or to put it bluntly Norwegians prefer to be alone.... and most of them still are living in communities of 100-200 ... scattered about.

Anyway....

It makes me think that the process of cultivating wheat is also linked to the ability to live in a community.

Up until the last 200 years in Europe it was completely possible to live outside of society.

People who didn't want to be a part of it had a whole load of possible paths. They could become hunters and only interect to trade or subsistance farmers in an isolated valley or charcola burners living in the woods and forests... etc. etc. ... in reality a whole set of traditional crafts that don't involve living in a town or villiage and only occaisionally having to interact with people.

These people were often regarded as "strange" .... the stuff of legends and kids tales. The witch in the woods or the lumberjack who chops up kids ... basically the stuff of the Grimm brothers or Hans Christian Andersen.

What if these were just people with a natural tendency against group mentality.

Back to the cavemen... and early pre-history!

You only need a few thousand people to wipe out a hundred thousand individuals.

People view the Roman invasion of Gaul as a mass of well disciplined Romans but in reality Julius had 3 legions.

A few thousand legionairres masacred hundreds of thousands of individual Celts.

The same thing crops up again and again in history ... a few thousand organised people either genociding completely or killing the males and taking the women of countless peoples.

Indeed we have now got to the point where "group mentality" is the norm and those who lack this are considered to be mentally deviant. I think the PC term is "Non Neurologically typical" but it means the same.

Each time the "NT group mentality" settled an area they planted wheat ....those who couldn't tolerate wheat died out with a higher rate being sickly, failing to conceive or miscarrying such that the original idea of small family groups became a minority in Europe and the only ones carrying on the non Group gene were the ones with limited social interaction living outside this society.

Its just the typical uneducated BS.

It's more common among people with ancestors from Europe -- especially those from Italy, Ireland and the Scandinavian countries.

No it isn't the diagnosis rate migh tbe higher since these countries screen but the incidence in screening for Italy is exactly the same as the US. (1:133)

As I took pains to point out on another thread there is no genetic "Italian"... they don't exist.

Ireland? Well lets forget it was occupied by Celts from about the 8th C AD (originating from the near East) and the fact that the first inhabitants were merely people walking over the landbridge in paleolithic times...

and that the Celts arrived in different waves having diverged across Europe North and South .... and jump to post Roman Hibernia and the Scandanavian cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Waterford. (making up a large percentage of the Irish population)

so lets jump to 1172 when the pope sold Ireland to Henry II following years of French/English/Norman blood being introdcued right up to the complete collapse of gaelic society in the 17C.

So lets not forget that it was a Welshman (Henry VIII) that then re-exerted control.. up to 1601 and the Irish rebellion to the point where the Scots independentaly invaded and colonised the North....

anyway when the Armada was blown off course Ireland was a refuge for those escaping Henry's daughter ...thus introducing more "Spanish blood" which is itself a non existant thing....

Its a shame when an institution like Haarvard doesn't even know history 101....

1. FIRST NAME? Stephen

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? St. Stephen

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Probably watching some war film after glutening...

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Detest

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Anything gluten-free...

6. KIDS? Nope

7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Probably, my close friends are all similar in some ways to me.

8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? No

9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? All of the time.

10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? No

11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Sure, been there done that.

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Ahh come on I can't have it!

13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Depends on the shoes

14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Ask my friends...

15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Anything but chocolate ... and gluten-free..

16. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU LOOK AT IN A WOMAN? Rather depends on context... Erm, if she's a Dr. then knowledge of celiac disease... ability to listen, if its work then business card and if its social...........

17. RED OR PINK? Red

18. LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Rather equally to be accepted as more "normal" but equally I don't think I'd like it... be careful what you wish for, it might come true!

19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Bus drivers.. every time I arrive they are just leaving.

20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? ??.

21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Does white underwear count? (yeah i copied Ianm... but ...)

22. WHAT IS THE LAST THINGS YOU ATE? Filet of beef in a girolle sauce with green beans and roasted potatoes.

23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? My computer fan....

24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? ... Sorry, I can't imagine being a crayon...

25. FAVORITE SMELL? My girlfriend's hair. (i'll stick with that)

26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My father 2 days ago...

27. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? ??.

28. FAVORITE DRINK? Illy Ristretto black label? (everyday) Aloxe Corton or clos des mouches (weekly) 1986 Chave Hermitage .. this year to date.

29. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Totally idiotic waste of time. I would rather self harm than watch sport...

30. HAIR COLOR? Blondy/browny/mousy

31. EYE COLOR? Blue

32. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No (see above)

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? Scary.

34. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Tristram Shandy

35. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? None

36. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer ... with ready access to skiing... ??

37. HUGS OR KISSES? Together.....

38. FAVORITE DESSERT? Cheese, depending on the wine available...

39. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? ??

40. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? ???

41. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? I always read 4-5 books in parallel, Presently Tristram Shandy, Harry Potter (in French), Hugo Italian in 30 days (yeah right), Stephen hawkins " brief history of time" (toilet - gluten nights), Wilber Smith "the third prophet" in French.. don't know the exact title, Last chance to see Douglas Adams, Seutonius (latin and English versions concurrently), Voltaire, letters regarding the English nation (original English), Who dares Sells and Small business startup guide (work like), The Gallery, John Horne burns (very slowly because its a rere 1st ed. and this restricts me carying it around)

Cripes....

42. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? No mouse pad.

43. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST ON TV? Haven't watched TV in months.

44. FAVORITE SOUNDS? ?? depends on mood.

45. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Anything Beatles that Paul had nothing to do with.

46. THE FURTHEST PLACE YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Where is home.... ?? I've lived in every contient except antarctica.

47. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Seems like concurrent reading of books.... I had no idea I was reading so many...

48. WHEN WERE YOU BORN? 7 1968

49. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Lancs, UK

50. WHAT IS YOUR OCCUPATION? Presently bohemian.

Breathlessness is often just caused by severe acid reflux... excuse the just... because it is extremely frightening but you can get acid inhibitors that really help this. (omneparazole etc.)

Stress makes it worse and not being able to breath is about as stressful as it gets. Hence the danger of a catch-22.

Vertigo my mum had for a while....but I don't know much more.

I wouldn't risk it ... but I'm not dairy intolerant (much) ...

but on the other hand I'm sure an independant will be more than happy to use your own soy milk...

I don't usually have milk in any coffee except perhaps first cup... anyway and the relaince of starbucks on "coffee based" drinks is really just that they use the cheapest nastiest coffee.

There are two types of coffee bean used in 99% of coffee's and these are Arabica and Robusta....

Robusta is much higher in caffine (a pesticide for the plant) and hence much easier to grow... its also more tolerant of soils etc. The absolute first thing you should ask of any coffee is the mix of Arabica and Robusta ... any other fancy name is really pointless unless you know this.

Think of it like buying fuel, you have super and unleaded and various stuff BUT the absolute first thing to ask is deisel or petrol (gas).... after that you can pick octane ratio or low sulfur etc. but the fundamental doesn't change.

Other coffee names are either where that particular sub-bean comes from market wise (like mocha) or a particualr growing area like Jamacan blue mountain.

There is nothing that you can do to make Robusta taste like Arabica.... even the cheapest one. But you can try and disguise the bitterness and acidity....one way is by burning it during roasting.

I would kinda say try a REAL arabica (100%) without milk... they range from the extremely mild but rich blue mountain to java or harder blends and a real coffee shop will know the origin and proportions of each bean used in the blend....

I like to make it at home, its a really easy soup.

(serves 4)

INGREDIENTS:

* 1/4 cup butter

* 3 onions, thinly sliced

* 1 teaspoon white sugar

* 1 tablespoon gluten-free flour mix

* 2 1/2 cups water

* 1/2 cup red wine

* 2 (10.5 ounce) cans condensed beef broth

Optional:

* Some gluten-free bread

* 8 ounces sliced Swiss cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt butter or margarine in a 4 quart saucepan. Stir in sugar. Cook onions over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

2. Stir in flour until well blended with the onions and pan juices. Add water, wine, and beef broth; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cover soup, and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Take four slices of bread. Toast the bread slices at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) just until browned, about 10 minutes.

4. Ladle soup into four 12 ounce, oven-safe bowls. Place 1 slice toasted bread on top of the soup in each bowl. Fold Swiss cheese slices, and fit onto toasted bread slices. Place soup bowls on a cookie sheet for easier handling.

5. Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 10 minutes, or just until cheese is melted

YUmmmmm

Elonwy

If you can be bothered .... and its really a matter of taste cook the onions on low heat until they caremelise (20-30 mins) ....

another non conventional thing I like is if you take the partically cooked gluten-free bread to actually fry it in oil, garlic and herbs.... but works equally well with stale gluten-free bread....

This is really one of those situations where gluten-free bread is actually better than the real thing.

I have a friend who uses gluten-free bread for meatloaf and stuffing after cooking for me and finding the gluten-free bread is actually better in some ways than a nice moist loaf!

Yes, absolutely. And I was NEVER, and I mean never, depressed BEFORE going gluten free. Ever.

I strongly believe that taking away gluten changes brain neurotransmitters like serotonin and norepinephrine.

While this is probably true it is a two stage process.

What is documented is bonding of gluten to the endorphin receptors which are precursors.

The problem is that gluten doesn't fit so well and damages the receptors hence after it is purged the receptors are unable to properly bond to the endorphins. However they should repair.... over time and sublingual B6 and B12 are meant to help... but it can take 2 years according to one study I once read. The body compensates by flooding endorphins and also increased adrenalin....

I'm sure that once they actually pin this side down a bit more they will find a deeper level but I would love to see anything you picked up on this.

Just for the record I was depressed episodically before going gluten-free and it got worse at first and now it is relatively under control with no meds unless I get glutened ...

But there are so many people manufacturing envelopes, probably in a lot of different countries, that there must be about as many things in envelopes gum. I have been wary about the envelopes, so why I licked that one I don/t know. I am going to err on the safe side now, and never lick another envelope, it shouldn't be too much hardship. Like people say, if in doubt, don't do it!

Cathy

If this is work then get a sponge... for home I buy the ones where you tear off the sticky strip.

I'm a big believer in "if in doubt, leave it out".

Like I said... I really like this doctor. He's actually speaking at our next CSA meeting. I guess those who have not been able to get an appointment with him (for whatever reason) are really looking forward to hearing him talk. I have waited a fair amount of time.... I made the appointment several months ago, long before I had any idea that a gluten-free diet would actually work for me.

He absolutely thinks I'm dealing with IBS. But did say that too many doctors don't go further to rule out Celiac, and just give a blanket dx of IBS. I'm glad he's considering that I really *might* have Celiac.

My blood tests were inconclusive. They were all mid-to-high normal, with the exception of the IgG - which was really high. It was supposed to be less than 20 - as the normal range for the lab I went through. And, it was 69. He said that it's one of the "least" Celiac specific tests, but such a high result definitely warrents investigation.

My daughter had duodenal ulcers.... perhaps that had some bearing on his decision. I don't know.

All OK... but is he actually aware you have been gluten-free?

Perhaps you said so but he was thinking of something else.

I would phone him and make sure he knows you were gluten-free, that you feel bad already on gluten and if he thinks you should continue with gluten until Friday? If he says yes then ask why.

I don't doubt that some Celiac patients do get sick after drinking Vodka. The relevant question, though, is why do they get sick? Of the thousands of components you cite, maybe one (or more!) of them is the culprit, and it does not have to contain gluten. My Celiac son reacts to dairy, but he is not allergic and it does not contain gluten. Maybe something similar is going on with vodka and other distilled spirits.

Mathematical models are not a substitute for empirical evidence, which in this case would be actually testing the result of the distillation to see if it contained gluten. Have you done this, or can you point to others that have?

One of my in-laws cannot drink tequila, as it makes him sick. Scotch is not a problem, though, and he doesn't have a problem with gluten. But clearly something in tequila makes him ill, but it doesn't have to be gluten-related.

I agree entirely....indeed it is even more complex? Is it gluten or is it (more likely) small amino acid chains of gliadin.

Testing wise... it makes a huge difference. For instance testing by GCMS would be completely different if looking for whole gluten or gliadin chains. Not not would timing be completely different but a different GC column entirely.

Mathematical models are not a substitute for empirical evidence, which in this case would be actually testing the result of the distillation to see if it contained gluten. Have you done this, or can you point to others that have?

Nope but I have done this with petroleum distillates .... again and again and again .. but there is a lot more money in distilling kerosene as jet fuel than vodka to be gluten (and derivatives) free.

jp54 (commercial grade jet fuel) sells for more than the price of M100 (heating oil) and is in constant demand

The prices vary regionally but there is usually a $5/bbl spread between the two.

U.S. airlines require about 1.27 million barrels of jet fuel per day (At 42 gallons per barrel, this translates to 19.5 billion gallons per year.) The average cost of a gallon of jet fuel has more than doubled, from 75 cents per gallon in 2001 to $2.01 in the first seven months of 2006. At current rates of consumption, every penny increase in the price of a gallon of jet fuel results in an additional $195 million in annual operating expenses for the industry. In 2005, U.S. passenger and cargo airlines consumed more than 19.9 billion gallons of jet fuel, costing more than $33 billion.

The difference between crude oil and jet fuel prices, commonly known as the "crack spread," historically averaged about $5 per barrel. In the weeks following hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, however, the crack spread widened dramatically when major oil supply disruptions prompted refiners to focus their operations on producing gasoline. As a result, airline demand for fuel far exceeded the available supply, causing the spot price of jet fuel to spike at more than double the spot price of oil. At its peak, the crack spread added the equivalent of $60 per barrel to the final cost of jet fuel, which surged to $131.47 in the Gulf Coast on October 5, 2005. For the first seven months of 2006, the crack spread averaged $16.49 per barrel.

Just as motorists pay different prices for gasoline in different parts of the country, airlines pay different prices regionally for jet fuel. West Coast prices traditionally run higher, because of limited refining capacity as well as inferior storage, logistics and distribution capabilities. In addition to the mountainous terrain, which limits trucking capability, the West Coast lacks the more robust pipeline network of the East, although the latter is becoming increasingly strained by today’s demand and competing product needs (i.e., gasoline vs. diesel vs. jet). Much of the product on the West Coast is imported, often from countries with even higher prices.

There is obviously a huge incentive to be able to fill demand with premium product!

The chemical differences are trivial, except of course jet fuel doesn't freeze at -40 !

To me he sounds like a very open minded Dr, who is trying to rule out all sorts of things. He sounds like he is covering all the bases. I would go ahead with the biopsy for peace of mind (yours and his).

-Jessica

Yes but the question is with or without gluten?

If the biopsy is scheduled and this Friday then I don't see why not to have the biopsy if the Dr. is looking for other things or to rule thme out. Its a minor procedure .. will make a nice wad of $ for your Dr. and might rule other things out but what it won't do if you have been gluten-free is tell you anything meaningful about celiac disease.

(except perhaps you have not been as gluten-free as you thought?)

I would phone the Dr and specifrically ask WHY... is it to rule out other thiungs and if it is what difference other than making you ill will eating gluten have for a few days?

It sounds like a whole set of factors to me....

Firstly he CYA's ... just in case .. it could be something serious he misses.

Secondly he gets a wad of $$$$

Thirdly he can check your present level of damage

but I just can't see any possible benefit from eating gluten for another 2 days?

Presuming you started last night the antibodies will just be getting going... you can't expect to see any real damage to the villi for a while... but you could get inflamation or other things that could mask something else?

The companies that just label wheat are merely complying with current US law.

There are a number of companies/brands that will clearly label all gluten sources. Several very large food companies do have this policy. You need to look for wheat, rye, oats or barley in their ingredient lists. If you don't see any of those words on one of their products, then the product is gluten-free. It is not enough to just look for wheat.

The list I have of roughly 50 "trusted" brands/manufacturers is:

Arrowhead Mills, Aunt Nelly's, Balance, Baskin Robbins, Ben & Jerry, Bertoli, Betty Crocker, Blue Bunny, Breyers, Campbells, Cascadian Farms, Celestial Seasonings, ConAgra, Country Crock, Edy's, General Mills, Good Humor, Green Giant, Haagen Daz, Hellman's, Hershey, Hormel, Hungry Jack, Jiffy, Knorr, Kozy Shack, Kraft, Lawry's, Libby's, Lipton, Martha White, Maxwell House, McCormick, Nabisco, Nestle, Old El Paso, Ortega, Pillsbury, Popsicle, Post, Progresso, Ragu, Russell Stover, Seneca Foods, Skippy, Smucker, Stokely's, Sunny Delight, T Marzetti, Tyson, Unilever, Wishbone, Yoplait, Zatarain's.

This doesn't mean that these companies don't make lots of products with gluten in them. It just means that they won't hide it, so if you see something like "natural flavor" in the ingredients, but don't see the words wheat, rye, oats or barley, then you know that the flavor does not contain hidden gluten.

one important thing....

Anyone can make a mistake.

So even if on the off chance you do get glutened by one of these companies it doesn't mean they are bad they have suppliers... the best thing to do is write, email or freephone and let them know but be polite... they are trying and they made a commercial decision ... you might even have got glutened elsewhere...

Also its easy to get a negative idea because products contain gluten on the label. This is human nature but again if they list it when its present this means the chances are the places it isn't are safe.

Inversely the companies who don't you never know!

Just a footnote...

Most of these are publically traded companies.

The primary reason of existance of a publically traded company is to make money for its shareholders,

This is above and beyond following any other law.

If a publically owned company can bend or infringe the law and the fines are less than compliance they have a DUTY to their shareholders to bend or infringe the law.

These companies have decided it is better to be up front about gluten instead of trying to hide it or take measures not to know. Its a commercial decision.

Other companies have decided the inverse. This tells me that there is a fine line... a boardroom vote is not likely to have been unanimous (in either case)... so bear that in mind when communicating with the companies. If they receive enough letters saying you will never trust them again they are likely to review the decsision.