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<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
C> Also -- my CD daughter called a company about their carmel popcorn.
C> They told her that popcorn "naturally contains gluten". She has
C> been eating popcorn for years with no apparent problem. Can anyone
C> shed light on this one??
To which Lisa McKinney <[log in to unmask]> replied:
L> Regarding corn containing gluten, it is my layperson understanding
L> that it does contain a naturally occurring gluten, but it is my
L> understanding and belief (upon instruction from a dietitian) that
L> corn gluten is okay for celiacs. It's the gluten in wheat, rye,
L> oats, barley and possibly some other miscellaneous grains that
L> are harmful to celiacs.
I guess I'll add my double penny's worth too. The basic problems is
that the expression "gluten-free" does not correctly describe the
celiac diet. Over the years it has come to mean and be accepted as
the descriptive term for a celiac diet, but it is not really correct.
Why? Because of what Lisa has pointed out: gluten occurs in corn
and probably in other grains which are safe for celiacs. So if
"gluten-free" is not correct, what is the correct description of a
celiac's diet?
In recent years the expression "gluten-restricted, gliadin-free" has
come into favor, but that really isn't correct either. For one thing,
if you eat a lot of corn then your diet is not "gluten-restricted".
The other problem with this expression is that "gliadin" refers
specifically to wheat, and does not refer to barley, rye, and oats.
The following quote comes from a summary of a talk by Dr. Martin
Kagnoff, at the CSA/USA conference held in San Francisco this fall.
This comes from the Dec. 1995 issue of _The Sprue-nik Press_:
K> When we talk about a gluten-free (GF) diet, what we are really
K> talking about are these alcohol-soluble proteins, which are
K> named as follows:
K>
K> Grain Proteins
K> ----- --------
K> wheat gliadins
K> barley hordeins
K> rye secalins
K> oats avenins
So a more descriptive expression for our diet would be "gliadin-,
hordein-, secalin-, and avenin-free". This doesn't have a magical
ring to it, does it? I suppose we could make an acronym out of the
four proteins, and call our diet SHAG-Free or GASH-Free, but these
expressions don't really catch my fancy either.
Most of the bigger manufacturers have become familiar with the term
"gluten-free", so it is probably best to keep using it. I think
that when you speak or write to companies, you should specifically
list the four main grains to avoid (wheat, barley, rye, and oats)
as a way of explaining what you mean by gluten-free.
By the way, all of the above (except for Dr. Kagnoff's quote) comes
from a layman, so take it with a grain (er, particle) of salt.
Jim Lyles ........ <[log in to unmask]> ........ Holly, Michigan, USA
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