Hello again.

Once more I have received lots of info.  Thanks again.

Re gluten intolerance:

The "tests" done by my gastroenterologist were
standard blood screenings.

It sounds like gluten is omnipresent (what doesn't say
"natural flavorings" on the label?!).  Luckily I like to eat
fruit.  That's probably the safest thing both gluten- and
lactose-wise.  What's the story with rice?  Is this
unequivocally "safe" as long as it is eaten without
packaged processed spice flavorings, butter or
margarine.  Or are there gluten problems here too?

Is there any special type of doctor (allergist?) to whom
you must go for a serum screening test for GI?  I might
want to try this.  If positive, it might give me a better
idea of the underlying cause of my problem.  Though,
as for avoiding all gluten for one to two years in order
restore lactose tolerance, I really don't know if I could
pull that one off.

Re MSG:

"try..avoiding...packaged foods, processed
meats...canned tuna"....AS IN, "EVERYTHING I EAT"!

I thought MSG was always on labels as such.  Knowing
that it too is hidden under such generic names as
"flavorings" is good to know, but not good news.  I
guess this makes it hard to single-out as a cause of
problems.

Re Asian food:

So you're saying that Thai, Malaysian, and Indonesian
cuisines use less (or no) gluten, MSG, and dairy than
Chinese cuisine?  This would be very good news.  Thai
food is easy to get in NYC, and a good Malaysian
restaurant just opened downtown (though one just
closed around the corner from my apartment).  How's
about Vietnamese and Japanese?

Re soy cappuccino:

I'll have to ask about this.  "Mainstream" NYC tends not
to be too health-conscious diet-wise.  People I've met
from California tell me that this is a striking difference
between New York and California (in both places we
eat salads, but in NYC we smother it with caesar
dressing).  NYC is, after all, famous for donuts and
pizza.  (But it's also famous for bagels, which give me
no problems if eaten plain.  Can someone give me the
scoop on that?  No whey but lots of gluten, right?  I'm
eating one right now!)

Cheers,

Dave