<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
Phil Sheard <[log in to unmask]> said:
 
>...I have
>weighed a number of small objects to give you some sense of perspective on
>these small amounts. Remember, in that discussion, 100mg of gluten per day
>was quoted as the smallest amount producing a detectable response. ...
 
>1 M&M candy weighed 895mg
>1 grain of white rice, uncooked, weighed 20mg ....(other examples omitted)
>1 kernel of popping corn weighed 217mg
 
I felt Phil's post was extemely helpful to put the matter into perspective.  I
would like to add two points, which tend to oppose each other in effect:
 
(a)  As was discussed by the CEL-PRO experts in the MXGLUTEN file, 100 mg per
day is the smallest amount of daily gluten consumption for which a published
study has shown an effect.  This does not mean that smaller amounts are
absolutely safe, only that they have not yet been proven to have an impact.
Don Kasarda has frequently pointed out that coeliacs in England and other
nations where washed wheat starch is tolerated are sort of living examples
(or experiments, depending on your point of view) of the acceptability of
daily consumption somewhere between 10 and 100 mg per day.
 
(b)  Phil measured the total weight of various examples.  Recall that foods
are not 100% gluten.  Regular wheat bread is often quoted as being roughly
10% gluten by weight ("gluten" in this email is used in the non-technical
sense as protein or protein fractions which are likely to cause harm in celiacs)
 
Bill Elkus
Los Angeles