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At 01:09 AM 5/22/01 -0400, Debbie wrote:

>Several noted that CSA is behind the times in disagreeing with this
>statement.

I feel I should say here that it's not just that CSA is behind the times,
but to my knowledge it is the only remaining group that still maintains
that distilled vinegar is not safe for most celiacs. All the chemists,
scientists, celiac doctors and other celiac organizations that I have read
insist that distilled vinegar and alcohol are both quite safe, *unless an
individual has some problem with it. Certainly they are both likely to
cause heartburn in many celiacs since vinegar is an acid (great for
cleaning brass :) and alcohol is the worst about causing heart burn and
chest pains because it relaxes the esophageal sphincter allowing acid to
flow up the esophagus, then the sphincter spasms (like a cramp in your leg)
and causes chest pains, especially at night or after exertion. So it's easy
to see why Leon Rottman (late head of CSA) may have believed they were both
bad for him.

>Distilled alcohols and vinegars are not a problem because the gluten
>molecule is heavy and cannot survive the distillation process.

It's not so much that the gluten molecule is heavy, it's because it is a
large Non-Volatile molecule, and as such will not rise in the steam as more
volatile substances such as water, vinegar and alcohol do. Distillation has
always been a method of purifying water and other volatile subtances by
eliminating the non-volatile substances from them entirely.

>Two more claimed to have problems with it and said "better to be safe
>than sorry."

That's a no-brainer! Gee, doc it hoits when I do dis. "Don't do dot." :)

Any time something makes you sick it's not a bad idea to avoid that thing.
But I realize that some will never be convinced of the saftey of vinegar
and alcohol, and it will probably do them no harm, just cut down
considerably on the few choices we have for food and be an inconvenience.
But many of us who react to small amts of gluten do ingest distilled
vinegar and alcohol with no GI problems whatsoever. But never ingest malt
vinegar.  -vance

BTW, I'm now 67  years old, and "I have come to realize that I am a woman
trapped in the body of a man."

Do you think this might be due to celiac disease? :)