<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Can we "cure" Celiac Disease and go back to eating whatever our heart desires? I wish! However, we all know that the latest research indicates there is no cure for Celiac Disease. I believe any of us would be foolish to believe otherwise, based on current information. Some believe that Elaine Gottshall, in Breaking The Vicious Cycle, is saying we can be "cured". I've read this book 4 times and interpret it this way: If you are intolerent to gluten, and you avoid it, you can be cured . . . as long as you stay away from it. She makes the statement that if you go back to your old eating habits, you will end up with the same problems again. Even if we begin to feel wonderful, eat gluten, and don't get sick immediately, we are asking for trouble. The damage to the villi will be occuring again, even though we might feel fine, and digestion of nutrients will again become impared. This will eventually put us back to"square one", increasing our risk of all those autoimmune diseases. Breaking The Vicious Cycle is about achieving "Intestinal Health Through Diet". How do we know if we have good intestinal health? Those with good intestinal health have both good digestion and good elimination. Some of us know when we have heartburn or acid reflux. However, I'm finding that many don't. I, for one, didn't know I was having acid reflux that was burning my esophagus and causing all kinds of allergy and asthma symptoms. Thank goodness my allergist recognized it. I thought the thick mucus in my throat was coming from sinus drainage, when in actuality, most of it was coming from acid and food backing up into my esophagus. I've found that half the people I know are having it and don't recognize it . . . and they're are not even Celiacs! That tells me that a lot of folks are having problems with their digestive system because their diet is faulty. They need to do some research and make some changes or they run the risk of permanant damage and esophageal cancer. Now, I'll go to the subject of "elimination". Never in my life did I think I'd be talking on this subject (I used to be very shy :-), but I find that Celiacs (and everyone else) need to know how much they should be eliminating, and what it should look like, or they won't really know if they're eating the right things or not. I hadn't really thought about it, and didn't want to think about it, until I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease and my husband with Crohn's. I did a lot of research and since my husband would not do the research, or talk about his "elimination", I had to tactfully teach him . . . not a subject any of us likes . . . but a wife or a mother's gotta do what a wife or mother's gotta do, right? (Now I need to teach my sons.) The best "ice breaker" we found to open up the conversation when he was so sick was an article called, "Dr. Fart Speaks". I wish I could find the address but can't seem to locate it. We both laughed until we cried at his "tongue in cheek" humor and play on words as he educated us on the human digestive system. From then on, we were able to talk more about our "bodily functions". You know, the cook and the patient have to get their heads together to make this work. Well, here's what I've learned . . . are you ready for this???? ***A normal healthy digestive system easily produces 2-3 formed stools per day that fall apart when flushed. The stools should not contain undigested particals of food and there should not be an oily film floating on the water.*** (Please, read this again . . . every single word here is important.) There, that wasn't so bad, was it??? That is our goal. And only when we reach that goal have we fine-tuned our diet to be healthy. Now isn't it a relief to KNOW what to look for??? I'll bet a lot of you need to do some research and make some changes. Breaking The Vicious Cycle helps you get from where you are now, to where you need to be, one step at a time. Other food plans are similar in nature, but this one is easy to understand and follow . . . and best of all it works for most of us. There's also on-line help at SCD-list- [log in to unmask] and [log in to unmask] to fine-tune the diet to your individual needs. Eat healthy, Kay