<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> In a message dated 96-10-17 18:35:54 EDT, Jim wrote: > Interesting-----I just got off the phone with Health Valley. I had called > them because I was having some reaction to their vegetarian chili, which > they certify to be gluten free. I started eating it every day for lunch > about two weeks ago. Perhaps I have this problem--although it seems as > though the entire population has problems with beans. ;< ) Well now, this is quite interesting. On Monday night, I made some Uncle Ben's Red Beans & Rice. I had received a list of products that Uncle Bens has that *contain* gluten, and this was not on the list; and looking at the ingredients, I didn't see anything that might contain gluten. And were they good! BUT THEN, on Tuesday night, I got some terrible cramps and then diarrhea - I haven't had either of those since starting my gf test diet on September 19. After this episode, I felt much better and was able to eat dinner without any further problems (no more rice & beans). I had almost thought I had gotten the flu or something, because I hadn't eaten anything with gluten in it. The reaction was sudden and intense. Then this morning I started going through my overloaded e-mail box and found the thread where folks were talking about beans. I put in a call to Uncle Ben's again to ask specifically about the red beans & rice. The woman in customer service started reading something about it - there is no gluten in it, but there was a note that in some forms of beans, there is something in the building blocks of the bean that *can* give a reaction to someone with a gluten intolerance, even though there is no actual gluten in the bean. Imagine that!! I was at my wits end last night, after having that violent reaction. Especially since yesterday (during the day) was one of the best days I've had so far. I've been watching my diet even more carefully, since I'm still not feeling 100% even after being on the diet for over a month. Two of the symptoms have disappeared - the bloating and diarrhea, but I'm still having too many bowel movements a day, and too often nauseated before each one. I had thought the diet wasn't working, but after reading and hearing about a *gluten-like reaction* to beans, I'm not so sure. Maybe the diet is really working after all, just not as quickly as I would like! This whole situation gives me the strength to carry on with the diet, at least up until I see my GI doc on Nov. 21 and have the labs redone. Any comments or further info on this bean idea? Deb [log in to unmask]