<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> i had an unfortunate accident with my computer and sent all the responses to my olean posting to Cyber Heaven, so i will do my best to summarize based on memory, but if i forget anything, or if anyone has anyone they want to add, please let me know and i'll do a resummary. In response to my MSG question, many people responded saying they too have problems with it, some as severe as mine, and some that are getting worse as time goes on. for the most part those who responded said there wasn't much they could do in terms of over the counter medication, and did find relief with muscle relaxants and anti-spasmodics. I received one posting stating that msg did contain gluten and one stating it did not, so the jury is still out on that one. regardless, all agree it's a nasty additive, and you know, i often wonder if it would have been removed from food prducts already had it been a herb...but i digress. when i was having the pain often, twice a week and not having a clue as to what was causing it, i would find myself in emerg every third night or so. they tried demerol and morphine, without results, twenty minutes later i would still be in pain AND completely doped up, something i loathe. i had a hard time convincing the doctors i wasn't an abuser, actually. then one brilliant dr gave me a shot of thorazine, which is used as an anti-psychotic, but it's also used to relieve migraines as it blocks the pain receptors in the brain. finally, i was pain free, and i didn't feel horribly doped, but the side effects were as such that i cut out everything but brown rice and peas in my diet to remove my reliance on the drug as quickly as i could. the second question i had is about olean, or olestra. one person said it was derived from oats, i was under the impression it was derived from soy. the general consensus to that was, if it's man made it's probably not all that great for one. as one person wrote, and i'm paraphrasing here..."if i didn't kill it or grow it or make it i'm not going to eat it". lots of people wrote and told me there were potato chips on the market that were gf, lays and lays lites, ruffles, and someone mentioned Michaels, but that one isn't available here. i guess if we stick to the plain ones we should be okay, it's the flavoured chips that have all the nasty additives. i was actually referring to pringles when i wrote that posting, because the plain ones used to be gluten free, but not anymore, sadly. someone also suggested there's a product that slices potatoes really thin and if you microwave them you get fat free chips that are very tasty. i don't remember the product's name, could the sender of that post please let me know the name again? concerning soy sauce...someone confirmed that both Chun King and China Lily are gluten free...i'm not all that sure what chun king uses in it's caramel, but as i said i've never had the slightest problem with it, even when i had elliminated everything out of my diet and was relying on rice as my staple food back in the diagnosis days. someone also suggested there is a sauce you can get in health food stores, and i'm sorry but that letter was one of the letters that were lost, so could the sender please let me know what the product is? they said it was better tasting than soy sauce and i'd like to give it a try. I apologize for the length of this post, and please...if i've forgotten anything, as i'm doing this by memory, resend your posting. sorry as well for the inconvenience of those resending anything i might have missed. and thank you for all of your responses...people on this list are so helpful and willing to share information...i really appreciate it:) elizabeth powell