<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Hi Everyone, Thank you for all the great reponses that I received. Here they are: ********** I shudder when I hear about diagnosis being made by a single clinical sign that can be the result of any number of causes. And then adding nutrient supplements. Zinc deficiencies can occur from low levels of zinc in the diet or because they are not absorbed due to diet ingredients - some fibers and minerals can bind zinc, making it unavailable for absorption. Or, it can be an intestinal thing - they aren't absorbing. So, simply adding it to your diet may just be making the cause - if that is what it is. There is such a thing as zinc toxicity - so caution, as always with vitamin and mineral supplements (herbals too). Itching - well, my itching is from foods. Corn is great to cause total body itching. Just recently I have begun to suspect foods that are heated in plastic containers - or stored hot in plastic 'Servin' Savers' and the like. I met a woman over the weekend that must eat organic meats - it is the growth hormones and/or antibiotics that the animals receive - not the diet of the animals. And organic cow eats the same as a conventionally raised cow. I also have problems with all kinds of seeds - from sesame, flax, fennel to mustard seed. I have been at this for a year now - and it seems there is always something new causing some type of problem. ********** The gluten can not come thru the cow in the form of grain, or any other animal for the matter. I had the spots on my fingers and my doctor gave me a multi vitamin to take. It took a while to get rid of the spots but I have continued the vitamins and they have never come back. ********** Your "itchiness" is more than likely caused from a "leakt gut" in which you have become allergic to other foods. When I was diagnosed with gluten enteropathy, I was also found to have "leaky gut syndrome", anemia, etc., and I itched all over. Then an ELISA test for allergies revealed many food allergies. Then I eliminated these from my diet (yes it was difficult), and also increased to maximum dose the acididophilus, started taking L'Glutamine and my itchiness stopped. Now I have beeen able to add some of these foods back with no problem. Too much zinc is not good and can be harmful. You are safe at keeping the zinc at 50 mg, and if you were ill you could for a week only take 100 mgs, but you wouldn't want to do that for longer than a week. Too much zinc can depress your immune system. I am not a member of the medical profession, but I have "been there and done that". I just do not want my suggestions to be contrued as medical advice. Good luck. ********** It may be that you just damaged that fingernail quite sometime ago. White spots (or flecks) on the fingernail could be indicative of a vitamin/mineral deficiency, but are more likely due to damage to the base of the fingernail. It takes quite a while for this damage to show up because nail growth is slow. White spots/flecks could be from an injury weeks or months prior. But, your fingernails are good indicators of your all-over general health so keep an eye on them. (I am a part-time Cosmetologist and we learned all this in school). I may be wrong, but it seems if there were some sort of deficiency it would be present in all your fingernails and not just one or two.. And, a good source of zinc (that I've discovered) is by supplement in the form of Zinc Lozenges with Echinacea (great during cold/flu season). ********** I don't know the answer to your questions, but the Ann Gittleman books address alot of these points. I am presently reading her book, Your Body Knows Best. It is so very interesting and I think you should look into it. I believe she says something like zinc deficiency correlates to copper toxicity---but again, I am not clear on that. I have alot of faith in Ann Gittleman. You know, the secret is in treating the WHOLE body and not just one thing. If you treat one deficiency often another one develops. This book adequately designs food selections based on gluten sensitivity, metabolism, family origin, and blood type. She stresses the fact that no one diet is right for everyone and therefore no one vitamin-mineral program is correct for everyone. Her suggestions in this book make a great deal of sense to me. After I finish reading her book I am going to read it again and make notes on implementing her diet ideas for myself. ********** Have you thought to have your thyroid checked. My Mom (who is not celiac) had the same symptoms and since taking thyroid medication the itchiness has gone away. ********** Your question makes me ask if you have any allergies. I have several food allergies, in addition to CD and just recently discovered some foods that were the cause of my itching (probably peanuts in my case). I also have the white flecks. My non-educated guess would be that if you have mineral deficiencies, it takes awhile to get them back to normal. I was vegetarian before I found out about CD, and in my case, this probably worsened by deficiencies. I would suggest that you get help before supplementing with just zinc. The minerals work together and I really messed up my balance trying to correct what I saw a flagrant deficiencies on my own. I didn't know about CD yet, but I still think I probably made things worse by taking individual supplements. Now that I look closely, though, the white flecks are gone. I've been gf and lactose free for 4 months. I've also been working with a nutritionist to help get the other nutrients back to normal. ********** Susan -You may be reacting to the grains that animals are feed - particularly poultry and pork - which is often corn and wheat. The offending proteins can get into the blood stream and linger for as long as three months. Its has been reported that traces of what an animal eats can be seen as much as 3 months later. Suggest that you try locally grown beef (since beef are not feed that much grain because it is expensive and they eat a lot) and seafood, caught not farmed, as your protein source. Also look for hidden sources of gluten - like the drip used on store bought "fresh fruits and vegetables" to increase shelf life - or grain byproducts like Dextrose, corn starch, Dryer softening sheets, etc. Keep eliminating possible sources and eventually the itching (called subcutaneous hives) will diminish. My sister and I have had the same sorts of problems you are having. once we eliminated the sources the problem stopped. ********** Get yourself tested for the amount of zinc in your blood to confirm or disprove the deficiency. Zinc is an essential trace nutrient. You get a zinc deficiency by not eating enough of it, gf or not. Other things also cause flecks on fingernails; like poisoning. I suggest you go to the library and look up nutrition books for good guidance on food sources and deficiency symptoms (I think the itchiness is a symptom of it but am not sure.). ********** You don't mention how long you have been GF--if you are in the early months, you probably have more healing to do. You may not be absorbing zinc well, even if your diet seems adequate. In my experience, absorbtion in general improves over time. For me, the itch backed off within a few days of starting the diet, though I still have one patch on my back that does not go away completely. I have been GF 3 years. This spot itched years before diagnosis, and so I suspect it will take years to go away. It is more intense with mistakes and is a good indicater when I am getting traces of gluten my stomach does not react to. I did not take Dapsone because of the potential side effects, but some people find it calms the itch and is worth taking. ********** Thank you all for the response. I have learned alot and appreciate it very much! All the best, Susan