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> Some time back an uncle of mine (a conservative southerner) send me the July
> 1991 issue of "Alternatives - For The Health Conscious Individual" (by
> Mountain Home Publishing).  In it there was the following paragraph:
>
>   Taking papain [a protein-digesting enzyme in papaya] supplements (500 to
> 1,000 mg with meals) can help digest wheat gluten.  It often works so well
> that   with supplementation many celiac disease patients can once again eat
> wheat   products without problems!  (Gut 64;5:295-303)  Papain can be a
> godsend to   those people who meticulously have to avoid wheat-containing
> products.

I tried papain for a while to see if it would help.  It was several years ago,
and I think it might have helped if I ate just a small amount of wheat, but it
did not help if I ate a significant amount.  Btw, 500 to 1000 mg if I remember
correctly requires a lot of pills.  I tried finding studies concerning papain.
All I came up with was one reference to a patient who found it to help, but it
was unclear he was gulten intolerant to begin with as later he was able to eat
wheat without papain.  I would think that if it really did help, we  would  be
hearing  much  more  about  it.  However, I would also be interested in seeing
what the Gut article says.