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Hi- I have a little more information about probiotics. Naturally fermented sauerkraut is a good choice, especially  for those who don't drink milk. In Bellevue, WA it can be bought at Larry's Markets. Another helpful food, especially in the bone mass-osteoporosis connection, is natto. it is a Japanese traditional food which is really just fermented soybeans. Certain products may have additions and flavorings which make them unsuitable for GF diets, but there are at least one or two brands available at Uwajimaya, in Bellevue and Seattle, which list only soybeans, water, salt and natto bacteria as ingredients. I didn't call the companies; but I tried it and found it very good, and not bothersome to my gut which is usually a pretty good gluten detector. Hinoichi is the brand I eat, and it also happens to be the cheapest at Uwajimaya. It comes in a 4 oz. frozen packet, for $.95. Many celiacs, including me, have bone density issues.

I read some interesting Japanese research regarding natto and bone health. One paper concluded that the type of vitamin K found in natto, K-2, is the important type as far as bone health is concerned. They further found that when one eats natto, part of the K-2 is present in the natto, and part of the K-2 that eventually shows up in one's blood plasma is a result of the live natto bacteria, B. Subtilis, which then synthesizes K-2 in the one's own gut. In this connection, it is important not to heat the natto, and that would kill the bacteria. I assume the same holds true for natural sauerkraut.

Another interesting Japanese study, this time an epidemiological study, looked at two things-how much money the average family in a given prefecture spent annually on natto, and the rate of fractures in the prefecture. They found that the more money spent on natto, the fewer number of fractures.To me, this is a remarkable statistic, because the correlation between natto and broken bones would have to be pretty good to show up with such non-specific groupings. It would be like trying to correlate rates of coronary artery disease with beef consumption on a state by state basis. After all, even North Dakota will have its vegetarians, and even Hawaiians eat beef.

More on probiotics, though not on natto, to follow in Part 2.

Michael

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