<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Hi,

I just had an interesting conversation with the medical specialist at
Abbot Labs while I was re-verifying information for our drug database
-- and I learned something I didn't know before.

Abbot says their cylert chewable tablets are not gluten free because
the mannitol is derived from wheat. I didn't know we had to watch out
for mannitol, too, so I asked her a few more questions which she was
nice enough to research for me. According to her, mannitol is usually
derived from the manna plant, but can be derived from almost any
vegetable including corn and wheat. She said _if_ it's purified, the
source shouldn't matter, but that cylert chewables does test positive
for wheat.

I am curious to know if mannitol is purified when it's used in foods?
Is this something to be concerned about? Are there any nutritionists
on the List who can address this issue for us?

Best wishes,
Lani K. Thompson
www.clanthompson.com

* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *