On Thu, 3 Mar 2005 21:38:45 +0100, =?iso-8859-1?q?Erik=20Frid=E9n?=
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>On another note, oats is to be considered gluten free. The protein
contained is too different from gluten to cause trouble for celiacs. Not
that it's paleo, though.
>Erik F.

Hi Jim,

You've gotten a lot of advice - it is confusing, isn't it?
I am gluten sensitive and I am on a gluten free diet. It is correct that
spelt is not gluten free - a big NO-NO.
The problem with oats is cross contamination. Most of the European celiacs
now consider oats to be safe to consume as long as you are sure to get
them from a reputable company that guarantees no cross contamination. I
think the Ame
rican celiacs are more hesitant to give the green light on
oats. Personally, I have not tested oats - I really don't like to be sick
so I avoid everything that is questionable and I never cheat. If you
decide to eat Oats the Irish McCann Oats are considered good quality w/o
cross contamination problems. But as others before me have pointed out,
they are not a paleo food; so you don't need to go there.

People have mentioned the grains or the feed that chickens are fed - I do
not think a celiac or gluten sensitive person reacts to the chickens feed.
The grain proteins are converted in the chicken so the proteins in eggs do
not contain gluten. However, many people are intolerant of eggs - they
react to ovalbumin, which is a protein found in egg whites. Have you
considered this? You may be intolerant of eggs in addition to being gluten
sensitive. It is very common for us who are intolerant to gluten to have
severa
l additional intolerances.

If you wish to be tested for intolerance to ovalbumin Enterolab can do it
for you - testing a stool sample.

Some people mentioned the grain fed to cattle etc. carrying over into the
meat somehow. I am sure it is true the feed affects the quality of the
meat, but as far as actually having a true immune reaction due to eating
this meat I believe it is impossible.

For a person with food intolerances processed foods are like mine fields.

Normally we don't think of "fresh" meat as processed food but many meats
are actually injected with a solution of something to tenderize and add
flavor to otherwise tasteless dry meat (due to how low fat it is). This is
done in the processing plant before the meat is sold to the end consumer.
The solution can contain soy, corn and other things - I am not sure, but
it likely contains gluten and/or dairy as well. I know from personal

experience that this injected meat makes me have a strong reaction if I
eat it (I react to glute, dairy, soy, corn, and bakers/brewers yeast). The
same thing is true for a lot of marinated meat. Also, be very careful with
any kind of sausage. And avoid deli meats completely.
Most fresh meat is labeled - it will say on the label if it is injected.
If you buy the store brand meat in the grocery store (for example Publix)
it will not have the usually metallic label that declares whether or not
it has been injected - so you will have to ask someone knowledgable in the
meat department (try to find the person in charge) and ask if their meats
are injected or chemically treated in any way.

Food intolerances are extremely tricky - the body recognizes microscopic
amounts of the protein that it perceives as a foreign invader and launches
an attack as soon as it is detected. Thus, you must avoid that particular
p
rotein 100% just like it is the case with gluten intolerance and celiac
disease.

Jim, you are right - you do not need an official diagnosis (biopsy and
blood tests) of celiac disease - the test is invasive; besides, it would
come out negative because you've been gluten free since 1999 - and you
definitely don't want to do a gluten challenge. If you feel better when
you are gluten free that is really all you need to know.

Try to watch your consumption of eggs to see what happens - eggs is one of
the top 8 allergens in this country (not because of the feed or the
quality of the eggs - the reaction is to ovalbumin, the eggwhite protein).

I hope you are feeling better than you were when you started this thread.

Love,
Karen