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It seems like gluten is in everything!  I called two drug companies
regarding Midol and Tylenol. Midol always makes me really sick.  Both
companies told me that they cannot claim that there is no gluten in their
products, because they get ingredients from other manufacturers.  They
just claim that they do not add gluten when they mix all the ingredients
together.  Then I called Guiltless Foods about their salsa, which is
recommended in the book Against the Grain, because I noticed it had
vinegar in it.  They said they use distilled white vinegar.  So then I
called Pace foods about their picante.  They claim that the distributor
of the distilled vinegar that they use somehow removes the gluten.
Anyway, I am completely frustrated about all of this.  What do I take
when I have headaches or some other pain?  I feel like I must go pick
the food off the trees for it to be completely safe.  Lots of
companies say their products are gluten-free because they hypothesize
that there are only trace amounts of gluten when they haven't tested the
ingredients from their distributors.  Am I wrong?  I hope so.  If this is
true, then how can we be sure that Coke is really gluten-free (a recent
discussion on the list)?  I called Frito-Lay and they assured me that
Baked Tostitos and Low-fat Ruffles are completely gluten-free and made
on a different machine than their gluten-containing products.  I called
San-J foods about their wheat-free Tamari, and they said that they do not
claim that their products are gluten-free, only wheat-free (they don't
test their products for gluten, they said).  By the way, why does CSA say
that we cannot have canola oil?  I used it in my corn bread, which I was
eating everyday for breakfast.
 
Something really set me back, and I am finding out it could be almost
anything.  So, I guess I am back to my diet as a child which consisted
primarily of bananas and plain rice.
 
I read Against the Grain, which was very helpful, but I still don't
believe that I will ever be able to eat at a restaurant again.
 
How long does it take to get better on the diet (assuming that you are
really off gluten) if you have been abusing your body with gluten for
years?  I was better after about 10 days and then got sick again.
 
If anyone has any answers or suggestions, please reply to me at the
email address below.  Thank you.
 
Susan J. Maller
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