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

On Fri, 27 Jan 1995, Don Wiss wrote:

> 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.
>
> My question is what did the Gut article really say?

What the article said is this, the gluten protien with this enzyme is no
longer digested in the intestines, instead it is broken down in the
stomache.  With this happeing the intestines can't react to gluten, because,
it's already been broken down into a form the body can use.  I would not
suggest this as if any of the protiens get past this neat little enzyme you
are back to square one and you have a reaction.

         Julie May -- Manager of Resources, Orbital OnLine Services
       WEB page = http://www.online.edmonton.ab.ca/~jmay/index.html
         Running both Celiac and Environmental Illness WEB pages.