<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
On 7 Mar 1996, Jane Katharine Harvey <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
 
>> The foodlist that the (COELIAC SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN) society produces
>> is a list of items that are gluten free and readily available in
>> supermarkets, it is pocket sized and well worth having.
 
>I have recently had brought over for me a copy of the foodlist mentioned
>above and what I really want to know is why the Brits say I can drink
>whisky, gin, vodka, etc, gorge myself on breakfast cereals containing malt
>extracts, and add any vanilla essence to anything I like, whereas the
>American advice is to avoid all that like the plague? And what really
>fascinates me is that neither side seems to express any doubt whatsoever.
 
It had been my understanding that the reason the UK Coeliac Society has not
conformed with most of the world was the argument that bread is such a big
part of the British diet, that if they recommended the 100% GF diet the
bread would be less palatable and people would then go off the diet, and
that would be worse.
 
Recently, in some correspondence with a subscriber to the chronic fatigue
list, it was pointed out that the UK society receives contributions from
these food companies that are on this list. It was noted a couple articles
earlier in this thread that celiacs do not need to pay to become a member of
the society, only need to be formally diagnosed.
 
The Canadian Association is not as strict as the American ones and they
allow things that are distilled from grains. But, they are opposed to the
wheat starch that the Brits allow. The front page of the Spring 1995 issue
of the Celiac News from the Canadian Celiac Association has "As evidence,
Dr. Seidman referred to a study of 25 adults who had never ingested wheat
starch. The study introduced wheat starch into their diet. Half of the group
were forced to remove themselves from the study due to adverse symptoms."
 
Don Wiss.