<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
On Nov 30, 1995 12:53:50, 'Barbara Jean Kuehl <[log in to unmask]>' wrote:
 
>There is a problem with this way of thinking.  Whereas 0.02 g/kg (or
>1 mg) gluten may be a very tiny amount and may actually be tolerated
>by many people who are gluten intolerant, the effect may be
>cumulative.  That is, that tiny little 1 mg becomes 3 mg/week if three
>items....are eaten in a week's time.  Where do you draw the line?
 
Yes it's cumulative up to a point --because the villi tend to regrow. So
what counts is the average over some time. Now from an earlier posting by
Don, 0.1 grams/ day for 28 days was shown to to have effects in a good
percentage of those biopsied. That corresponds to either one slice of whole
wheat bread every month (rounding numbers off) or the more likely smaller
amount every day for a month.
 
So 3 grams in a month is too much.  On the other hand,  for the amounts Don
is talking about, I too doubt that we have to worry.
 
Perhaps one of the medical professionals would care to comment on the
concept of an safe upper bound on average gluten intake so we can stop
worrying about some item last on the list of ingredients which may have
gluten in it?
 
"Tolerate" refers only to one side of the body's response--the lack of
nausea, vomiting, etc. connected with digestive juices of some kind, as I
recall. THe damage to the intestinal walls is separate from that and leads
eventually to the nutrtitional deprivation.
 
                           Kemp Randolph
                           Long Island
                           [log in to unmask]