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    I am a self diagnosed celiac and I have a GI imbalance that occurs often  .
at the end of travel (like right now) or when I am under stress.  Despite being
carefully on a gluten-free diet, during these times I find I am more prone to
eat food that is not so good for me but gluten free like chocolate (in
moderation), fruit, rich foods or just overeating.  If this continues
too long, I get some kind of overgrowth in my gut so that I have a lot of gas,
discomfort and bloating that can continue for days. The only cure I have
found for it is not to eat at all for a day or to eat carrots for several meals
or another pure vegetable..
    It is almost as though something inside me was going through its life cycle
(that's why I suspect gut bacteria or yeast ("candida??") ) and I have cravings
to eat at meal times that are entirely different from usual ones.  And the
craving is just for the foods that I feel brought on this problem.  Garlic,
which I sometimes use to help with GI trouble, has no effect on this.
    Mary Courtney reports brown rice and potatoes can help as opposed to store
bought gluten free items.  In my case, I don't think brown rice and potatoes
would help, but vegetables (green or carrots) seem to.  I think this has to do
with a balance in the diet.  Ordinarily I have no trouble with fruit, some rich
foods, and occasional chocolate.  Re getting a balanced diet, i.e. showing a
complete menu, I found Mary Courtneys complete camping diet to be very
helpful.  Eating is so much of a chore, particularly with my picky 5 year old
twins to cook for, that I find it hard to get a balance.
    In the past people have suggested simple vs complex carbos as an alternative
But it seems to me this may be something else and might be familiar to some
others who had a clue to what was going on..
     Thanks in advance.                         Martha Teeter
                                     (on sabbatrical in Frankfurt from Boston)