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Dear List members,

Having this celiac disease is SO frustrating!  Partly comforting, as it has
relieve so many problems that I've had all my life.  But I have much more to
discover, and I am getting to the point where sitting down to eat is like
navigating a mine field.  I'm growing tired of the vigilance.  But I don't
think I have much choice.

I have a question about MSG.  Can anyone tell me how it relates to gluten
intolerance?  Or if not, their experience with ingesting it?  I seem to have
a problem with anything cooked in liquid, which I am assuming is natural
MSG.  Almost all soups are out.  A broiled chicken breast seems to be
tolerable, but if I cook chicken (or any other kind of meat) in a crockpot,
I have terrible gastrointestinal problems.  The same seems to hold true for
vegetables.  Homemade potato soup (no wheat anywhere near) is intolerable.
Any kind of vegetable or meat broth is too painful to consume.  Has anyone
else had this problem?  Is it MSG or something else?

Also, it seems any kind of processed meat--with or without MSG or food
starch--is intolerable.  Is it the nitrates and nitrites?  Does anyone else
have problems with this as well?  Any deli meats give me problems.  Kind of
limits what I can take for lunch.

What about tomatoes?  Anyone have problems with tomatoes?  I seem to be able
to eat fresh ones, but if they are cooked, watch out.  Anybody else have
this difficulty?  (I'm not talking about the canned variety with possible
wheat starch, etc., but about taking fresh tomatoes and lightly cooking
them, as on a homemade pizza).  Is it just an intolerance to tomatoes, or is
there a link with gluten intolerance?

No tuna, either.  What is it about tuna?  Am I just going nuts?

SIGH!  The struggle almost doesn't seem worth it.  I have just about quit
eating out, but eating IN is no fun, either.  All my life I have had
problems with food.  Eating was pain, but eating was also perversely
comforting.  I went through several anorexic phases when I was younger, and
while it was making me nuts in other ways, at least my GI system didn't
hurt!

Any comments, helpful suggestions or commiserations are very welcome.
Ever struggling,
Liz