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

Let me start this by saying that I do eat distilled vinegar.

Although, being a scientist myself, I agree with Bonnie's view that it is
very unlikely to find gluten after the distillation process,  I think this
calls for a definition of "find". Biological systems provide the most
sensitive chemical sensors we know. This is one of the many reasons that
biotechnology has become so popular lately.  For example, there are
companies developing biosensors for monitoring pollution of the air.
If an insect can smell one scent molecule in a billion, we cannot offhand
deny the possibility that maybe an extremely sensitive Celiac could detect
a trace of gluten which would be below the detection limit of chemical
analysis. If this is an autoimmune disease, not simple poisoning, the
threshold for a reaction could be extremely low.

This brings up another interesting point: can we safely conclude that if
someone doesn't notice a reaction to vinegar, it is safe for them to eat
it? This seems to be the general consensus, but I wonder if it is the right
decision. I know that I can eat small amounts of gluten without noticing a
reaction. I've had Nacho flavor Dorritos, and only later noticed the wheat
in the ingredient list. No reaction, although I am a biopsy confirmed
Celiac. Now surely nobody (except for the ignorant doctors we keep reading
about) would argue that this means it's okay for me to have a little bit of
wheat now and then. But we will classify vinegar, msg and other things as
"don't eat if you're very sensitive".

I am not arguing that we should all stop eating a food whenever someone
reports a reaction. After all, you can have belly aches from a lot of
things. But I do worry that because unlike other's bodies, mine doesn't
punish me instantly for every gluten mistake, I'm slowly damaging it.
Maybe the people with the violent reactions are actually better off, and we
should follow their example in thoroughness when it comes to eliminating
gluten from our diets. This is a personal decision everyone will have to
make for themselves, but we should accept other's choices and take them
seriously.

I think that despite my worries, I will continue to eat vinegar. I simply
can't face another dietary restriction.

Sylvia in Ithaca, NY.