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

Both fish & shellfish from salt water (ocean) contain iodine, as do seaweed
products--carrageenan, irish moss, nori, agar-agar, to name just a few.  They
are used as stabilizers, emulsifier, thickeners, jelling agents and even to
stablized the foam of beer (not a concern since beer isn't g.f.) in all kinds
of food products.  Seaweed is also used to make certain dyes, especially red
ones.  Seaweed derived chemicals  can be labeled as algin or alginates. (Look
up algae in a food additive dictionary.) Sea salt can cause problems, just as
iodized table salt does.

Some with DH also react to compounds similar to iodine, like bromines.

The doctor at the CSA conference who gave the presentation on DH said that
iodine triggers the inflammatory response in the DH sufferer.  This is a
different reaction from the immune system response that causes the IgA
deposits in the skin (DH) in the first place.  Exposure to gluten continues
the IgA reaction.  It can take several years for the body to rid itself of
the IgA deposits in the skin.

Could iodine trigger the inflammatory respone in a damaged intestine? Who
knows--I'm not sure research has gone there.  Only sure things are that every
case of celiac/DH is unique and there is NO one g.f. diet that fits every one
of us.

(Did you know that DH is the only skin condition that responses to treatment
w/ sulfapyradine/Dapsone?  If that drug works to alleviate the problem, then
it is DH. Most with DH do not have GI symptoms when diagnosed, but it can be
found with a biopsy. Drug treatment alone only relieves the symptoms,
however, and the damage continues w/out a g.f. diet. )

My interest in DH is purely scientific, having been blest NOT to have DH
myself.

Bev in Milwaukee