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

Reading Shelley's note on gluten makes me wonder as I have
since I was diagnosed,  why are we all using the wrong word,
anyway?  I am forever saying,  "they call it a gluten-free diet
but it's not correct because there is gluten in rice, etc."
Sometimes we hear of suppliers that come back and say
(as they should) that their item isn't gluten-free because
it has rice,  etc.  We're not "gluten intolerant" because in
general most of us don't have problems with rice or corn.  Why
do we promote this incorrect use of "gluten" and "gluten-free"?
Is there any hope of something more accurate?
Just wondering!
Helen



From:    Shelley Case 
Subject: Re: Corn Gluten

Gluten is the general name for the storage proteins (prolamins) in
wheat, rye and barley. These specific prolamins damage the small
intestine in people with celiac disease.The actual name of the toxic
prolamins are gliadin in wheat, secalin in rye and horedin in barley.

Corn and rice also contain gluten and the corn prolamin is called zein
and rice prolamin is called orzenin. However, these prolamins do not
have a toxic effect on the intestine of persons with celiac disease.
Therefore, corn "gluten" is acceptable on a gluten-free diet.

It is important when contacting a company to determine the gluten-free
status of a product to ask if it contains any wheat, rye or barley in
the ingredients or components of the ingredients rather than asking if
it is gluten-free because of this very issue of corn gluten.

* Please remember some posters may be WHEAT-FREE, but not GLUTEN-FREE *