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<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

C> Also -- my CD daughter called a company about their carmel popcorn.
C> They told her that popcorn "naturally contains gluten".  She has
C> been eating popcorn for years with no apparent problem.  Can anyone
C> shed light on this one??

To which Lisa McKinney <[log in to unmask]> replied:

L> Regarding corn containing gluten, it is my layperson understanding
L> that it does contain a naturally occurring gluten, but it is my
L> understanding and belief (upon instruction from a dietitian) that
L> corn gluten is okay for celiacs. It's the gluten in wheat, rye,
L> oats, barley and possibly some other miscellaneous grains that
L> are harmful to celiacs.

I guess I'll add my double penny's worth too.  The basic problems is
that the expression "gluten-free" does not correctly describe the
celiac diet.  Over the years it has come to mean and be accepted as
the descriptive term for a celiac diet, but it is not really correct.
Why?  Because of what Lisa has pointed out: gluten occurs in corn
and probably in other grains which are safe for celiacs.  So if
"gluten-free" is not correct, what is the correct description of a
celiac's diet?

In recent years the expression "gluten-restricted, gliadin-free" has
come into favor, but that really isn't correct either.  For one thing,
if you eat a lot of corn then your diet is not "gluten-restricted".
The other problem with this expression is that "gliadin" refers
specifically to wheat, and does not refer to barley, rye, and oats.
The following quote comes from a summary of a talk by Dr. Martin
Kagnoff, at the CSA/USA conference held in San Francisco this fall.
This comes from the Dec. 1995 issue of _The Sprue-nik Press_:

K> When we talk about a gluten-free (GF) diet, what we are really
K> talking about are these alcohol-soluble proteins, which are
K> named as follows:
K>
K>      Grain          Proteins
K>      -----          --------
K>      wheat          gliadins
K>      barley         hordeins
K>      rye            secalins
K>      oats           avenins

So a more descriptive expression for our diet would be "gliadin-,
hordein-, secalin-, and avenin-free".  This doesn't have a magical
ring to it, does it?  I suppose we could make an acronym out of the
four proteins, and call our diet SHAG-Free or GASH-Free, but these
expressions don't really catch my fancy either.

Most of the bigger manufacturers have become familiar with the term
"gluten-free", so it is probably best to keep using it.  I think
that when you speak or write to companies, you should specifically
list the four main grains to avoid (wheat, barley, rye, and oats)
as a way of explaining what you mean by gluten-free.

By the way, all of the above (except for Dr. Kagnoff's quote) comes
from a layman, so take it with a grain (er, particle) of salt.

Jim Lyles ........ <[log in to unmask]> ........ Holly, Michigan, USA