<<Disclaimer:  Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
Gary Roberts wrote:
 
> If the product bothers you, it has gluten...En Gluten Et Veritas.
 
I don't agree with this philosophy.  First of all, not all celiacs
react to the accidental ingestion of gluten.  Secondly, both celiacs
and non-celiacs have allergies and foods that their stomach don't
handle well.  If a celiac has problems with onions (many people do)
does that mean onions have gluten?  If a celiac reacts to nuts, or
MSG, or soy, does that mean these products have gluten?  The answer, of
course, is no.  Some people, celiacs included, have trouble with
cucumbers, cabbage, strawberries, chocolate....the list goes on and on.
Yet none of these products (except chocolate in some cases) contains
gluten!
 
Also, we must remember that everyone, not just celiacs, gets an upset
stomach at times due to illness, stress, overeating, eating too fast,
spoiled food, etc.  Before you automatically assume that an upset
stomach was caused by gluten, at least consider the possibility that you
have a "regular" upset stomach.  Before crossing a food off your list,
consider:  Have I ever reacted to it before?  Have the ingredients
changed?  Are any of the ingredients on the "suspect" list?  Could the
food have sat out too long and gotten spoiled?  Do other celiacs have
problems with this food?  Otherwise you may decide, for example, that
the soft drink you had at supper has gluten, when in fact the meat you
ate was tainted.
 
If the answer to preceeding questions is "no", but you find yourself
reacting consistently to the product, then you may have another food
sensitivity.  Certainly it makes sense to stop using the product
yourself, but don't draw the conclusion that it must be gluten that
caused the problem.  You do yourself and others no favors by jumping to
conclusions about the gluten content of a product based on your own
reactions.
 
I've always advised not to eat a product whose gluten content is
suspect.  But caution must be balanced with common sense, or you will
find yourself avoiding a lot of foods that are perfectly safe.
 
--
-- Jim Lyles
-- [log in to unmask]
-- Holly, Michigan, USA
--