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Interestingly  enough, I was on a banana and lean meat diet for CD in 1941,
and before anyone tries to tell me it was not possible, I was
diagnosed a Coeliac in 1941 at the age of about 2 by an astute
specialist in England. He was confident in his diagnosis and told my
parents that I was to eat fruit and lean meat. It was war time and
food was rationed so I was allowed 5 childrerns meat rations a week
which had to be lean. Fruit was not readily available so I had to have
dried imported bananas, which I seem to remember were terrible.
HOWEVER, as they did not know the real cause I was not forbidden
bread, but rather encouraged, because "there is a war on and it is
the staff of life etc" Needless to say I continued with the symptons but
my parents were told that if I lived to the age of seven I would grow
out of it. This covers another recent enquiry regarding retardation
of growth in Coeliac children. Compared to my younger brother and
older sister and my father, I can say that had I not suffered the
effects then I would probably have been about two inches taller than my
present height of 6' 9".

As you are well aware I did not "grow out of it" but at least it was
not such a worry in my teens and early  adult life, I subconsciously
developed a diet with little or no bread and few cakes or biscuits and
re-diagnosed myself about eight years ago when I realised that I was
feeling as ill as I felt as a child.

The annoying thing is that many times I mentioned to doctors in the
UK and here in Australia that as a child I was diagnosed as a
Coeliac, but they never said "In that case you still have it", and we
know why they didn't, don't we.

The main point is that I am a diagnosed Coeliac of long standing, the
diet is not irksome, we are superior to so many others in so much
that we know what is good and bad for us, and as long as we stick to
our diet we do not suffer from Coeliac Disease.I have not been to a
doctor now for several years, the Dermatitis Herpetiformis is dormant
and if I do feel unwell, a careful analysis of what I ate three hours
before, usually gives me the answer.

Who needs bread muffins cakes etc? I certainly live very well without
them. Bananas (fresh) and lean meat still play a part in my diet.

I want to add something to the alcohol absorbtion debate later,  I
feel that we do have to be more careful on a GF diet.
RICHARD LOCKLEY
3/757 BURWOOD RD
EAST HAWTHORN
VICTORIA, AUSTRTALIA 3123
TEL: 3 9905 5018
FAX: 3 9905 5728