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From:
sandybill <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 17 Nov 2001 16:31:11 -0800
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<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I have had several people answer my post about vinegar who insist they have
gluten reactions to vinegar. One told me that she and her two children get
a gluten reaction from vinegar: she does not get a bicycle :)

Some insist they get a gluten reaction to all distilled vinegar. This is
simply not possible within the scope my limited realities. Certainly all
distilled vinegar does not have gluten in it. I would not debate this issue
at all if they said they get a "gluten-like reaction" from vinegars. But if
they can tell for sure the difference between a gluten reaction and other
similar reactions I would hope they can tell me how.

I know that in my case I cannot tell the difference in a gluten reaction,
and some other reactions I have:

1. I can't tell the difference between a gluten reaction and my reaction to
dairy.

2. I can't tell the difference between my reaction to quinoa, amaranth and
kamut and a gluten reaction, in either kind or severity. I react to these
as if I'd eaten a slice of Wonder Bread. And I know they do not have any
gluten in them. Must be the oxalates or saponin or something in them. In
any case it's so much like a gluten reaction that I'd have to have a biopsy
to tell the difference.

3. I react to most dried beans, except for kidney beans, much like a
semi-mild gluten accident.

4. I've noticed that some on this list have had a hard time telling an acid
reaction from a gluten accident. I have a celiac friend who will react a
lot like gluten even to throwing up if she eats fatty foods or acidy foods.

Yet, none of these are gluten reactions. I don't like it when doctors or
someone else tells someone what they do or do not react to, or how they
react. The person who reacts does know more about what they have problems
with than the doc or anyone else. The experience is objective, but the
interpretation as to cause is almost always subjective. And you simply
cannot have a gluten reaction to something that does not have any gluten in
it. I can't help but wonder if some don't attribute their reaction to
gluten when it's actually something else. And lastly, it doesn't make any
difference how certain someone is that they have had a gluten reaction to
vinegar, it's still not a study that the FDA would find useful. It's still
anecdotal and cannot have any suasive effect on a community such as FDA,
who consider themselves to be "science minded."

But please do not think I'm a champion or apologist for the FDA: I still
remember them refusing to allow the use of a very cheap and nourishing new
fish flour in the 60s for no other reason than that they said: "We do not
believe it is 'aesthetic' for pregnant women to eat a substance made from
fish parts." No matter how poor or starving, they forgot to mention.

All I'm saying is that would should consider gaining as much ground as we
can at this time within the scope of what we can agree on within our
community and wait on those things we have not yet agreed upon. Once this
is established, then go for more ground when the time is ripe. One step at
a time is more effective than trying to hold out for utopia. Maybe. Or not
:) -vance

The one thing I've learned is that you cannot make someone love you.
All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in.

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