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

Since so many new celiacs seem to have problems eating safely enough to end
their reactions I thought I'd mention something that might be helpful.

The reactions to gluten and to lactose are often very similar. I often have
a hard time telling the difference, especially if it's just a light
"accident." Both can leave you feeling bloated or actually cause the trips
to the porcelian temple.

I drank a lot of milk all my life, at least a quart a day. I would have
sworn that milk settled my stomach when it was upset. When my doc looked at
the test results and told me I was lactose intolerant I thought he was
crazy. But when I cut dairy out of my diet for three weeks, the first day
back on it removed any doubts from my mind. For two days I had a lot of
time to sit and think :)

Many new celiacs (by the way "celiacs" is the name of one afflicted with
the disease, not the name of the disease) are lactose intolerant for the
first year or two. Lactase, which allows us to digest lactose, is produced
at the tips of the villi in the small intestine. These villi tips are the
first to suffer damage from gluten with us celiacs. This leaves us gluten
intolerant till we have had time to learn how to avoid all the gluten
traps, and the villi have had a chance to heal, we cannot digest lactose.
But you may be able to return to eating dairy once your gut has had a
chance to heal. This may take a year or two, according to how young you are
and how quickly you learn to avoid gluten. But even some normal people do
become lactose intolerant as they age, so some of those older celiacs, like
myself (I'm three years older than zippers), may never be able to return to
diary.

Also, some may also be allergic to the protein in milk, casein, and this is
not likely to go away, and can also result in some reactions similar to
gluten; and may also cause urinary frequency, as several on this list can
attest.

Once you have established you are lactose intolerant and have everything
balanced out, you may want to try such things as aged hard cheeses, like
cheddar, swiss, romano and parmesan; also some yogurt, and perhaps some
butter. Some lactose intolerant people can tolerant these since they tend
to be much lower in lactose than other dairy products. But some may not be
able to. A piece of buttered toast will bloat me up like Mussolini (il
Duce, I told you I was old :) for a full day. When bloated like this I feel
full and don't eat much, but gain weight anyway. I don't know how that
happens.

Also, if you are lactose intolerant, beware of Lactaid 100 milk. It has all
the lactose removed, I several people have checked and said it's not GF.
Also be wary of any Westsoy soy milk: that company doesn't know the diff
between wheat free and gluten free. Hmmmnnn! That's longer than I'd hoped,
but hope it helps someone find out why they're still having reactions. -vance