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Preliminary results on Abigail's Poll #3

You can find the results in graph form at:
http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/4003/celiac-poll-3.html
(There is a separate graph for each food sensitivity.  Just scroll
down the page.)

Topic:  Other Food Sensitivities of MD diagnosed Celiacs

There were only 105 respondents.  The small number of
respondents in comparison to other polls concerns me slightly.
I am not sure for the drop off on respondents.  There were 278
respondents to the first poll which was for doctor diagnosed
celiacs.  It is possible that some celiacs were diagnosed by
doctors other than MDs, such as chiropractors.  I have posted
a separate message requesting as to why individuals did not
respond.  I am concerned that some people who don't have
food sensitivities didn't bother to fill out the poll.  This
would greatly skew our results and make the data basically
worthless.

At any rate, until I know more about why there was a low
response rate, we cannot put too much into these results.  But I
wanted to get you the preliminary results before going on
vacation during the month of February.  I will continue to
have internet access a few times a week while I am away, so
please feel free to email me with comments or questions.  I
will post a follow up after I receive information from non-
respondents who responded to my first posting. Any
information you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Priminary Poll #3 Results:  Other Food Sensititivies of MD
Diagnosed Celiacs

Do you have difficulty digesting Citrus Fruits?
Yes (32) 31%
No (73) 69%
105 Selections Made

Do you have difficulty digesting Corn?
Yes (19) 18%
No (86) 82%
105 Selections Made

Do you have difficulty digesting Soy?
Yes (15) 14%
No (90) 86%
105 Selections Made

Do you have difficulty digesting Milk?
Yes (43) 41%
No (62) 59%
105 Selections Made

Do you have difficulty digesting Leafy Green Vegetables?
Yes (9) 9%
No (96) 91%
105 Selections Made

Do you have difficulty digesting Irish Potatoes?
Yes (6) 6%
No (99) 94%
105 Selections Made

Also significant is that of all 105 respondents, there were
59 of them (or 56%) who did not have difficulty digesting any
of the foods listed above.  That number is much higher than I
anticipated.  I guess that puts me in the minority there.

What I find most interesting here is that more celiacs have
trouble digesting citrus fruits than they do corn.  That was a
surprise.  Perhaps this explains why we see frequent postings
on people having trouble with ascorbic acid (vitamin c) which
can come from citrus fruits.  I recently bought a Vitamin C
supplement and had a terrible time with it the two days I took
it.  I want to test it one more time before giving up on it.
I should call the mfgr and find out the source... it could be
corn, citrus, or synthetic even.  Synthetic Vitamin C doesn't
seem to bother me.  That is what they use in Ocean Spray
Cranberry Juice Cocktail (which is gf).

The milk response was no surprise at all.  However, I am
curious as to how many have milk protein intolerance vs
lactose intolerance.  If you responded on the survey as
being milk intolerant, please drop me an email to let
me know if you are milk protein intolerant or just lactose
intolerant.

The other surprise for me was the low percentage of sensitivity
to leafy green vegetables.  I have read that most adults have
difficulty digesting lettuce and cabbage, and yet only 9 people
out of 105 responded that they had difficulty digesting such
vegetables.  I assumed that celiacs would have even more
difficulty than the general population since we have had so
much damage to our villi (even from accidental gluten
consumption).

I don't believe many people took me up on doing a potato challenge.
I only heard from one person regarding that... and they had the
potato challenge on their own before the poll came out.
If anyone did do a challenge, please drop me a line and let
me know what happened, and I will summarize the responses.

I have come to believe that some people think that it might
not be gluten that is bothering them everytime.  I know
that for me, it took a long while to distinguish between a
gluten reaction and a milk reaction.  There may be others out
there that have not tried to pin-point what is making them ill.

The next poll will shortly follow.  I hope to get it out by
sometime Friday.

Abigail, St Paul, MN
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