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Hi folks,

I understand that the holidays are a difficult time for many of us.  Getting
Aunt Matilda to explain exactly what is in her mystery casserole is usually
anything but pleasant.  And, I can imagine that in all of the hustle and
bustle we may get some gluten out of these meals.  It is a sad but true fact
that many family members will not or cannot take the time to understand our
needs.

However, I have seen many postings lately that simply make me want to shake
my head.  It seems that people too often and too easily attribute problems to
gluten.  I am certainly not saying for a minute that you are not hurting or
did not have stomach problems.  It is certainly not "in your head." I am
saying, though, that there are a myriad of other explanations for what you
felt.

With this in mind, I would like to share my story.  About six months ago I
started to have these terrible stomach pains.  They felt like gluten
reactions to me.  I am a fairly sensitive Celiac, so I am quite attuned to
this.  I have also, though, been on the GF diet for nearly 20 years, and am
quite literate in the language of our do's and don'ts.  I am also a
scientist.  So, I began the rigorous process of documenting all of my meals,
rereading labels on products that I've eaten for years, cutting out
restaurant eating altogether, and relying on totally, guaranteed GF foods.  I
was still hurting.

Finally, I went up to see my GI at the Mayo Clinic, a very talented physician
whom I knew would be thorough.  After two days of testing, he told me that I
have irritable bowel syndrome.  In fact, I had no detectable villous atrophy,
anti-tTG antibodies, or any other signs of Celiac infractions.  I was quite
healthy otherwise.

To think, that I'd spent nearly six months driving myself crazy wondering why
I felt sick after I drank certain sodas or ate foods with a lot of garlic, or
whatever else.  All along, it was unrelated to gluten.

The fact is that bodies are "fickle."  Some people are simply irritated by
certain foods or chemicals.  In fact, the human population in general is this
way.  It may be that as Celiacs, we are more sensitive to some of these
elements than others.  It is difficult to say.  However, please, before you
cut food out of your life or your children's lives, before you harass
manufacturers and begin to question your own judgment entirely, consider that
there are MANY other things that might make you sick.  In fact, simple food
poisoning is more common than you know.  We are also discovering more and
more microorganisms every day that are causing illnesses that we once
attributed to stress, fatigue, or even gluten.  Take ulcers for example.

I realize that by saying this I am sticking my neck out, and people are going
to jump up and down on my head, lamenting their crusade for clearer labeling
laws and better government regulation.  I would agree with you wholeheartedly
that the "modified food starch" phenomenon is a pain in the rear, and the
lack of sanitation in food processing is a legitimate problem.  Amen to
stricter regulations--not just for us, but for the lactose, peanut, and
whatever else-intolerant of the world.  Companies should not be able to hide
behind "we are not responsible for x, y, and z" disclaimers.  The age of
litigation is going too far.

But please do not blame EVERYTHING on gluten.  Do not live your life in fear
of this!  There are ways to investigate and educate.  There are also other
things that may be causing your pain.  In fact, by attributing it to gluten,
you could be preventing yourself from discovering another very real problem
that is effecting your health.

I wish nothing but good health and happiness to you all, and I feel so sorry
for those of you that suffered for most of your life with this affliction.
Medical practices in our society need to be seriously overhauled.

Happy holidays,
Jessica
University of Wisconsin Microbiology