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

Perhaps I can shed a little light on the contraversy below:

Ann wrote:

>According to my nutionist and the literature I have read, IF YOU ARE
>CELIAC, YOU ARE LACOTSE INTOLERANT.  The reason is that the celiac wipes
>out the villi.  The enzyme that digests lactose rests on the tip of the
>villi.  If no villi, no enzymes, no lactose digestion.<

Then Anna wrote:

>This is NOT true!! Sure many Celiacs are lactose intolerant or sensitive
>to lactose but so are a major bit of the population! And often when
>going gf the lactose sensitivity disappears after a while.
>
>I can digest small amounts of lactose, the fatter the better it seemes
>:-) But I handle it much better now than before I went on gf diet.

I think that if Ann (first message) had said, "if you are celiac AND ARE
STILL EATING GLUTEN CONTAINING FOODS you are PROBABLY lactose intolerant"
the statement would hve been correct.  Once the villi are completely
flattened, then lactose intolerance seems to be universal, unless the
celiac reaction is in a very limited area.  However, once one is on a
gluten-free diet, the villi grow again and in many cases (although not all)
the ability to ingest lactose and lactase is again present.

So, both of the above messages contain truth, and no one need be offended.
Perhaps the nutritionist had not read her book carefully, or perhaps the
person who wrote the text book had not done ALL of his homework.

An interesting side detail of this is that it seems most celiacs who have
damaged villi can still eat (or drink) heavy cream and butter - i.e. the
butter fat portion of milk - with no problem.  It is the lactose (milk
sugar) and casein (milk protein)  that are problem makers.

In the interest of peace making - Gayle Kennedy