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

Hi

A summary of responses to date.re CSA follows:

*Bravo! Maybe if there were more public repudiations like this CSA
would finally get it's act together!

*I agree completely.  The people at my local celiac group keep trying
to push the CSA book on new members and I think it's terrible.  When I
was first diagnosed, I was told not to trust any GF list more than 2
years old.  Imagine my surprise when my wife and I got the CSA book and
found things dated 1994.  Some of their information is good and if a
celiac is getting used to the diet and is trying to make sense of all
of it, they can be a big help.  But their lists are outdated, including
the medicine list my wife and I just got and they seem to jump on any
little tidbit of information and say it's banned for celiacs.

*Well said and tactfully too!  I am a newbie, 5 months and 3 weeks and
I nearly went crazy trying to get a handle on this diet.  This was
despite the fact that I am an RN and have had a 3 hour nutrition course
in college.  When I finally figured out the Dr. recommended CSA stood
for crockpot not celiac I got the hang of this diet.  Thanks for
listening, I needed to vent!

*thanks for saying it.  I joined and found the same when I was
diagnosed this past December.  CSA makes people paranoid.  Why they get
off on that I don't know.  CDF does not have a support group in my area
so I went to the local CSA meeting.  After the big meeting, they had a
group for newly diagnosed.  There I heard the president of the group
(who also writes for Sully's Living without) say she stays on the
celiac diet because of fear of lymphoma.  Now, I'm not saying that
isn't in there and a potential issue but I personally would rather have
something more positive as a driving force in my life--like feeling
better.

*I agree.  I did not renew my subscription to CSA this year.

*.....  I do not really agree with the statement your made.  all groups
have something to offer.  I have been attended meetings of 2 groups and
have dropped both.  I am a Registered Nurse and have learned nutrition
along the way (was trained in it and it was in the medical section of
my Boards) I find information from all sources good as long as I use my
common sense to think about what I have heard.  It bothers me to think
that two groups would have all the answers and the other would be
consistently wrong.  I realize this is your perception but I do not
agree and I do not feel it is a good thing to put personal opinions on
the internet which may color a new persons perceptions.  We all need to
work to gether --- if csa is wrong, then contact them and tell them
where.  get opinions from them and check them out rather than to make
cart blanche statements.  Thanks for reading this, it is not met to be
mean or nasty but to suggest other ways of having correct information
disseminated.

My comment - CSA could do so much....   Among other things, they need
to join with the other US cd groups so we have one predominate voice
for our cause.

Now I'm going boating.

Diane