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Dear List,

I just got a peek at Joan's summary. I'd like to share something that you
might want to agree with that majority about 1 molecule of gluten cannot be
as destructive as 10,000.

I've been gluten free for over 1 year but with occasional reactions, I felt
must be other allergies to other foods because I felt I kept myself on a
strict gluten free diet. I have had every kind of test done to me to try to
figure out why I still had occasional problems. The truth is that I'm sure
now that I probably was getting gluten at times. Perhaps the children didn't
clean their bread crumbs up well enough not to mention the fact that I have
no control of what happens in the kitchen of a resturant even if I'm sure
it's gluten free.

Anyway, the doctor seemed very concern that I may have what is called
refractory sprue, which is sprue disease where your villi will never ever
heal. This was very scarey as the risk for cancer goes up 15% with this type
of sprue so he decided to look at by intestines again to see if my villi
have healed.

Now these reactions I had were often enough to say that I averaged a
reaction a week and sometimes two. The pictures he took showed that my villi
had completely healed!!.

So if I was getting a little gluten now and again and my villi had
completely healed after 15 months, than I would have to say that although
you may get sick, a little (I stress a LITTLE) gluten MAY not be harmful. I
will tell you however that I got sick and missed work and couldn't play etc
etc.

I happen to think that unless you always cook from scratch and you have no
gluten in your house and have no one bring gluten in or if you have time to
clean your kitchen several times a day, you will get gluten at times. You
have no control over the kitchen in a resturant or a manufacturer who hires
many people to package food (gluten free or not) or even how things are
prepared at family or friends homes. No one but you and other gluten free
persons know how important it is to NOT get ANY gluten. So chances are you
will get some gluten once in awhile. Thank goodness that most of these
gluten-free mail order places are actually ran by people who are gluten free
themselves and care. I would never buy a product that sells an item that is
gluten free but also sells other gluten products as well.

Anyway, that is my story. I know it can be miserable but don't give up.

Sheryl Tingley
Auburn, WA