<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I was a member of this list over 20 years ago. I am so happy to rejoin. I first heard about it as a friend of a friend was first diagnosed with gluten intolerance. Then he started to suffer from gout. I was discussing this with a couple of dieticians at a county fair and one of them mentioned that her girlfriend who has rheumatoid arthritis is also trying gluten free. I'm not surprised, because my dad suffered terribly from gout and yet, I'm the one who is gluten free. I don't have gout but like him, I am intolerant of legumes. I can't even pick green beans without it triggering stiffness the next day. What is definitely curious is that the friend of a friend who has gout has a son with the peanut allergy. Years ago, I came across a website called Purine Research Society.org. It was information only about something called "purine metabolic disorder". It originally started by parents of autistic kids whose affected babies were secreting too much uric acid in their diapers. The uric acid crystals present as a pink blush in the diaper. So this particular form...I think it's downgraded to kids with pervasive developmental disorder can be considered as in the same family as gout and other purine disorders. There is only one sentence on that website that was informative to me: > *The excessive uric acid production during the childhood of children > with autism greatly diminishes or disappears at puberty.* Which really blew my mind when I hit my change of life. It's about what happens at puberty. The hormones kick in. They mask the disorder. The hormones diminish, the problem resurfaces. This would explain how it is that gout or arthritis kick in during our fifth decade. The other question I had was "What would autism and gout have in common?" I think the answer is inflammation. I think we children of gout or purine disorders have natural triggers for inflammation. I mentioned I was sensitive to legumes. I noticed I'd get the inflammation and bloating after soy sauce. Then it was kidney beans. Green beans made my feet hot and painful, I don't know if it might be neuropathy, they do it to me. Not only did I start feeling more inflammation post-menopausally, my thyroid started giving me grief. Luckily, an endocrinologist told me about cabbage and kale crops being the likely culprit, and I realized that my love for fried cabbage had to cease. So...are there other women who have the same complications? Gluten intolerant, prone to more inflammation and thyroid issues? Because there's one more thing I discovered. Some people have problems metabolizing sulfates from sulfites. In particular, people with ulcerative colitis. One of the ways they deal with the problems (esp. the flatulence) is to follow a low sulfur diet. I recognized that I was getting more sensitive to sulfites, so I thought I would check this diet out. On the list was all the cruciferous veggies, beans, coffee, orange juice, and eggs. It's another inconvenient diet tweak, but it's helped me already. I had been having cognitive problems...I was spacey and passive. Skipping the eggs, coffee, and orange juice made a world of difference. I really wish I had known about this earlier, but that's why I'm talking about it now. All my life I had bloating, irregular bowel habits, and inflammation that drove me to over-eat. Now I understand why. So I use glutathione. I soak in epsom salts. I eat very simply. I feel much, much better. Just wondered if anyone else had heard about this. Rebecca Westfied, NY *Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the Celiac List * Archives are at: Http://Listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?LIST=CELIAC