<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I agree that our traditional notions of a "disease" don't fit how most of us view ourselves. I like "gluten intolerance" better and use it whenever I'm explaining the full spectrum of what I have. When I'm eating out and need to ask about the food, I usually say I have a wheat allergy and ask whether something is thickened with flour. In all likelihood that's the only forbidden product that it is thickened with, and it's too much to explain the wheat/oats/rye/barley prohibition to a waiter. I don't care about the possible trace derivatives that might be in the food, eg. vanilla extract, vinegar (highly unlikely in vegies and rice, the old standby). I am always surprised when I hear the gluten-free diet referred to as the Diet From Hell. I wonder if I thought that way eight years ago when I was diagnosed. I probably would feel that way if I were a child or had children who needed to be closely monitored. But I'm 38 years old and grew up eating "regular" food. Now I eat lots of good food and am happy with my choices. Often I'm glad that I can't eat all the baked goods, especially the new fatfree ones, that I would snarf down otherwise. The things that I do miss (like angel food cake) I make occasionally with adequate results (half the height but the same taste). Yeah, if I could "cure" this "disease" I would, but if this is the worst genetic predisposition I have (and not one for cancer or ALS, for instance), then I got lucky in the drawing for the gene pool. Pam