<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Interestingly enough, I was on a banana and lean meat diet for CD in 1941, and before anyone tries to tell me it was not possible, I was diagnosed a Coeliac in 1941 at the age of about 2 by an astute specialist in England. He was confident in his diagnosis and told my parents that I was to eat fruit and lean meat. It was war time and food was rationed so I was allowed 5 childrerns meat rations a week which had to be lean. Fruit was not readily available so I had to have dried imported bananas, which I seem to remember were terrible. HOWEVER, as they did not know the real cause I was not forbidden bread, but rather encouraged, because "there is a war on and it is the staff of life etc" Needless to say I continued with the symptons but my parents were told that if I lived to the age of seven I would grow out of it. This covers another recent enquiry regarding retardation of growth in Coeliac children. Compared to my younger brother and older sister and my father, I can say that had I not suffered the effects then I would probably have been about two inches taller than my present height of 6' 9". As you are well aware I did not "grow out of it" but at least it was not such a worry in my teens and early adult life, I subconsciously developed a diet with little or no bread and few cakes or biscuits and re-diagnosed myself about eight years ago when I realised that I was feeling as ill as I felt as a child. The annoying thing is that many times I mentioned to doctors in the UK and here in Australia that as a child I was diagnosed as a Coeliac, but they never said "In that case you still have it", and we know why they didn't, don't we. The main point is that I am a diagnosed Coeliac of long standing, the diet is not irksome, we are superior to so many others in so much that we know what is good and bad for us, and as long as we stick to our diet we do not suffer from Coeliac Disease.I have not been to a doctor now for several years, the Dermatitis Herpetiformis is dormant and if I do feel unwell, a careful analysis of what I ate three hours before, usually gives me the answer. Who needs bread muffins cakes etc? I certainly live very well without them. Bananas (fresh) and lean meat still play a part in my diet. I want to add something to the alcohol absorbtion debate later, I feel that we do have to be more careful on a GF diet. RICHARD LOCKLEY 3/757 BURWOOD RD EAST HAWTHORN VICTORIA, AUSTRTALIA 3123 TEL: 3 9905 5018 FAX: 3 9905 5728