<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Miscellaneous Notes: ---------1---------- Baltimore Celiac Conference: A conference entitled, "Celiac Disease: The Dark Side of the Gastrointestinal Planet" was held in July in Baltimore. There were nearly 300 people in attendance, representing groups from all around the country. The speakers included gastroenterologists from the USA, Italy, and Finland; a dietitian, and a consumer safety officer from the FDA. The speakers were all quite knowledgeable about celiac disease, and their presentations were uniformly excellent, with a wealth of material on celiac disease, much of it new. We will draw from this conference in future editions of this newsletter. Audio cassette tapes are available for the conference are now available. Each speaker is recorded on a separate tape. The tapes are offered as a complete set, for $40 plus $5 shipping and handling (in the USA). Anyone wishing to obtain a copy of the set should contact Vicky Roach by phone at (410) 328-0812 or by fax at (410) 328-1072. Or you can write to her at Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition, University of Maryland Hospital, N5W70, 22 South Greene St., Baltimore, MD 21201. Vegetable Broth, when listed as an ingredient in the USA, must contain two or more of the following: beans, cabbage, carrots, celery, garlic, onions, parsley, peas, potatoes, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, spinach, or tomatoes. Therefore, in the USA vegetable broth is a safe ingredient for celiacs.<1> Lundberg Family Farms specialize in rice, rice flours, and other rice products, many of which are gluten-free (but not all; ask before ordering). In particular, they offer a GF rice syrup; this is unusual as most rice syrups in the US are processed using barley enzymes. For more information and a mail-order price list, call (916) 882-4551 or write to PO Box 369, Richvale, CA 95974-0369. Hunt-Wesson, Inc. produces many well-known brands, such as Hunt's, Orville Redenbacher, Swiss Miss, La Choy, Peter Pan, Rosarita, and Healthy Choice. They have an excellent booklet for people with food sensitivities. The booklet lists which of the following ingredients their products contain, under all the different brand names: gluten lactose vinegar from wheat or corn corn MSG citric acid from corn soybean HVP caramel color from corn To get a copy of this booklet, write to Hunt-Wesson, Inc., PO Box 4800, Fullerton, CA 92634-4800. La Choy has two GF sauces: Stir Fry Mandarin Soy Sauce and Stir Fry Spicy Szechuan Sauce. Note: La Choy's regular and lite soy sauces are not GF; only the Stir Fry Mandarin Soy Sauce is GF.<2> Reversing Bone Loss: A new drug, alendronate, shows promise for reversing bone loss in women who suffer from osteoporosis. In a recent study of 461 women, those receiving 10 milligrams averaged a 6.8% increase in spinal bone density. FDA approval of the drug may come by year's end. Two other treatments show promise: Clinical trials in New York state showed over a 10% increase in spinal bone density in patients treated with a parathyroid hormone over an 18 month period. Also, preliminary studies have found that slow-release sodium fluoride stimulates bone growth.<3> We await further developments with interest!. Are You Out of Baking Powder? Or are you not sure if the commercial baking powders are GF? You can mix your own using 1 part baking soda, 2 parts cream of tartar, and 2 parts arrowroot powder. Mix well. Store in a sealed container, at room temperature.<4> Would You Like a Cocktail? Here is a list of alcoholic beverages, and their GF status<5>: Gluten-free Might Be GF, Might Not Not Gluten-free ----------- ---------------------- --------------- Wines Vodka Beer/Ale Tequila Rum Whiskey Aquavit Brandy (Cognac) Gin Liqueurs-Cordials We had an incident at a recent potluck picnic that we need to talk about. Malt-O-Meal sells both Puffed Rice and Crisp Rice cereals. "Puffed Rice" is gluten-free, and is listed in our shopping guide as such. However "Crisp Rice" contains malt flavoring, derived from barley, and is therefore NOT gluten-free. Someone used Malt-O-Meal Crisp Rice in one of the desserts. My intent here is not to embarrass the person who made the mistake, but rather to remind everyone how important it is to read labels carefully. Many companies make both GF and non-GF products that look very similar. When using the shopping guide, be sure to get the exact item that is listed, and not something that looks or sounds "similar" to what is listed. His reasons are as two grains of wheat hid in two bushels of chaff: you shall seek all day ere you find them, and, when you have them, they are not worth the search.<6> (Just ask a celiac!--ed.)