<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Warning: This is highly speculative for the purpose of intellectual discussions. There are various "carrier" chemicals around that can readily transport molecules across the skin barrier and across lipid bilayers that are not normally absorbed through this route. (Dimethylsufloxide (DMSO) is a good example of this). Could such carrier chemicals be used in the food processing industry (perhaps an "ideal" (from THEIR point of view) way to mix ingredients that do not readily mix)? Could such carrier chemicals, IF used, play an important role in initiating CD (in some cases) by transporting undigested or partially digested gluten/peptide fragments across the intestinal mucosa into the bloodstream where they then initiate the antibody reaction (which might then damage the mucosa in susceptible individuals (i.e.: with the right MHC type) allowing the peptides to be routinely transported even without the presence of the carrier chemical. Could this explain why some individuals with the genentic type for CD do not express the trait? (i.e.: they are not exposed to an "ititiating" event which causes the peptides to be transported into the bloodstream to generate the antibodies, therefore their guts never become permeable, therefore they don't get CD.) Jim Barron Chapel Hill, NC