<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Hi Everybody, I have received more replies on cows which were very helpful! **** My wife is sensitive to beef fat. General feeling of being unwell, plus diarrhea. She has been on the diet since 1993. Lean beef seems to be agreeable. 90% lean hamburg, lean roasts and steaks. She trims off any visible fat before cooking. She alternates between fish, poultry, beef, and lean pork (pork fat is also a problem). She also has sensitivities to a variety of other foods, such as raw carrots, tea, citrus, spices, sugar, dairy. Symptoms to these may include itchiness, rash, joint pains, etc. She senses that an accidental gluten ingestion, while it may include some or all or more than the above symptoms, also tends to include a chracteristic headache. I suspect symptoms vary a lot between people. My son (age 25), also celiac, appears to get a boost from lean beef. I think there is a potential for gluten contamination in store-ground hamburg, which my wife suspects happened once to her. **** Susan, I've just been reading the responses from all those who wish they could eat wild game. My daughter-in-law is from a farming family and the farm is having a dreadful time with deer eating everything. When hunting season comes along they send out all available family members to kill as many deer as possible, yet they can't eat all that venison. Some goes to nursing homes, etc. How about contacting farmers and trying to work something out about buying venison from them. It would have to be a swap, as one cannot hunt with intent to sell, but I'm sure something could be done on a one to one basis. Worth thinking about. GK **** All herbivorous animals are grain fed, in that they eat grasses and their seeds, and these contain gluten. Feedlot animals are fattened by the addition of things such as corn and soybeans to their diet, and these do not contain gluten. So, to the extent that free-range animals eat more grasses than feedlot animals, they also consume more gluten, since the protein is in the grass seeds. In any case, I can't think of any way in which dietary gluten could be incorporated (as gluten) into the muscle tissues of cattle. Perhaps the meat you are eating has been in contact with gluten in some other way. **** My husband went to the Dr. for a stye in his eye and the Dr. discovered his blood pressure was dangerously high. He was instructed to lose 80 lbs, cut fat out of his diet and exercise. They gave him a med too. In going fat-free he found how much better he felt. He had tried the g-f diet before to no avail. Many things made him sick, but bread was certainly NOT one of them. Everything seemed just fine once we read labels - fat free cream cheese, mozzarella, breads and pretzels, little red meat, no oils, etc. The weight began to fall off too. Our celiac is 9 years old. Don't know if this will help you, but it sure solved a 20 year old mystery in our house. **** I do feel much better eating meat. However, I am not sure if it is the protein, or the fact that I no longer eat gluten or corn products. Lucky me, I am also allergic to corn. I find that avoiding corn is even harder than avoiding wheat and other offending grains. My only piece of advice is go really easy. I found that I need more protein than I thought to feel good, but not everyone is the same. Dr. A'damo has a book out that looks at diets based on blood types. I am O positive, and he states that since O type blood is the oldest blood, they should eat more protein and avoid wheat and corn. Very interesting - found that out on my own!!! **** muscle is a closed system; foods (and anything else, like vitamins, minerals, drugs) eaten do not accumulate in muscle tissue--these substances do accumulate in joints (calcium) and in the liver (where toxins, etc.) are removed. The muscle metabolic cycle is extremely complicated, but you cannot be getting gluten from a muscle source unless gluten is intentionally added postmortem (as in breading or coating with a wheat flour batter). (I worked in meat research for Ag Canada and Texas A&M University for 10 years . . . .) Good luck and keep eating meat (we do need the protein, more so the B vitamins and the essential amino & fatty acids! **** Thank you all for the great replies. All the best, Susan