<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Dear list,

Last week I posted a note about bloating etc.symptoms which I was beginning
to suspect might be a lactose=related problem, I appreciate the quick
replies and thoughtful suggestions received from many people -- 27, I
think.  I tried to thank each writer individually; if I missed you, please
accept my apology.

Thanks to this network of information and support I was able to figure the
problem out within less than 24 hours of posting: the culprit was tomato. I
had been eating at least two a day for many weeks.in fact, at the time I
posted, fresh tomato was one of the very few things I was still eating.
However someone said tomato kills her stomach, so I had something else for
dinner and -- bingo! What a relief! I am, as you can imagine, thrilled that
I need not eliminate something more complicated, like lactose or casien!

summary of suggestions and info received:

--many people suggested candida infestion. One person wrote: "There is a
one pill antifungal; a several day or maybe it was a week antifungal pills;
and the "natural" way  which is a killer.  The natural way involves
starving the yeast out by not consuming any fruit, sugars, cheeses, breads,
etc.  My nephew was on it over a year on order of his naturopath and STILL
showed candida in his system."

--someone else said dark rings under the eyes can be a sign of lactose
intolerance, caused by an absence of lactase, the enzyme that digests milk
sugar. One's ability to produce it can diminish with age. There is, I am
told, a a very specific test for lactose intolerance- a breath test that
measures the hydrogen in the breath (produced when the body rejects the
lactose). It takes a half day, but the results are known immediately.

--cassien, the protien in milk, rathewr than lactose was also suggested as
a potential cause. Apparently it also fllattens villi in your intestine,
and lactaid tablets won`t help.

--several people suggested the problem might be with corn.

-one person said she has problems with gas fumes when the heating system
starts up in the fall.

--another person warned against self-diagnosis, a warning I think is worth
repeating. Sometimes when you feel sick, you are sick -- and it has nothing
to do with gluten, food allergies or anything else you've put in your
stomach. However, given a celiac diagnosis, the first thing a doc. is going
to ask about is diet. So my personal practice is to re-check everything for
gluten and if that is not it, make an attempt to pinpoint a food related
problem before I visit the doc. People report that it takes only a day or
two off the offending substance (i.e., lactose, casien or allergy-producing
foods) to begin to feel better. Were I still feeling bad, I would be on my
way to the doctor's now -- but thanks to help from you all, I am FINE!

Mary B
NYC