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Hello Listmates,

I just looked on glutenfree.com and saw they now have a whole line of skin
products because of the "questionable" use of gluten containing products
on celiacs.

In my understanding of this issue gained via pretty extensive reading (I'm
gf since Jan 2003, no biopsy), gluten intolerance is an issue of the
stomach, meaning its cause and cure lies in what enters the digestive
track. Thus, products and medicines that are applied on the skin don't
have to be a cause for concern.

I realize that many people do believe that this is important. Some people
also have a topical allergy to wheat, for instance. But I'm wondering if
there is any medical research that can say one way or the other that what
you put on your s
kin affects your gf status, or if since we are sensitive
to gluten internally, we're more or very likely not to tolerate it on our
skin.

I've read the archives on acne, a condition I've suffered continually, in
varying degrees of severity, since puberty (I'm 25) and I see that many
people are inclined to associate acne with gluten in the diet or with
other dietary issues. The effects of diet on health, believe me, I don't
dispute. However, I remain skeptical of a simple coorelation between
gluten on the skin and acne, considering acne is a complicated thing in
itself, involving heredity, hormones, lifestyle and diet as big players
even before you get to the issue of skin products. Also, my own experience
does not provide support for any simple correlations between one factor
and my skin--for example, the summer before I became noticeably sick and
started trying to figure out what was wr
ong with me, I spent the summer in
Italy eating tons of pasta and gelato, yet strangely my skin became
ususually clear.

I suppose we must all go on our individual experience, yet I was hoping
someone could clear up at least the medical aspect of the gluten products
on the skin issue before I think about buying into this whole concept.
Naturally I wouldn't mind if using gf products happened to clear up my
skin (though I'm not betting it would), I still wouldn't want to feel
compelled by unproved hypotheses that it was necessary for me to use gf
skin care to protect my general health as part of a gf diet.

Thanks,
Jessica

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