<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> First summary - too long - refused - so I had to split it up - here we go again. I firstly want to thank everyone who took the time to respond to my first post. I really appreciate it! Secondly, as a bonus for me, I received some new pizza crust recipes that I am eager to try out - thanks to those who took the time to do that. Some of the references to the pizza crust recipes I have omitted as this was starting to get too long. I haven't summarized before, so it might be rejected as too long - I will have to see. I will list below the guts of the responses. A lot of people think as I do that there are issues with respect to fatigue and depression with respect to nutrients received in the brain. Others suggested other readings which are included here and that I will try to get my hands on. Since a lot of you are from the United States, I wish you well over the holidays. I am Canadian and we had our Thanksgiving in October (but I spent it with a good friend of mine in Ohio!) ;-D Best wishes and stay happy everyone. Lynn. ----------- Hi, thanks for the very interesting info. I had celiac as a baby, went back on the diet at age 51, have been on it 11 yrs. As for vitamins, they all seem to upset my stomach so I dont take any tho I probably should. What do you take? Yes, I agree the diet is a blessing in disguise, we eat so healthy. I cannot believe the way most people eat today, they are killing themselves. I also see problems in my family but they dont want to hear about it. I have 3 sons, one is on the diet, my oldest son now has developed hypothroid and I know he should be on the diet but he wont so...... ----------- I am an almost 4 year diagnosed celiac. I certainly can agree with you on the mood swings, depression, solitude, etc. ; but you know something, I know of people that have these symptoms & have what is known as a "chemical imbalance". They are not celiac, at least have never been tested, & I think they should, but that's just me (they're 1st cousins of mine). ----------- Thanks for the post and heads up about the Brain Chemistry book. I believe all that you say. My mother and I suffered depression all of our lives. I knew it 'ran in our family'. You should see both of us after discovering that we were celiac. It has taken two years for me on the gf diet, but finally I am experiencing the growing sense of well being and enthusiasm of which you speak ---------- Sounds interesting. You would also enjoy "Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy" by Dr. Walter Willet. He's professor of nutrition at Harvard Medical School. His book has a new food pyramid...white foods and red meat are at the top--eat sparingly. Based of diet (most of calories) comes from whole grains (celiacs can do that--he list quinoa, buckwheat, corn, in addition to wheat) and healthy fats--nuts & oils. All based on science...Years of study on Harvard's Nurse's study and others which have tracked the relationship between long term diet & health. Enough people have been envolved that measure the effects of contributing factors such as exercise, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Book also tackles a lot of the diet claims we're heard over the years, like high fiber's effect on colon cancer; the role of vitamins, like folate to reduce heart disease; soy & female health issues; and good vs bad fats on heart disease and obesity. Food is also viewed in terms of fat, protein, carbs, and vitamins & minerals, which is found in both g.f. & traditional food. Everyone will have to scramble to implement it since to eliminates the tradition diet of 'white flour' foods & requires lots more fruits and veggies. No one needs Big Macs, donuts, or white pasta--g.f. or not. Celiacs do have the advantage of knowing what we are eating so it's not a great step to make it healthier. ------------- I did a post on Autism and CD and later one on Schizophrenia and CD because both conditions occur in my family. What amazes and saddens me is that the doctors involved, in spite of all the evidence I sent them, told my family to ignore the gluten connection ... that their condition had nothing to do with diet. I get the feeling that the consciousness of the Medical community is opening up to the reality that you are what you eat. ------------ Thank you so much for your post! I am definitely going to read this book. Another book that I think absolutely everyone should read is called "molecules for emotions." Its by Candace Pert and it talks about how interconnected our minds and bodies are. There are some concrete medically proven links between our intestines and depression. She talks about how often antidepressants have intestinal side effects...and as we know...often intestinal problems have depression side effects! I agree with you that our bodies are starved for vitamins and so our brain cannot work properly. Even more than that I know that part of my body's reaction to gluten is mental symptoms. I can feel pretty nuts right before I get sick. But it passes soon after. I am so glad you felt comfortable enough to write in! Otheriwse I would never know about this book. I am glad that you are feeling better. That's all you can do isn't it? I know I've tried to help my brother a lot too, but in the end, I guess its up to them. ----------- Just a note....Your brother said "But I don 't have diarrhea......" My dad was Dxd w/Celiac last year. Because first degree relatives should be tested, I talked my doc into ordering the tests for me. I had no diarrhea & no wt loss( I was actually about 15 # overwt) - only fatigue, which I later found out was from pretty severe anemia. I came back positive (blood & Bx) for celiac. So my brothers decided to get tested. Neither of them had diarrhea or wt loss. One is actually overwt & his only "symptom" of celiac was newly diagnosed hypothyroidism. My younger brother had NO symptoms, and is the picture of health. Both brothers came back positive for celiac- the younger asymptomatic one had higher antibodies & worse damage than any of us! I hope your brother & any other relatives will eventually get tested. My family is proof that you don't have to have classic syptoms or any at all for that matter. We are now checking our children..... I look at the diagnosis as a gift to good health. If they had missed it, or I'd ignored it, I could SAY I didn't have celiac, but that wouldn't change the fact that it would be slowly & insidiously destroying my health. A GF diet has given me my energy, health & life back. I choose to look at the positive not dwell on the negative of it all. to be continued. . . . *Please provide references to back up claims of a product being GF or not GF*