<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> PLEASE READ THIS before filling out the poll. Only complete this poll if you are doctor diagnosed celiac or if you suffer from DH diagnosed by a doctor. Please check ALL answers that apply prior to submitting your response. Answers #7 and #8 have been added in order to get a tally of the number of respondents. YOU NEED TO CHECK OFF either #7 or #8 in order for the results to be tallied correctly. Please do not attempt to interpret the results based on the percentages listed because #7 and #8 are part of the percentages calculated. I will manually make corrected calculations when the survey is complete. (This is necessary for polls which allow multiple responses from the same person.) You may fill out the poll for other members of your household if they do not have access to the poll themselves, but make sure that you consult them first regarding their responses; however, submit a separate response for each person. The survey is open until 1/28/99 6:00PM E.T. The URL is: http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/4003/celiac-poll.html The question is as follows: (check all answers that apply to you) ************************** Which of the following foods do you have difficulty digesting: (Please check ALL that apply) (Celiacs only including people with DH) 1. Citrus fruit (orange, tangerine, lemon, etc) 2. Corn 3. Soy 4. Milk 5. Leafy green vegetables 6. Irish potatoes (white potatoes) 7. At least one of the above (Check this if you don't check #8)(this will be combined with #8 to get the total head count) 8. None of the above (this will be combined with #7 to get a head count) *************************** To calculate the percentage response yourself, you would do the following: Add together the number of responses for #7 and #8. Take the number of responses for #1 and divide it by the total of #7 and #8 responses. This gives you the percent of people who responded who have difficulty digesting citrus. Example: If, for example there were 30 respondents who said they had difficulty with Citrus: If #1 (ctirus) had 30 responses If #7 had 250 responses If #8 had 50 responses 250 + 50 = 300 responses. 30 (citrus responses) / (divided by) 300 (number of total respondents) = .10 This would mean the 10% of the respondents were sensitive to citrus fruits. However, this is only an example. You can calculate the percentage for corn, soy, milk, leafy green vegetables, and irish potatoes in the same fashion. I will do this for each category after the survey closes and post the results to the listserv and post it on a webpage. *************************** The reason I added potatoes to this list is because I found out that I am sensitive to them. I didn't realize that they were causing abnormal stool which was basically, mushy. Also, potatoes turned out to be the primary cause of my dry lips and eyes. I was eating a diet high in potatoes. Sometimes I ate 2 potatoes a day. I noticed that one the days after eating 2 potatoes, that my lips would crack and bleed. It took me months to figure this out....by using trial and error. I am very curious to find out if other celiacs are also sensitive to potatoes. After removing potatoes from my diet, I experienced quite the transformation. My lips stopped cracking. They are no longer painful at all. They are very normal looking for the first time in years. I don't even need to put vaseline on them anymore. Also, my dry eyes went back to normal as well. I couldn't be happier. It occurred to me that perhaps other celiacs are sensitive to potatoes as well. Maybe that explains the great number of celiacs with dry eyes and lips. I have completely removed potatoes from my diet now. No more Dari-Free (I drink Westbrae Natural Rice Beverage, Vanilla instead), no more potato pancakes, no more potato starch even. I feel better than ever and have had normal fully formed stool since making this change in my diet. Another that helped my lips was increasing Vitamin B2 in my diet. There is a very helpful webpage called Vitamin Update which lists food high in each vitamin. There is a very good list there for B2. Vitamin Update: http://bookman.com.au/vitamins/ If you wish to try a potato free diet prior to answering the poll, please be my guest. I would recommend that during the 1st week you go potato free. The 2nd week you add potato back and see if it makes a difference for you. Abigail, St Paul, MN ***************************************************** Celiac Disease On-Line Support Group http://www.customforum.com/celiac/ Moderated chats: Mon 8-9pm E.T. Non-Moderated Chat Wed 8-10pm E.T.