Tales of the Gluten-Intolerant - Victories & Woes

Brunches and Dinners At Church

2008-05-15T16:14:00.000-07:00

There was a brunch at church the Saturday before Mother's Day. They were nice enough to prepare something I could eat and I very much appreciated it. However they passed around plates piled high with pastries that everybody else ate with their fingers. Then they put their contaminated fingers on the paper hand-outs, on the water pitchers and on everything else. I was *SO* grateful that I sat near the door so I could get up and wash my hands several times.

There is an appreciation dinner for Sunday School teachers on Monday night. I am not going. They are having carne asada which is OK but neither the grill nor the kitchen will be decontaminated before preparation. I was invited to show them what needed to be done, but I work Mondays, and it would probably take all day to make things safe. Too bad, because that would have been a great educational opportunity.

Sad Tale of Legalism

2008-04-03T17:10:00.000-07:00

For the record, this is my blog and my opinion. It's still, for the time being anyway, a free country and I can still state my opinion. You are free to have a different opinion and are free to post it on your own blog.

Also, it is not my intent to offend anyone or hurt anybody's feelings. There are too many hurting people already.

Over on the Gluten Free Forum at Celiac.com there is a long-running brouhaha in countless threads over the sacrament of communion and the content of the elements. The issue in this particular forum is that the Catholic Church insists, even mandates, that the communion wafer be made of wheat, which of course celiacs cannot eat without getting sick. Understandably, they feel abandoned by their own faith. I have not visited forums frequented by recovering alcoholics, but I have no doubt the sentiment over there is the same as the Catholic Church also insists on fermented grape juice, aka wine, rather than unfermented (Welch's) grape juice. (Yes, I know they had wine at the Last Supper. Wine in Biblical times wasn't the same as wine today any more than wheat then was the same as it is now. That's not the point of this post.)

I am not, nor have I even been Catholic. There are some fundamental issues that I have with Catholic theology, such as praying to Mary as intercessor on our behalf. That is not her job. That is Christ's job. He sits at the right hand of the Father just for that reason.

I do agree with and am thankful for some of the stands the Catholic Church takes.

They point out that homosexuality is a sin. This is backed up by scripture throughout the Bible. Homosexuality is never mentioned other than as sinful behavior that is an abomination before the Lord. The lifestyle is unhealthy in every aspect, no matter whose statistics you look at. The Catholic Church has never wavered in this position, no matter how much pressure liberalized culture puts on them. I am grateful there is such a large and recognized organization that refuses to buckle under pressure on this issue.

They point out that God hates divorce, along with the behavior that causes most divorces, such as selfishness, infidelity, inability to handle finances properly, dishonesty, and other issues. God knew full well how painful divorce would be to all parties involved and pointed out how he wanted us to behave. The Catholic Church has not wavered here either. There is scripture to back up this position almost anywhere you look in the Bible.

They point out and steadfastly maintain that abortion is murder of an unborn child. Again there is scripture to back this up and the issue is not negotiable.

HOWEVER there is nothing in scripture that says the sacramental wafer must be made of wheat. The disciples reclining around the table (floor mat?) at the last supper did not break and share a "wafer." It was bread.

Insisting and mandating that people follow the teachings of the Church rather that the Word of God is the same sort of legalism that made Jesus so angry during His ministry hear on earth. I can't imagine Him telling people that they must "do this in remembrance of me" . . . . . "but it doesn't count if it isn't made of wheat." Or "it doesn't count if it isn't alcoholic." Or "too bad if it makes you sick - do it anyway."

That is NOT why He came!

The "Last Supper" was a Passover meal. Passover comes in March or April, during barley season. Wheat does not ripen until May.

Do you suppose it's possible that the bread they broke and shared wasn't even made of wheat at all but of barley? !!!!!!!

I was always taught that The Word of God found in the Bible was always to be the source to go to when questions needed to be answered. My parents taught me that. Several pastors have taught me that. But the Catholic church says they are the authority, even when what they say conflicts with the Scriptures. As much as I love my Catholic relatives, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances, I just cannot go along with that.

Nowhere in Scripture does it say that the elements of the sacrament of communion MUST contain wheat. In those passages regarding the Last Supper and the communion, wheat is not even mentioned.

How sad that so many people are hurting both physically and emotionally because of some legalistic rule.

Tale of One Easter Tradition

2008-03-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

One Easter tradition around our house is potato salad. What else can you do with all those hard boiled eggs!

It is really nice to know that all of the ingredients are totally gluten-free, and I can enjoy potato salad as always!

Tale of Yet Another One Who Doesn't "Get It"

2008-03-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

San Diego State had an event today where everyone could tour campus, visit information booths, and generally get a feel for the place. It was meant for new and transfer students and their families. I went with my daughter.

She stopped at a booth to ask questions about a topic that interested her. I'm not sure what was said because I was focused on the girl dispensing the information. It was more or less lunch time, and she had a sandwich that I once might have called "healthy" because it looked to be made of whole grain bread. It was in a baggie, and instead of holding the sandwich by the baggie and eating it directly, the girl was holding it in one hand and breaking off pieces of it with the other.

All I could think of was with the hand that touched the bread, she contaminated every single piece of paper on that table!

ACK!

Tale of My Boggled Mind

2008-03-07T12:12:00.000-08:00

Ya gotta love it. This absolutely boggles my mind.

It seems that in the interest of economics, some companies are choosing to move offshore, costing countless American jobs. Some of these same companies are choosing to purchase the ingredients that make up their products from a variety of sources. They don't appear to be interested in the quality of the ingredients, or even what those ingredients are. They do not require the suppliers to provide the information ~ citing proprietary secrets or some such horsepucky. They also change suppliers at the drop of a hat with no notice to the buyers of their products. Therefore they cannot tell a customer whether or not a product is safe for that customer to eat because they really have no idea what is in it.

Did you get that? They expect you to trust them to provide a product that is safe for you to eat, but they themselves don't even know what is in it!

ACK!

Two major companies that I know of that adamantly REFUSE to disclose ingredients are KFC and Hershey's.

A friend told me of her experience at KFC when trying to find something safe for her child to eat. The manager flat out refused. Rather than risk her child's life (yes life) she chose to take her business and money elsewhere.

The sorry Hershey's saga can be found here.

Tale of ACK!

2008-03-06T15:19:00.000-08:00

ACK!!! Just ACK!!!

Yesterday a mom with her daughter came into where I work. The daughter was eating a bag of Goldfish Crackers (read poisonous source of gluten) and as unsupervised children tend to do, she was touching absolutely everything with her gluten-contaminated hands.

There was nothing I could do about all the paper goods she contaminated, but after she left I had to go around and clean off all the hard surfaces I could find. I absolutely HATE it anyway when kids start messing up the greeting card displays (what ever happened to "don't touch it - it isn't yours and you are not going to buy it" ?????) and not only did she contribute to that mess but she did it with gluteny hands, leaving an invisible but toxic trail behind her.

THEN, I get to church to work with the AWANA Sparkies, and here comes a whole family eating their dinner on the run as they came in.

PIZZA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank God for my co-worker who 1) understands my situation because of food intolerances in her family and 2) after eating the piece the family brought for her, cleaned off the table, doorknobs, etc, where the pizza had been.

Think of gluten as dog poop. Would you want to touch it? Would you eat anything that had come in contact with it?

NO?

Now you know how I feel.

Autism and Vaccines and Diet, Oh My . . . .

2008-02-27T20:54:00.000-08:00

Here in the San Diego area there has been a recent outbreak of measles. It started elsewhere and has spread elsewhere, but several children came down with measles here because they had not been vaccinated. Some were too young and some had parents who chose not to vaccinate.

Many parents who choose not to vaccinate their children make that choice because they have read that the rise in vaccinations and the rise in autism diagnoses came at around the same time and don't want to put their children at risk in case there is a connection.

Trust me, I totally understand that fear.

But what if vaccines are not the cause of the rise in autism. What if it's something else? Like diet? What we eat today is so far removed from what people ate 50 or 75 or 100 years ago. Vegetables are less nutritious because the ground has been stripped, meats are loaded with hormones and antibiotics. Processed foods full of preservatives and unpronounceable chemicals are everywhere.

You are what you eat, whether you like that idea or not. Yor body functions - well or poorly - because of what you feed it.

Wheat has been bred to maximize its gluten content. ACK!

What if the rise in autism has to do with increased exposure to fluorescent lighting? Within a couple of years it will be mandatory to use fluorescent bulbs - no matter how dangerous they might be, and no matter how many people cannot tolerate them.

What if?

Maybe just maybe a lot of kids get things like measles for no good reason at all.

Tale of Publicity and Acknowledgement

2008-02-22T08:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I received my "Fearless Flyer" from Trader Joe's. Inside were featured FOUR different products flaunting - actually FLAUNTING - that they were gluten free! These products were:

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough
Homestyle Pancakes (also dairy-free!)
Gluten Free Brownie Mix
Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies

I don't know how many of these "Fearless Flyers" they mail out, but hats off to Trader Joe's for calling attention to the need for these products, and recognizing the market for them!

Tale of Kindness - Tale of Exasperation

2008-02-18T09:29:00.000-08:00

Tale of Kindness

Last night my daughter went shopping and came home with ingredients for gluten-free lasagna, which she proceeded to prepare for dinner. Cooking and shopping are still kind of new for her and for her to do this for me was appreciated more than words can express. It came out very good and I am looking forward to the leftovers!

Tale of Exasperation

Last night my husband went to the local Mexican food place and came home with a burrito for himself. Flour tortilla.

Sigh

Tale Of Aggravation

2008-02-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

How A BIG Company Alienated A Whole Lot Of Customers With A Little Change

One of the rules of life that I particularly like is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

I am not a big fan of Cadbury Creme Easter Eggs made by the Hershey Company, but a lot of people wait all year for this one special treat.

Some of these people are gluten-intolerant and appreciated more than most that this was a treat they could enjoy.

However, it seems the Cadbury Creme Easter Eggs, which were once safe for these people to eat, now contain WHEAT!

Ya gotta ask why.

I can't imagine they made such a significant change in quality that it was worth alienating some of their most loyal customers!

NOTE: Adding wheat or gluten to a product will NEVER EVER add even one single customer. Not even one. Not ever. However, adding wheat or gluten to a product is guaranteed to drive thousands of customers away because the formerly safe product is now toxic to their systems.

Banning Incandescent Bulbs Is A BAD Idea

2008-02-05T05:50:00.000-08:00

Today it was announced that the Philippines will phase out incandescent bulbs by 2010. Canada and Australia have already made similar legislation. Even here is California we are headed that way.

While I think encouraging the use of energy efficient bulbs is great, the outright banning of incandescent bulbs is just plain wrong.

Why? Because tens - maybe hundreds - of thousands of people are adversely affected by fluorescent light. These people will essentially be confined to their homes, and if they run out of bulbs because they didn't stockpile enough, they will sit at home in the dark.

You probably are not even aware of these people unless you know one personally because they already cannot go shopping for clothes or groceries or anything else, nor can they go into any other public building because they all use fluorescent lighting. Most of them cannot work for the same reason.

The Western world must curb its energy use, but the outright banning of the incandescent bulb is NOT the way to do it.

Gluten-Free Liquid Vitamins

2008-01-31T14:01:00.000-08:00

People who have food allergies and sensitivities as well as other issues involving the digestive system or the immune system often do not absorb enough nutrients to keep them in the best of health. Even if they eat a most healthy diet, it can be difficult to get enough nutrients out of the food and into the body.

There is a little-known but wonderful product called Veriuni Advanced Liquid Nutrition that could just come to the rescue of many of these people and be a major boon to their overall health.

Veriuni Advanced Liquid Nutrition is up to 98% absorbable, peach-flavored with no after taste, and contains 127 nutrients, 77 plant-derived minerals, and 13 vitamins, plus 12 herbs and 18 amino acids.

But best of all it contains NO WHEAT and NO GLUTEN!

I have been using this product about 3-4 years now, and am very pleased with it. The taste is very mild and the price is reasonable. The results are wonderful.

If you would like to try this for yourself, please click on the banner below. You'll be glad you did!

Tale of Victory at My Baptism!

2008-01-25T18:52:00.000-08:00

I have learned that when God hits me over the head and says to do something, it is wise to do it. So during church a couple of weeks age when He said I should be baptised the following Saturday at the already scheduled event, I found the associate pastor between services and put my name on the list.

The event was at the home of a family that has a pool with a (blessedly!) heated jacuzzi. Hamburgers and drinks were provided and everyone was to bring something to share.

There was no way anything there would not be cross-contaminated, so I took my own salad and some Lay's Stax (the ONLY safe chip) and a bag of chips to share.

I ate my food and they ate their food and everyone was happy! Furthermore I did not get sick!

It was a wonderful experience.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-09T08:01:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and this year it also happens to be my birthday. Given that my kitchen is not very functional right now and that I do not ever enjoy cooking, I thought about just going out for Thanksgiving dinner. I really just do not want to spend my entire birthday doing something I really don't like to do.

However, the likelihood of finding any place that would prepare food safe for me to eat is probably a big fat zero, so I guess I will have to stay home and deal with it.

Sigh.

Tale of Ecstacy?

2007-10-30T18:48:00.000-07:00

There is a topic over at the Celiac.com Forum about the possibility that Starbucks may introduce gluten-free brownies! Brownies! As you can imagine, a whole lotta people would like to see this happen.

If you are one of those people, here is a phone number to let Starbucks know what you think.

1 800 235-2883 X0

Hark! I think I hear the Hallelujah chorus!

Evacuation Woes

2007-10-25T13:53:00.000-07:00

This week in San Diego County somewhere around half a million people were evacuated from the paths of several wildfires. They went wherever they could go - relatives, shelters, hotels, etc.

If you are on any kind of dietary restrictions, you kind of have to bring your own food, and enough of it to last until you are able to get back home - if your home is still there. The shelters only accept pre-packaged, professionally prepared (not home-made) donated food. I understand completely why they do that, but it puts some people in a position of bring your own, buy your own somewhere else, or do without.

Praise The Lord that I did not have to evacuate. I am still learning a lot about this gluten-intolerance stuff and I guess one of the things I am realizing is that I had better prepare an evacuation kit that contains stuff I can eat!

Tale of Success

2007-10-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

My church had their annual Women's Fall Brunch today It was a pot-luck salad bar. Yes there were lots of things there that I could not eat such as dinner rolls and every dessert except the fresh fruit, but there was so much that I could eat!

There was more than enough healthy food to fill everyone up. There was laughter and conversation and as they say about every social event in every small town newspaper, "a good time was had by all."

Hamburger for the Gluten-Intolerant

2007-10-13T05:32:00.000-07:00

Hamburger for the Gluten-Intolerant

Tale of Kindness

2007-10-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

My church serves Communion on the first Sunday of every month. The unleavened bread (probably matzo ~ looks like an unsalted cracker) is laden with gluten.

The family responsible for preparing the Communion items has been gracious enough to go to Trader Joe's and buy gluten-free rice crackers for those like me who are gluten intolerant.

I did not ask them to do this - they just do.

I am grateful.

Tale of Resignation

2007-09-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

I have an AWANA training conference coming up in about a week and a half. Lunch is included in the price, which means I can't choose to go and opt out of the lunch portion of the cost. I also cannot eat what is being served.

Breaded chicken on a bun.

So if I go I will pay for a lunch I cannot eat and then bring my own.

Oh, well.

Tale of Woe

2007-09-25T06:20:00.000-07:00

It is really annoying when a product is advertised and promoted as being wheat and/or gluten free, and then it isn't wheat and/or gluten free at all.

Sometimes it is because the product is processed on equipment that previously processed something containing gluten.

Sometimes it is processed on dedicated equipment but in the same facility that processes a gluten-containing product and dust in the air cross-contaminates.

Either way, when you eat such a product you know quite soon that it is not gluten free, and you never buy that product again.

Such processing is "penny-wise and pound foolish." Yeah it might save a bit in processing, but just lost another long-term customer.

Bad business decision.

Tale of Grace

2007-09-20T14:23:00.000-07:00

This condition runs in my family. It usually manifests itself in mid-life or later.

It appeared for a time that my daughter was showing symptoms in her 20's but now it appears that she is not.

Yet.

God is good. All the time.

Tale of Woe

2007-09-15T16:25:00.000-07:00

My church gave a dinner for everyone involved in any ministry this fall. As I am involved in several (AWANA, Choir, Missions, Prayer Quilts, Nursery, Operation Christmas Child Coordinator) that meant they intended for me to be there.

I spoke with the "chef" and thought everything was going to be OK. He really went out of his way to accommodate me. He cooked the fish for my fish taco separately and first so as to avoid cross-contamination (my food being contaminated with the gluten in the breading on everyone else's fish.) He with-held the ramen from my salad.

But alas, it must have been the dressing (the ingredients of which were written in Spanish!) because I spent most of the week feeling less than stellar.

I believe these events will be held again and again, but most likely without me.

Sigh.

Tales of Victory - Tales of Woe

2007-09-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

For those of you with dietary restrictions, this will seem all too common place. For those of you who have no such problems, and don't have any close friends or relatives who do, you will wonder what all the fuss is about.

Gluten intolerance is actually very common - probably more so than anyone actually realizes. Many digestive woes are very likely undiagnosed gluten intolerance.

So what the heck is gluten and why is is such a big deal?

Gluten is a protein found mostly in wheat, and to a lesser extent oats and barley. Wheat has actually been bred to produce more of the stuff. The word comes from the Latin for "glue" and gluten is responsible for holding baked goods together.

When a person develops - or is even born with - an intolerance to gluten, any number of digestive unpleasantries can happen. Some are merely uncomfortable. Some are life-threatening. Most are somewhere in between.

Unfortunately, companies that produce the food that America eats toss the stuff in just about everything where you would least expect it. Soups. Dressings. RICE cereal. CORN cereal. condiments. SOY sauce. Flavorings. Marinades. And on and on and on.

This blog will tell of my successes (Tales of Victory) and failures (Tales of Woe) as I learn to navigate a national food system designed for other people.