| Cel-Kids (A List for Celiac Children) | Celiac-Diabetes (Celiacs with Diabetes) |
| Cel-Pro for Medical Professionals only | Cel-Gps for Support Group Leaders |
| Celiac-Dietetic for Dieticians only |
The CELIAC (Celiac/Coeliac Wheat/Gluten-Free List) is open, unmoderated discussion for those interested in celiac disease (coeliac sprue), dermatitis herpetiformis, gluten intolerance, wheat allergy, and co-incident intolerances, such as casein or lactose intolerance.
The List's discussions include the latest scientific research (written for the layperson); information on what food is gluten free and what is not; tips on how to eat out of the house, how to cope issues, including coping with the developmental delays and behavioral changes sometimes brought on or aggravated by gluten (Autism, Asperger's, Attention Deficit, etc.); recipes and tips on how to cook; and where to find gluten free food by mail-order.
Celiac disease (CD) is used to reference the general requirement to avoid gluten in the diet. The terms replaced are: celiac sprue, coeliac disease, dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), and gluten sensitive enteropathy (GSE). Diseases that can be associated with celiac disease include lactose intolerance, dermatitis herpetiformis, insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), systemic lupus erythematosus, thyroid disease, and autoimmune disorders. Except for direct quotations and medical reference to a disease, CD is the universal term used. Outside the US, the term is often spelled as coeliac.
Gluten is a general term used to describe the toxic protein found in certain grains or their by-products. The major grains that are avoided are: wheat, rye, oats, and barley.
In 250 A.D., Galen, a Roman physician, described childhood and adult celiac disease. In 1888, Samuel Gee described celiac disease in Britain and the role of diet in its control. Dicke in the Netherlands during 1950 suggested that certain dietary cereal grains were harmful to children with celiac disease. He also noted that persons previously diagnosed with celiac disease improved during World War II when grain products were in short supply. When grains became more plentiful after the war, the incidence of celiac disease returned to its pre-war levels. In 1954, Paulley first described the intestinal lesion, villus atrophy, in patients with celiac disease. Cyrus L. Rubin and co-workers in the United States demonstrated in 1958 that celiac disease in children and adults were identical disorders. In the 1980's, Michael Marsh and co- workers in Manchester, England, emphasized the role of the immune system in causing intestinal injury in celiac disease.
Imagine if you could never have a sandwich, or piece of birthday cake without it making you ill. That is what it is like to have celiac disease.
One in 133 people in the U.S has celiac disease.
This is a disease in which the lining of the small intestine is damaged in response to ingestion of gluten and similar proteins, which are found in wheat, rye, oats, barley, and other grains including hybrid grains such as triticale.
The exact cause of celiac disease is unknown. The development of celiac disease requires a genetically predisposed person who is eating wheat, rye, oats, or barley. Even if these two factors are present, celiac disease may not develop until a "trigger factor" starts the abnormal immune system response. Sometimes, a viral illness appears to be that "trigger." Celiac disease causes the intestine's villi to become flattened and lose the ability to absorb nutrients. Weight loss, anemia, and vitamin deficiencies may occur as a result of the malabsorption (inadequate absorption of nutrients from the intestinal tract). After exposure to gluten, intestinal damage may develop within a few months or may be postponed for several years.
Because the exact cause is unknown, there is no way known to prevent the development of celiac disease. However, awareness of risk factors (such as a family member with the disorder) may increase the chance of early diagnosis and treatment.
Recently developed screening blood tests can help your doctor diagnose this disease. It's necessary to have these blood tests before you start a gluten free-diet. If you have dermatitis herpetiformis (an itchy, blistery skin problem), you have celiac disease. The diagnosis is confirmed with a biopsy obtained through an endoscopic tube that is put into your intestines.
Total withdrawal of gluten from the diet permits the intestinal mucosa to heal and results in a disappearance of the symptoms of celiac disease. Initially, irritability goes away and appetite improves, usually within a matter of days following withdrawal of dietary gluten. Over a matter of weeks, weight gain resumes and diarrhea decreases. Several months later, growth in height returns as abdominal swelling disappears. Blood tests eventually come back to normal, too. These improvements in overall health and appearance of an affected person occur long before there has been healing of the intestinal damage.
To obtain a comprehensive understanding of celiac disease, please read our collection of initial celiac disease information files
The Listowners invite you to join 3400 fellow celiacs from the following 33 countries, as of Feb 4 2006, in ongoing discussions about a Gluten-Free diet:
Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malta, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, USA, Uruguay
Send a subscription message to: CELIAC-subscribe-request@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG:
Each List has an unique personality and for those not familiar with LISTSERV(R) operations, you may desire to read the welcome message.
Current subscribers may make adjustments to their E-Mail options
Your feedback on this site and the Celiac List is appreciated. If the desired information was not obtained from the reference files or the logfiles, please submit a question to one of these Listowners. We cannot furnished medical diagnosis, as that is appropriate only when obtained from your personal physician.
All messages posted to Celiac are maintained in logfiles for the benefit of new subscribers. This allows easy access to a previous message that you now have an interest in the answer. Your use of these logfiles is an excellent way to reduce the volume of message traffic to the other subscribers.
Searches of the logfiles can be performed by two methods:
E-mail request sent to the ICORS LISTSERV(R).
To retrieve all archived messages containing a particular word or phrase, send the following line in the body of a message: (Replace term with the desired phrase.) This type of search will return the answer to your mail program in a few minutes. This type of search can be submitted at anytime from your mail program.
SEARCH CELIAC TERM
An explanation of the search options is available.
Please note that local contacts are included in these lists. These contacts can answer many of your local questions. Their knowledge of the area is a wonderful service that these fellow celiacs can offer based upon their daily activities in a location.
Select the desired area to obtain a sub list of groups.
Celiac Support Groups in the United States
Celiac Support Groups in Canada
Celiac Support Groups in Australia
Celiac Support Groups in Finland
Celiac Support Groups in Italy
Celiac Support Groups in other countries
Calendar of Scheduled National Support
Groups Events
Summary Reports from Celiac Conferences
If anyone knows of a group that is not listed, please pass that information along to: Mike Jones
The toxic grains are often hidden in the words in ingredient statements or a result of processing cross contamination. For this reason, it is often prudent to contact the manufacturing company. To assist, several reference files are available to give addresses and or phone numbers. Those specialty companies that cater to the GF market are available in a special file (VENDORS).
Some Celiac Support Groups have prepared products lists for reducing individual research.
For general information on how to contact most vendors, please search the logfiles for previous posts or use one of the Internet search engines for finding a phone number before posting a request to the List. Here are a few starting places:
The following sample U.S. letter may aid in your contact with a manufacturer. You will note that the letter is extremely (perhaps overly) cautious, as it includes several items that some people feel are safe for celiacs ( oats, etc.). You must use your own judgment in determining which of these items to include on your "forbidden" list.
Date
Dear Consumer Affairs Representative:
I have been diagnosed with Celiac Sprue disease, also known as celiac (coeliac) disease, gluten-sensitive enteropathy, or gluten intolerance. Treatment for the disease is quite simple: Life-long adherence to a gluten-free diet. The diet must exclude all sources of the following grains, which are toxic for me: wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, and their derivatives. (Note that corn gluten is not a problem; both corn and rice are safe for celiac patients.)
The above-mentioned grains are SOMETIMES used to produce the following ingredients in the USA:
| Additives Artificial flavorings Caramel color Colorings and dyes Dextrins Emulsifiers & softeners Hydrolyzed plant protein Hydrolyzed vegetable protein | Malt Vinegar Mono- & di-glycerides Natural flavorings Preservatives Spices (anti-caking agents) Starches, modified food starches |
This partial listing of potentially harmful ingredients shows areas of concern with any product's label. Unless the composition of these non-specific ingredients is known, celiac patients cannot safely use the product.
I am also concerned about the processing (flour on conveyor belts, etc.) and packaging of your product. No gluten-containing ingredient can be used in the processing or packaging of a product if it is to be safe for celiac patients. Could you please send me a current list of gluten-free products that your company produces? Also, if you know the grain source of any of the above-listed ingredients used in your products, could you share that information with me? I in turn will share this information with other celiac families, so they will know which of your products they can use.
If you have previously sent me this information, thank you. However, I am requesting it again because formulations and ingredient suppliers can change, making previous lists invalid. Also, you may have introduced new products since my last request.
A review of the label forshows examples of ingredients for which clarification would be appreciated.
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
(your name)
(your address)
================ End of Food Manufacturer Letter ====================
For companies that produce health and beauty aids, pharmaceuticals, etc., we add an additional paragraph just after the first paragraph:
Non-food products such as medications, lipsticks, and toothpaste may contain gluten. In addition, other health & beauty aids that are not ingested in normal use may be accidentally ingested when fingers come in contact with the mouth. In rare cases, just the skin contact with gluten can cause a reaction.
Also, we add a few other ingredients that can crop up and cause problems in non-food items:
Excipients
Inert ingredients
Recipes posted to the List are collected in files that can be downloaded. Access to individual recipes is not available outside of a logfile search. Recipes are organized as monthly (new recipes), quarterly, or annual files. There are two type of files: bread machines recipes and all other recipes.
| Appetizers | Breakfast | Breads | Soups/Salads | Entries |
| Side Dishes | Desserts | Drinks | Miscellaneous | Mixes |
| Tips | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
Index of Bread Machine Recipes by Subject Line
Some thoughts on selecting a bread machine
Recent postings by our celiac experts are collected in this monthly update. It is designed for those who have the previous editions of the annual file (EXPXX-Y) and desire to only read new information.
Interesting postings to the List by our experts is collected in a series of quarterly files.
1994 1994,
1995 part 1, part 2,
part 3, part 4
1996 part 1, part 2,
part 3, part 4
1997 part 1, part 2,
part 3, part 4
1998 part 1, part 2,
part 3, part 4
1999 part 1, part 2,
part 3, part 4
2000 part 1, part 2,
part 3, part 4
2001 part 1, part 2,
part 3, part 4
2002 part 1, part 2,
part 3, part 4
2003 part 1, part 2,
part 3, part 4
The individual posts are also indexed by poster.
This is a series of annual files composed of interesting postings to the List by Dr Kalle Reichelt. Dr. Reichelt has been researching the impact of gluten intolerance on certain individuals with developmental delays.
The CEL-KIDS (Celiac/Coeliac Wheat/Gluten-Free Children) List is an open, unmoderated discussion list for those interested in celiac disease (coeliac sprue), dermatitis herpetiformis, gluten intolerance, wheat allergy, and co-incident intolerances, such as casein or lactose intolerance as applicable to children and their families.
The discussions include the latest scientific research (written for the layperson); information on what food is gluten free and what is not; tips on how to eat out of the house, how to cope issues, including coping with the developmental delays and behavioral changes sometimes brought on or aggravated by gluten (Autism, Asperger's, Attention Deficit, etc.); recipes and tips on how to cook.
In order to avoid a duplication of effort, discussions are restricted to matters pertaining to celiac children and the family.
To subscribe, send a subscription message to: cel-kids-subscribe-request@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG
Shortly, you will receive a request to confirm the subscription (reply with the word OK). Thereafter, several informational messages, and the next posted message will be sent to you.
CELIAC-DIABETES is a support List for all persons with Celiac Disease and Diabetes. Gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance etc. are also included along with Insulin Resistance, Syndrome X and the various types of Diabetes.
The purpose of the list will be to share experiences, offer each other support, chat about our daily challenges in the spirit of sharing knowledge on dietary and health issues.
To subscribe, send in the body of a message to: CELIAC-DIABETES-subscribe-request@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG
Shortly, you will receive a request to confirm the subscription (reply with the word OK). Thereafter, several informational messages, and the next posted message will be sent to you.
The Celiac Listowners are pleased to offer an invitation to all medical professionals to join their peers in discussions on celiac disease (CD) and dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) with two professional Lists.
Celiac-Dietetic is a low volume List for dieticians. The purpose of the discussion group is to cover celiac-related matters of interest. Cynthia Kupper, RD, CD, GIG, was the motivating factor behind this discussion group. These Lists are a forum to:
The subscription process is very easy, just send a note to Mike Jones requesting membership in Cel-Pro with a few details about your medical background. Shortly thereafter, you will receive a request for some CV information that can be use to verify your medical status.
The Celiac Listowners are pleased to offer an invitation to all support leaders to join their peers in discussions on celiac disease (CD) and dermatitis herpetiformis (DH).
Cel-Gps is a low volume List with members from around the world. The subscription process is very easy, just send a note to Mike Jones requesting membership in Cel-Gps with a few details about your support group.
Permission is granted to copy this document, at no charge and in its entirety, provided that the copies are not used for commercial advantage, that the source is cited and that the present copyright notice is included in all copies, so that the recipients of such copies are equally bound to abide by the present conditions. Prior written permission is required for any commercial use of this document, in whole or in part, and for any partial reproduction of the contents of this document exceeding 50 lines of up to 80 characters, or equivalent. The title page, table of contents and index, if any, are not considered to be part of the document for the purposes of this copyright notice, and can be freely removed if present.
The purpose of this copyright is to protect your right to make free copies of this paper for your friends and colleagues, to prevent publishers from using it for commercial advantage, and to prevent ill-meaning people from altering the meaning of the document by changing or removing a few paragraphs.
This fact sheet has been designed to be a general information resource. However, it is not intended for use in diagnosis, treatment, or any other medical application. Questions should be directed to your personal physician. This information is not warranted and no liability is assumed by the author or any group for the recommendations, information, dietary suggestions, menus, and recipes promulgated. Based upon accepted practices in supplying the source documents, this fact sheet is accurate and complete. Products mentioned or omitted do not constitute endorsement.