jststric

I was at a “Greek” restaurant last night and saw a Greek omelette. I hadn’t had a gyro since becoming gluten-Intolerant, due to the pita they always come in. So, I quickly googled if gyro meat was gluten-free and I got this 

  “A standard gyro meat recipe (you can find them simply by doing a google search) would be gluten-free. Lamb or lamb and beef mixed with spices and herbs and then cooked.” sourced from this website. I was excited, ordered and enjoyed it. But when I got home I decided to read the full article for fun and discovered this was not an article, it was simply PART of a reply to someone’s question if gyro meat was gluten-free. Google took the first PORTION of a someone’s reply in this forum. And it didn’t show the rest that said HOWEVER……!! DO NOT JUMP QUICKLY AND TAKE GOOGLE’s ANSWERS WITHOUT INVESTIGATING YOURSELF! IF YOU DON’T HAVE TIME BEFOREHAND, CHOOSE SOMETHING ELSE!

I've been eating gluten-free since my celiac diagnosis in the spring of 2003.

I started flirting with a cigar habit earlier this year. Simultaneously I started worrying about needing to go to the doctor for the chronic tightness in my left abdomen. It felt like I had a growth in there that was causing blockage. It's funny how I couldn't put two and two together! It was the same symptom, for me, as from gluten exposure. Often I would feel the tightness shortly after I lit up a cigar, and I wondered if the nicotine somehow had caused my intestines to spaz out.

In my reading about cigars, I found out that they brush on a paste, often containing flour, to the outer leaves as they roll the cigar. I emailed a cigar expert on allexperts.com, and he replied that as far as he knew ALL major cigar manufacturers use a paste that contains gluten.

I'm pretty sure he was talking about the fancier type of cigar that has an actual tobacco leaf rolled around the outside, not Swisher Sweets and the like that use a brown tobacco paper. But who knows about those cheaper cigars, either.

So I have no problem resisting croissants and pizza, but I'm still finishing my last cigar. I know I can't buy any more now that my denial has been shattered, and I'm not about to start smoking cigarettes, so I'm going to have to go through three days of quiet hell to kick this nicotine addiction. Sigh. I know, I know...

If there are any dedicated cigar smokers here who are celiac, I think the only solution is to roll your own. Perfectly acceptable cigar glue can be made from pectin or guar gum. I found a website that sells whole leaf tobacco for rolling. I'm not going to go down that road (I hope), because I don't want to make that type of formal commitment to this bad habit.

REALLY??? My hubby got turned onto cigars about a year ago after being given a Java-flavored one. I have to admit that I enjoyed a few puffs of each that he has tried. Well, most of them, lol. I haven't noticed anything that would make me wonder about gluten in them, tho. However, I have often had a degree of bothersome issues and never knew why! Thanks for the info....I shouldn't be smoking anyway! : )

my first thought is that could you possibly be intolerant of other things too? I have discovered I am intolerant of rice also and thats an alternative that is usually used when making something gluten-free.

My only other thought is that perhaps they don't do all the cleaning that's necessary to be "certifiably" gluten-free between their making of the gluten-free cereals and their other products? I know some people can tolerate that kind of cross-contamination and others can't. I can't. Just an idea. You might call and ask what their procedure is to guarantee its kept seperate from the other products.