kbtoyssni

I'd also feel comfortable just giving them a good scrub. Stainless steal is easy to clean!

My kids keep asking me for an allowance. I want to give them and allowance but I keep telling them they have to get consistent with the chores first. I'm so afraid if I start an allowance they will always think they should get money for anything I ask them to do. Maybe I'm wrong about it, but that part scares me. How is that working for you?

When I was a kid, my mother made it very clear that my brother and I were part of the family and therefore were expected to help with the household chores without payment for them. Since we used dishes and the bathroom and played in the pool, there was no reason why we shouldn't help clean those things, too.

We got an allowance, but it was also because we were part of the family and needed some money in order to learn how to make financial decisions. My parents really only bought us toys for things like birthdays; if we wanted something at another time of year, that was what our money was for. Of course, we ended up saving most of it which set us up well for college Maybe you could go with a scheme like this. If your kids go above and beyond one week and help out a lot more than expected, maybe they'd get a little extra for that.

You could try talking to management about this issue. It might be possible for them to make a policy that workers can only eat in the break room and hands should be washed prior to returning to work. Food allergies are becoming common enough that you can approach it from a point of customer safety. If there's food crumbs all over the place, the shop also can't be that clean and maybe food is getting on the merchandise. If it's a large, chain store, maybe you could ask to do a slightly different job like restocking and helping out at the dressing room instead of working the register.

Enterolab is accurate for up to a year after going gluten-free. That's why it's such a great diagnosis tool for people who have already gone gluten-free but now want some medical proof.

Oh OK, thanks!

I have some more questions. Do potato chips (plain salted) have gluten in them? and chocolate?

I dont know about my toothpaste cos it doesnt say the ingredients, i use colgate.

Thanks

Also, if the museli contains oats, they may be contaiminated or you may be someone who reacts to oats.

In general, potato chips are gluten-free, but it depends on the brand. Same with chocolate. What brand do you want to eat? Dove is fine, 3 musketeers, reese's PB cups (the normal ones, not the holiday kinds). Hersey's isn't great about disclosing if there are CC issues, and Hersey's minis are definitely not gluten-free.

Colgate is fine.

The big ones are. And I'm pretty sure the little ones, too. But many of the holiday-style ones (like egg-shaped for easter) contain gluten.

I have no idea about CC and nailpolish, but you should try selling the stuff on ebay! Then take your money and spend it on different makeup

I would never eat at a potluck even if I did know all the ingredients in things. I would be too concerned with CC. I did go to one potluck where a friend had made what I knew was safe food, and he let me take some for me before he put it out on the table for everyone. The only way I'd even consider eating potluck food is if gluten-free food was at a separate table. But I have to know someone very well to trust their food is truly gluten-free when they say it is. I'd be less nervous eating food prepared by an actual celiac, but what if a non-celiac decides to bring sliced fruit and thinks it's gluten-free but forgot that they'd just baked cookies in the kitchen? I've had many of my friends say "oh, you can eat this" until I remind them that they used something like soy sauce that they don't realize has wheat in it.

I still attend potlucks for the social aspects, but I bring my own food.

I agree, perhaps they don't think it as much of an issue because they actually look for and find us before all the nasty effects occur. I really wish the US would wise up, maybe then we wouldn't be one of the unhealthiest populations in the industrialized world.

I completely agree. A little preventive medicine would really decrease the cost of health care, too.

Do it for your children. Do you want to be around to watch them grow up, go to college, buy their first house, hold their first child??? You'll miss out on a lot of that if you don't stay gluten-free. The best gift you can give your children is to stay healthy and be around for as long as possible.

Hi,

Thanks 'gfp' for the information. I am only recently gluten free and I'm usually in England for a few months every year. I just assumed that because of the large population, the UK would have a lot more gluten-free options and be a haven for celiacs. apparently I was wrong!

They do have labeling laws in England, though. So at least gluten free products are labeled gluten-free, and they can be found in any grocery store. The caveat is the the definition of gluten-free is something like 200ppm so things that aren't 100% gluten-free can be labeled gluten-free. This is how it will be in the United States in a year or two as well, so going to England will be good training for you! One thing England gets right is the cookies/cakes. Store bought ones generally taste pretty good.

Woah, that is misleading. It should say something like "no gluten added to supplement that already contained in our dog food". It's pretty obvious they have a VERY different definition of what gluten-free means. I wonder if this is due to last year's issue with contaminated gluten in dog food. I'd focus on the fact that their food does contain gluten, even if it's added as part of another grain. Who cares if they add a scoop of barely or a scope of straight gluten??? It's still gluten!

I don't think it's common, but it's awesome your school does that!

I would get gluten-free food for the caged birds. The outdoor ones it depends. Maybe you could wear a mask while filling feeders or get another family member to do it?

Thought of another tip: I try to ask about ingredients as early as possible. The waiter will probably stop by the table three times before you officially order. If I can start asking about ingredients on the first or second time he stops by, he can work on finding ingredients without holding up the rest of my group ordering food.

One other thing - gluten-free menus at chain restaurants are probably pretty good. But at little local restaurants, you should still ask about the gluten-free status of these items. I was at a local restaurant that had fried tofu on the menu. This seemed a little suspicious to me since I knew their egg rolls were not gluten-free. Turns out the tofu was fried in the same oil as non-gluten-free items. I called the manager the next day, and he's doing his best, but still learning about gluten-free. He simply didn't realize this small amount of CC could be an issue. Once I talked to him he told me he'd take it off the menu, but it's still something to look out for.

When I send food back I always say "please make me a new one because now there might be crumbs in this one which will make me sick." If you get a chance to look at the food that you're sending back try to remember a distinguishing feature (like there's two tomatoes on one side of the plate) so you know if it's a new one they bring out. And when the waiter seems completely clueless, I just ask to speak to the chef.

These don't seem like friends to me. I don't expect my friends to completely rework their life for me, but I do expect them to at least consider if I can eat somewhere and if I can't to warn me so I can bring food.

Have you told them how much this bothers you and that you don't feel they're being supportive? If you have, then I would phase them out of your life. You don't need this kind of stress.

This allergist sounds knowledgeable about allergies. Many wheat allergic people can eat spelt (HAK1031 explained it well) even though the spelt protein is similar enough to wheat that celiacs can't eat it. HOWEVER, allergies and celiac are two very different things. I have no idea if this allergist will know anything about celiac. If she's just an allergist, be probably can't test you for celiac. If she's a little less mainstream she may be familiar with celiac and the symptoms and dietary restrictions of it.

You also have to just get over the fact that you're asking additional questions and special ordering food. If you're embarrassed about this, it's going to be hard for you. I often check menus before I go and know exactly what I'm ordering before I go. To avoid making a "scene" I either sneak out to go to the "bathroom" before ordering and talk to the manager privately and order my meal through him/her. This works well for work lunches. I also try to sit on the end of a booth so I can talk quietly with the waiter. I go over all the potentials for CC and ask them to check those (and very they've checked when the meal comes). And I don't feel badly sending food back at all. Today I ordered a salad that came with a roll on top, and I sent it back right away. No guilt because I was very clear up front about what I needed. And I got over having people eat while I sit years ago! I tip generously when a server goes through all this extra effort so maybe doing that would help. And finally, I see eating out as a social experience. It's not about the food, it's about the people.

It could also be that you get very mild reactions. I also had mostly chronic fatigue and joint/muscle pain as symptoms. My joints have been really painful recently, and I finally discovered I was eating some packaged Indian food with CC issues. It took a few weeks of eating the stuff for my joints to get really bad. But that doesn't mean it wasn't doing damage! It seems like non-GI symptoms take longer to show up.

You'd have to feed that kid gluten for a looonnnngg time to hope to get a positive now. Like a year or two??? It's stupid to make anyone sick for a long period of time just for an official test. Especially a kid who is still growing and developing right now. You could try enterolab testing - that's still good for up to a year after going gluten-free. Otherwise you could do a gene test - it won't confirm or eliminate celiac, but if she does have one of the known genes, maybe that's enough to convince your husband?

It's hard to know. Many nachos are gluten-free, although CC is always a possibility. I don't get very strong reactions to gluten now, but I do pick up every bug going around when my immune system is already compromised from gluten. When I'm not glutened, I rarely get sick.

An allergy and intolerance are two very different reactions. You could test for an allergy, but you're right that it won't tell you anything about potential celiac. Although it might not be a total waste to do an allergy test just in case. If she did have an allergy, she still may or may not have celiac. Sounds like you're not worried about an allergy, though. You could do the blood tests, but they're notorious for false negatives, especially in kids who are already gluten-free. Honestly, there's probably nothing your allergist can do for you in relation to diagnosis and advice about celiac.

I would ask your dentist what brand he/she uses and call the company yourself. Then you can make the call on the safety. I've always asked my dentist for the plain pumice with no flavour, but I don't know the brand.