Even though the gluten free lifestyle seems to become even more mainstream with each passing week, there are still a number of myths regarding the diet that many people don’t know about.

Today I noticed a great post uncovering a bunch of gluten free myths over at Delightfully Gluten Free. Here is a small part of their terrific post:

Myth 1: Vinegar is not gluten-free.
Truth: Most vinegars are gluten-free. The exceptions are malt vinegar and “flavored” vinegars, which have stuff added to them after the distillation process.

Myth 2: McDonald’s French Fries are not gluten-free.
Truth: A very small amount of gluten was in a flavoring used in the oil to par-fry the potatoes. The french fries have been tested and NO detectable gluten was found in the final product. Even the CSA believes them to be gluten-free. Now, you may not want to eat them on the principal that they once put even a small amount of wheat in them. That’s fine. But the bigger concern is the level of cross-contact caused by the obnoxious 16 year-old in charge of the fryer. If you’ve never had chicken nugget bits in your french fries, then you’re pretty lucky. And that is why I don’t eat their fries.

Myth 3: Alcohol from grain sources are not gluten-free.
Truth: The distillation process removes the gluten. I don’t know what kinds of alcohol are distilled, because I don’t drink it. I do know that beer is not distilled and does have gluten (unless you get one of the brands of gf beer).

Myth 4: Envelope glue has gluten.
Truth: I have not seen any proof that it does happen, though it still could. But, seriously, why would you want to put that stuff on your tongue anyways? I quit licking them when I was 10. Dab a little water on it and spread it around, and you’re set to go. Your tongue will thank you.

Click over to check out the other myths that are uncovered.

Today while scouring the internet for Celiac news, I noticed a quick article in the Jewish Press about restaurants in Israel.   It appears that many are going healthy, including many gluten free alternatives:

Jerusalem – The website of 2Eat, (www.2eat.co.il) a popular Israeli Hebrew restaurant, reports that 85 percent of Israel’s restaurants now offer healthy or dietetic options to diners that often include a salad bar.

Restaurateurs who were polled said that more than one-third of their lunchtime customers order a green salad or some other salad with their meal compared to 20 percent last year.

Noam Shaked, who manages the website, said that some 8 percent of the restaurants offer a separate healthy foods menu including calorie counts of items. Even fast food chains such as McDonaldsand the popular coffee chain Aroma are providing options for diabetics and celiac sufferers. Shaked said that out of the 100 restaurant owners polled, one third said there is an increasing demand from customers for healthier menu choices.

This is something I had never considered before, but it looks like gluten free wheat may be on the way. According to Washington State University, scientists are working on developing a gluten free wheat for people with Celiac Disease.

Here is an excerpt from their post:

Thanks to the research of Diter von Wettstein and a new grant of nearly $1 million from the National Institutes of Health, millions of people around the world suffering from Celiac disease have new reasons for hope.

Dr. von Wettstein, who is R.A. Nilan Distinguished Professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at Washington State University, will use the four-year, $837,000 NSF grant to advance his research to develop gluten-free wheat varieties safe to eat by people with Celiac disease.

NIH has declared urgency
“Medical experts at the National Institutes of Health have declared urgency in dealing with the most food-sensitive intestinal condition in humans, and require faster and more decisive methods such as transgenic breeding,” Dr. Von Wettstein said.

Dr. Von Wettstein, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and his team have discovered a fully viable, lysine-rich mutant which lacks gliadin-type proteins in barley, showing the way to make Celiac-safe wheat. Lysine is an amino acid essential for an optimal diet, but typically deficient in wheat.

According to a recent article over at the Orlando Sentinel, it looks like the FDA is in the process of establishing a definition for gluten free.  The hope is that with a clear definition of what gluten free is, we will start to see more accurate labels on grocery store foods.

Here is an excerpt from their post:

FDA coming to terms with “gluten-free.” The agency is working to establish a definition for “gluten-free” so that the words can be used accurately on food labels. The FDA proposal could give labeling approval to food that does not contain 20 parts per million or more gluten.

Although the allowable amounts are small, the consequences are huge for those 1 out of 100 Americans who suffer from celiac disease, the best-known form of gluten intolerance. The disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the small intestine triggered by ingesting certain storage proteins, commonly referred to as “gluten,” that naturally occur in some cereal grains.

The FDA could make a decision in August, but it is more likely the ruling with the definition will come out in September or October.

Here is today’s batch of Celiac news and notes:

• The Gluten Free RN has listed the questions that need answers regarding Celiac Disease. There are definitely some questions here that need answered. Hopefully as more people are diagnosed, these questions will finally get answered.
• Global Healing examines food intolerance vs. food allergies.  As a father of two young children, I found this to be a particularly interesting post.