Hi,

I’m Pat and I’m gluten intolerant because I have a condition known as celiac disease.

And, since I’m gluten intolerant, I can’t eat anything with wheat, barley or rye in it. There are other grains in the triticale family of grains like spelt and kamut that I can’t eat either, but which most people in the U.S. will never run into in a life time so I won’t talk about them here.

I also can’t eat anything that has been contaminated by gluten-producing grains.

Due to the way oats are grown and processed they are frequently contaminated by other gluten containing grains, especially in the “bread basket” countries like the U.S. or Canada.

And, because of that, I normally won’t eat anything with oats in it either. I really miss eating oatmeal cookies which is one of my life-long favorites.

Oats must be tested and certified as gluten-free before it is safe for me to eat them.

After I was diagnosed with celiac disease, the safety of the food I ate became a primary concern each and every day. I’m one of those “celiacs” that have digestive tract symptoms. So, unless I want cramps, bloating or vomiting among my other symptoms, I have to be very careful about what I eat.

Celiac disease actually produces over 100 different symptoms in many different combinations in different people. And, unfortunately for them, some people don’t have any obvious symptoms at all which is really quite dangerous… I’ll talk about that in my book and why it is so deadly.

Needless to say, my life changed immensely once I found out that I had celiac disease.

The culture shock and psychological effect of having the disease were devastating.

Simple things like going to the store to buy food now became a burden. No one thought in terms of "gluten-free food" back in 2000 when I was diagnosed.

Eating out was virtually impossible because, before I learned how to explain my condition to the restaurant’s server or management, I frequently became ill when I ate restaurant or fast food.

Eating at friends’ houses, work or church became a thing of the past if I didn’t bring my own food with me.

And, I’m not even going to tell you what my husband and family said about my first attempts to share my gluten-free food with them. Just let me say that it “was not pretty” and move right along.

When I went to the store to buy groceries, there was almost no information on the labels that really helped me to figure out what I could and couldn't buy for myself to eat so a lot of it was by trial and error. And, "trial and error" basically meant "If I got sick after I ate something it wasn't gluten-free.”

Today, although there is more information available and awareness of the "gluten problem" has increased dramatically, the same problem remains...

... I must still go to the grocery store to buy food that I can safely eat and that hopefully will taste good, too.

Through the years I've learned how to deal with my disease,

I wrote this book to help you deal with your disease without your needing to vomit, get diarrhea or endure other symptoms in order to learn how to deal with your gluten intolerance.

This book covers important topics like:

- What the FDA's Labeling Law compliance enforcement will and won't do to protect gluten intolerant individuals from gluten contamination.

- Cross-contamination and how to avoid it.

- What manufacturers consider "safe" levels of gluten contamination and how it’s often not good enough.

- A list of Safe Foods.

- A short list of Unsafe Foods.

- Rules to follow to help determine what you can and can't eat at home or away from home (like in restaurants).

- Finally, I've included a reprint of my article about gluten intolerance and its long-term effects called "Gluten Intolerance, A Silent And Vicious Killer." It's a must-read for anyone with gluten intolerance... Especially those who have blood relatives with no outward celiac disease symptoms.

All the best to each of you!