Over the last three weeks, my husband's shop has made grilled burgers for the employees several times and a friend offered John grilled venison too. Each of these times he reacted with celiac symptoms shortly after eating. Yet, he was baffled as to where the gluten was slipping in. The spices added were ones he had used at home successfully. The grill was cleaned before use. Of course he seleceted a burger untoughed by a bun. So he couldn't figure out why he was having a problem.

Last night, I was doing some general celiac research. I discovered that Kingsford charcoal uses wheat gluten as a binder for their charcoal briquets. The company says that the gluten burns up during grilling and shouldn't impact the digestion. I think that it is a very highly likely culprit for John's recent flare ups though. He is back to having joint and bone pain again and of course had digestive complaints each round. If we can keep him gluten free for two to three weeks though, he will be fine again. It can be a constant challenge to maintain a vigil against gluten. Actually, I am grateful that John is so sensitive to it. Some Celiacs are far less so and because of that they often go unaware of low level sources. Their body is being damaged still, but not enough to create obvious signs. John's reactions are not ignorable, nor are they subtle when they hit.