Gravy?

[Macmuireadhaigh]

Just curious. I'm undiagnosed, but I wanted to know if this made sense at all. Almost everytime I eat gravy, usually I'll eitther get an ulcer problem, or inflammation (that causes eye pain), or both. I'm still not sure if I have IBD or Celiac, but I can't help but wonder why gravy makes things worse. Thanks.

 

 

[BelleVie]

Just curious. I'm undiagnosed, but I wanted to know if this made sense at all. Almost everytime I eat gravy, usually I'll eitther get an ulcer problem, or inflammation (that causes eye pain), or both. I'm still not sure if I have IBD or Celiac, but I can't help but wonder why gravy makes things worse. Thanks.

 

Gravy pretty much always contains flour as a thickening agent. That might be why.  

[Lock]

Gravy I'd bet nearly always contains gluten. However, the eye pain is a little random, it may or may not be connected to your digestive problems.

 

Besides gravy, are you trying to eat gluten free?

 

Have you been checked for thyroid levels, and have you seen an eye doctor about the eye pain?

[mamaw]

DON'T go gluten free until after testing for celiac.....you results will not be accurate......you need to be eating wheat for proper results....

You can thicken gravy by using corn starch... jarred gravy contains wheat...

[GFinDC]

Could be there is wheat flour in the gravy if it is store bought.  Wheat flour is usually the thickener in store bought gravy.  Gravy also has oil or fat of some sort in it.  Some people have trouble digesting fats at first.  The thing to do is make a list of all the ingredients in the gravy and keep it for reference.  Then test those ingredients one at a time.  If you are celiac this may not work well until after you have gone gluten-free though.  Symptoms can be kind of random when eating gluten.  But later after you are gluten-free and have healed up some a food reaction test should be a little easier to do.  But, the celiac disease tests are not going to work right if you aren't still eating gluten.  So wait until they are done to try gluten-free.  Often people report worse symptoms from gluten after they have been gluten-free a while.  So it is not easy to go back to eating gluten for testing.  That's why it is better to stay  on it until the testing is completed.

[Chrisz1000]

I've had some of the worst reactions by consuming gravy. I believe because its liquid and therefore easy to digest.

 

Regarding eye issues - yes, gluten causes eye pains, swollen eyes, swollen muscles around the eyes etc etc. I no longer need glasses since going gluten free.

 

Time to get diagnosed/go gluten free. There are gluten free jarred gravies out there!

[kareng]

I've had some of the worst reactions by consuming gravy. I believe because its liquid and therefore easy to digest.

 !

I'm not sure what this means?

Gravy in the US is usually made with meat juice, butter or milk, and wheat flour. That would make it hard to digest for people who can't eat gluten or milk.

[Chrisz1000]

Because its in a liquid form, rather than solid, the gut in theory should be able to absorb gravy easier than breaking down solid foods.

 

Whether or not you can eat gluten or milk is irrelevant if you accidentally eat gluten or milk, your ability to absorb gravy is the same as your ability to absorb gluten-free gravy. In general liquids should be processed easier than solids, that was my point.

 

If I accidentally eat a solid gluten product chances are I won't absorb ALL of that product because my intestinal villi are damaged. However if I accidentally eat a liquid gluten product, like soy sauce, then chances are my damaged intestinal villi will absorb MORE of the product because liquid is easier to break down and absorb.

 

Does that make sense or have I made it worse?!

[Macmuireadhaigh]

I just noticed gravy does two things typically. One, like when I eat a rich gravy soup, especially canned, I get acid in my stomach and then sometimes inflammation. I haven't understood why gravy is such a big deal. Also, malt milk shakes give me really bad inflammation, and I know this because an hour after drinking it my stomach swells, and one of my eyes starts to hurt. Am I strange?

[Chrisz1000]

Only as strange as the rest of us I'd say. Looks like you've narrowed down the culprit ingredients to wheat? I would say its time to investigate further. How long do your symptoms last? Is it minutes, hours days or weeks?

 

Do you react in anyway to other wheat/gluten products? Do you have any other symptoms - even ones that you thought were "normal", "just me" kinda symptoms like eczema?

[kareng]

I just noticed gravy does two things typically. One, like when I eat a rich gravy soup, especially canned, I get acid in my stomach and then sometimes inflammation. I haven't understood why gravy is such a big deal. Also, malt milk shakes give me really bad inflammation, and I know this because an hour after drinking it my stomach swells, and one of my eyes starts to hurt. Am I strange?

 

 

Once again - if you have Celiac, most "gravy" as I define it (not tomato sauce but a dairy and flour mix) has wheat flour in it and you should not eat it.  Malted milk shakes have malt (gluten) and you should not eat it. 

[Chrisz1000]

Kareng, you're right of course, but the OP is undiagnosed and was asking whether gravy would cause the issues they are experiencing if Celiac was what they had.

[GFinDC]

I just noticed gravy does two things typically. One, like when I eat a rich gravy soup, especially canned, I get acid in my stomach and then sometimes inflammation. I haven't understood why gravy is such a big deal. Also, malt milk shakes give me really bad inflammation, and I know this because an hour after drinking it my stomach swells, and one of my eyes starts to hurt. Am I strange?

 

Did you check the gravy ingredients?  Are they mostly wheat flour?  The first ingredient listed is the most abundant component in the recipe.  Gravy usually has a lot of grease/oil in it, which can be hard to digest with untreated celiac disease.

 

Malt is made from barley.  So that is a gluten ingredient also.  The grains that make celiacs sick are wheat, rye, and barley.  Additionally, some celiacs react to oats the same way, with an autoimmune reaction.