Issues with gluten free bread?

[DGraham]

Hi all, 

I am newly gluten free and still struggling to find things that are completely free of gluten. I have been very cautious the first few weeks and have eaten almost exclusively at home, where I know what I am making does not contain gluten. 

I have noticed I get a very severe and itchy rash on elbows, knees and sometimes wrists, when I eat something containing gluten. When I get, even a minor rash, I know it is gluten related. 

I am reaching out to ask if anyone is having issues with gluten free breads? I tired my first one yesterday and broke out in said rash this morning. I reread the packaging to confirm there is no gluten. Has anyone else had similar experiences? 

Thank you in advance. 

[ravenwoodglass]

If the rash is DH then be aware that those of us who have DH can be very sensitive to even small amounts of cross contamination. It can take some time for the antibodies to leave the skin so you may get mystery rashes for a bit. Do make sure that you have done all you can to eliminate the chance of CC in your home. You need your own new jars of nut butters, butter, mayo etc as even a tiny crumb from a knife that has be double dipped can get you. You also need a new cutting board, colander etc and can not share a grill that has been used for gluten foods. Any utensils that are porous or scratched should be replaced. Do also use care if you have a significant other that consumes gluten food or beverages as their kisses can get you unless they brush their teeth first. Do check out the Newbie thread at the top of the Coping section for a lot of good info. Unfortunately for folks with celiac it isn't just what we eat but how it is prepared that is important. In addition it isn't always the last thing we ate that causes symptoms. For some of us the reaction can be delayed a day or two. As to the bread issue if you were having a gut reaction I would think you might be sensitive to something in it like the gums or a gluten free flour but with a DH breakout it is likely you got cross contaminated somewhere. I hope things improve soon but it can take us some time to heal so try to be as patient as you can.

[DGraham]

56 minutes ago, ravenwoodglass said:

If the rash is DH then be aware that those of us who have DH can be very sensitive to even small amounts of cross contamination. It can take some time for the antibodies to leave the skin so you may get mystery rashes for a bit. Do make sure that you have done all you can to eliminate the chance of CC in your home. You need your own new jars of nut butters, butter, mayo etc as even a tiny crumb from a knife that has be double dipped can get you. You also need a new cutting board, colander etc and can not share a grill that has been used for gluten foods. Any utensils that are porous or scratched should be replaced. Do also use care if you have a significant other that consumes gluten food or beverages as their kisses can get you unless they brush their teeth first. Do check out the Newbie thread at the top of the Coping section for a lot of good info. Unfortunately for folks with celiac it isn't just what we eat but how it is prepared that is important. In addition it isn't always the last thing we ate that causes symptoms. For some of us the reaction can be delayed a day or two. As to the bread issue if you were having a gut reaction I would think you might be sensitive to something in it like the gums or a gluten free flour but with a DH breakout it is likely you got cross contaminated somewhere. I hope things improve soon but it can take us some time to heal so try to be as patient as you can.

Thank you so much for taking the time and sharing all this information in your response, I didn’t know most of this. I will take this all into consideration and go check out the newbie thread. There’s a lot to learn. 

 

[squirmingitch]

And stay clear of oats for a very minimum of 6 months preferably a year. Many of us with dh react even to purity protocol grown oats. 

[Awol cast iron stomach]

Welcome

All great advice from Raven and Squirming. Our house is entirely gluten-free due to yours truly. My husband and kids eat gluten-free bread so we keep some in the house for their use . I make my own from scratch bread products.

I found my body has issues with corn starch, dervatives of corn, and xanthum gum ( bacteria grown on corn) which can be found in gluten-free breads. This makes most gluten-free breads not a match for me. So for now I make my own .

As others said it maybe other ingredients in the bread I found in that first year of recovery I had to stick with whole foods and minimal ingredients . I found I did best with products when I kept ingredients at 5 or 6 or less. 

Best wishes on your healing journey.

 

 

 

 

[Richard D]

On 8/9/2019 at 12:57 PM, DGraham said:

Hi all, 

I am newly gluten free and still struggling to find things that are completely free of gluten. I have been very cautious the first few weeks and have eaten almost exclusively at home, where I know what I am making does not contain gluten. 

I have noticed I get a very severe and itchy rash on elbows, knees and sometimes wrists, when I eat something containing gluten. When I get, even a minor rash, I know it is gluten related. 

I am reaching out to ask if anyone is having issues with gluten free breads? I tired my first one yesterday and broke out in said rash this morning. I reread the packaging to confirm there is no gluten. Has anyone else had similar experiences? 

Thank you in advance. 

My first instinct here is a shared bread knife, preparation surface, or food jar shared with other breads.

Celiac is only the autoimmune response to gluten itself, but a few things make it difficult to pinpoint the specific cause of a particular reaction if you aren't careful.

1) People with Celiac disease are more likely than other people to have comorbid autoimmune responses, particularly to grains.  So it's possible you are having a response to another grain.  If you want to test this, you should buy the component grain flours in your gluten free breads (e.g., tapioca, oat, corn, whatever is in there) and see if they make you sick too.  Alternatively, if some gluten-free breads make you sick and others don't, check what the differences are in the flour ingredients and test those first.

2) If you aren't living in a gluten-free household, it's very easy for a speck of something to get into your food.  Bread knives tend to hold onto bits of gluteny bread, cutting surfaces are just a nightmare, and shared peanut butter jars (or other jars) is a common problem.  A gluten contaminated knife going into that jar has ruined the whole thing for you.  Don't ever risk shared jars if other people are eating gluteny bread.

3) You may just be extraordinarily sensitive to gluten, which is more common for DH (the rash variant of Celiac).  Gluten certification is only good down to a certain concentration level, usually 20 parts per million, and you may be sensitive below that point.  But I'd rule out #1 and #2 first, since those are way more common.  Celiac is unusual (1% of the population), DH is even more unusual (less than 20% of people with Celiac I think?), and sensitivity at 5 or 10ppm is even more unusual still.  So this is a bit of a last resort diagnosis.  Dealing with it also generally means not only a gluten free house (which you should be doing anyway) but only cooking with raw ingredients, avoiding most seasonings and foods that could be grown in fields adjacent to wheat fields.

Good luck!