Getting glutened... mystery food (Made Good or Cedars Hummus?)

[Alyssa Camille]

I have been swollen for about two months now, literally continuously glutened by something. I am usually super healthy and great, not having issues. I've been eating Cedars hummus in the last two months and Made Good granola bars. Has anyone ever had issues/reactions to these brands? 

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, Alyssa!

Are we to assume you have been diagnosed either with Celiac disease or NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity)? More info about your gluten journey, please.

[Alyssa Camille]

3 minutes ago, trents said:

Welcome to the forum, Alyssa!

Are we to assume you have been diagnosed either with Celiac disease or NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity)? More info about your gluten journey, please.

Hi, yes I have celiac disease. I was diagnosed 7 years ago. I am highly sensitive celiac, I am not able to handle the whole less than  20ppm thing that the US allows. I avoid majority of processed products when I can but once in a while I have something if I know it was made in a dedicated gluten free facility. I went on a work trip and my boss had bought me cedars hummus and I was eating that along with the Made Good bars she purchased for me, I liked them so much I bought them for my home but now I am just swollen all the time which is not the norm. Wild because I cannot find ANY evidence of even a hint of gluten in those products so not sure if anyone else has had a similar experience. Thank you trent

[trents]

1 hour ago, Alyssa Camille said:

Hi, yes I have celiac disease. I was diagnosed 7 years ago. I am highly sensitive celiac, I am not able to handle the whole less than  20ppm thing that the US allows. I avoid majority of processed products when I can but once in a while I have something if I know it was made in a dedicated gluten free facility. I went on a work trip and my boss had bought me cedars hummus and I was eating that along with the Made Good bars she purchased for me, I liked them so much I bought them for my home but now I am just swollen all the time which is not the norm. Wild because I cannot find ANY evidence of even a hint of gluten in those products so not sure if anyone else has had a similar experience. Thank you trent

Could be another ingredient besides gluten that is causing the issue. Hummus is made from a legume and some people don't tolerate legumes well. Also, a lot of protein/energy bars use sugar alcohols for sweetener and chicory for fiber, things that are famous for causing many people gas and bloating. I'm one of them.

[Scott Adams]

I checked Cedars hummus on their site and it is certified gluten-free:

https://www.cedarsfoods.com/Our-Foods.aspx#hommus

and so are the bars:

https://www.madegoodfoods.com/

I agree with @trents that it could be the legumes or some other ingredient. If the bars contain oats around 9% of celiacs can't tolerate oats.

[Alyssa Camille]

On 7/16/2022 at 11:36 AM, Scott Adams said:

I checked Cedars hummus on their site and it is certified gluten-free:

https://www.cedarsfoods.com/Our-Foods.aspx#hommus

and so are the bars:

https://www.madegoodfoods.com/

I agree with @trents that it could be the legumes or some other ingredient. If the bars contain oats around 9% of celiacs can't tolerate oats.

Thanks I appreciate it, yes I definitely can't tolerate oats unless FOR SURE certified gluten free. Thanks so much for your response 

On 7/16/2022 at 10:57 AM, trents said:

Could be another ingredient besides gluten that is causing the issue. Hummus is made from a legume and some people don't tolerate legumes well. Also, a lot of protein/energy bars use sugar alcohols for sweetener and chicory for fiber, things that are famous for causing many people gas and bloating. I'm one of them.

Thank you for the response I appreciate it

[Scott Adams]

Just to clarify, around 9% of celiac can't tolerate the protein in oats, so EVEN, and that means that they can't have even certified gluten-free oats.

[Judylissette]

I get sick from Made Good bars - every single time AND I tried Cedars hummus last night and still sick this morning. Tossing the rest of it out. Only gluten gives me nausea, so there must be some level of gluten allowed or they must be going over it and those hypersensitive are experiencing the consequences. I quit Made Good last year and nausea went away.

[Scott Adams]

Is it possible you are sensitive to other ingredients in these products? Since both are certified gluten-free it seems unlikely that both would contain gluten.

[Judylissette]

I forgot that I did try Cedars one other time in the past and felt glutened then. I am both vegan and gluten-free and eat beans daily, including chickpeas. My diet is very boring and usually strict, as I consume the same foods over and over again on a regular basis and rarely eat out. If on the go and on my way somewhere, if I don't have fruit in my purse, I usually purchase Sabra hummus and eat it on the way to my destination without any issues. I got very sick from Cedars hummus, though, again, this time. As for Made Good, I am thinking perhaps it is the oats that are the issue? I am not completely certain. I generally avoid oats to begin with and that was the only oat product I consumed. I know certified gluten-free still allows for less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten, when they are being certified. Who's to say that the amount sometimes isn't higher on a regular basis, except for when the companies know they are being tested. Or who knows if their source of the ingredients is not holding themselves up to the expected standard when they should? Personally, I don't trust many processed products to begin with and typically go for whole and raw foods. Thankfully, no issues with Sabra at all for years. Made Good I completely gave up on. Even tried it again a couple of times to see if it would make me sick and it did.

[Scott Adams]

Oats may be the culprit, as ~9% of people with celiac disease cannot tolerate oats, even "gluten-free" oats. All of the gluten-free certifications that I know of certify to below 10ppm.

In general if you see "gluten-free" on a label in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, etc., it does mean that the food is safe for those with celiac disease, and it does NOT mean that there is 19ppm gluten in it, as some people might lead you to believe.

Whenever a company detects gluten in the 5-19ppm (most tests can't accurately go below this level) in foods which they have labelled gluten-free, especially a USA-based company (lawsuits in the USA are far more common and easier to win in such cases), they will immediately seek to find and eliminate the source of the gluten contamination.

There is a very common myth or misconception that companies don't care at all if their products test between 5-19ppm, but they definitely do because a product recall could be just around the corner should they hit the 20ppm or higher level. Many people, including myself, now have home test kits like Nima, and companies are definitely aware of this.

 

[Judylissette]

Going to check Nima out. Thanks for bringing that up. This is all very good information to have. Thank you so much. I do think it may be oats with Made Good and perhaps Cedars may be manufactured in such a way that an oat cross-contamination may be occurring. I guess I may never know. In the meantime, will continue to be careful!

[wildchild-nan]

Some people have issues with chickpeas, you can make your own hummus with white beans

[Celiacmanbill]

I had issues with hummus in general because of a birch pollen allergy theres new studies from not too long ago chowing cumin causes a reaction I used to have it everyday in my rice and beans and felt super sick and worse and worse took it out and im getting alot better you wont even find cumin listed on any major allergy websites or any i dont think i had to find a pubmed study of it

[knitty kitty]

Here's some information about certain spices triggering symptoms in Celiac from a PubMed study.

 

[Scott Adams]

Meat glue can be another culprit: