Beware Shelled Nuts

[Ramncats]

I was being insidiously contaminated by eating shelled nuts (almonds and pecans). Many brands of nuts are processed on equipment shared by food containing wheat and dairy. It had not occurred to me that I needed to read the label on a bag of unsalted almonds. Oh how wrong I was!! Now it will be probably about 4 months until my guts are healed. This is a very sneaky way people can be cross-contaminated. 
 

 

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, Ramncats!

How long have you been diagnosed?

How long were you eating shelled nuts before you realized that they were cross-contaminated?

[Ramncats]

I was diagnosed in 2011. I had eaten some of the almonds in the early autumn (several months ago); it may have been the pecan pieces I bought just before Xmas that had the mist profound impact on my intestines. I began having loose stools, being unable to tolerate  any cheese or dairy even with using Lactaid enzymes, and unable to comfortably digest fructose sugar in fruits ( gas, cramping, some nausea). Brain fog and sinus congestion were also symptoms that I now contribute to the unknown gluten ingestion. I want to kick myself for thinking all nuts we’re safe and that I did not read the back of the bag. People need to shop for nuts that are safely processed. Fisher nuts are labeled as safe, containing only tree nuts, possibly peanuts and nut shells. 
It takes many months for intestines to heal after gluten. I have been only eating food I fix myself at home for a long time since cross contamination is a reality with a lot of restaurant food, even if it is supposedly gluten-free. This nut incident has me pretty upset. The brands I bought that were labeled as having possible wheat were Whole Foods 365, Diamond, and Open Nature. 
 

[trents]

In my experience since being diagnosed with celiac disease over 20 years ago I have developed a number of food intolerances/sensitivities. For the most part they manifest themselves in headaches and brain fog but with occasional GI involvement. They include eggs, coffee, nuts in general but especially peanuts (a legume). I believe I also have histamine intolerance which means I have to watch out for fermented and aged things as well as some fruits and vegetables (tomatoes and bananas, for instance). What I find is that I can eat almost all of those things without issue as long as I don't eat too much of them too often. So, what I am saying is I find there is a threshold for these foods that if I cross it I suffer but if I eat them sparingly I'm okay.

I bring them up because I wonder if your problem is consuming too much of these nut products or too often. If you are like me, I tend to get on jags where I start to eat something everyday for awhile because I have it on hand. A good example for me is bananas. Since you generally buy them in bunches and since they go bad so quickly it behooves one to eat at least one every day which is when I start to experience issues.

So, it could not be gluten that is the problem but some other intolerance issue or issues. Then too, even if there is a trace of gluten in these nut products from CC and gluten is really the issue, it might not be enough to cause a reaction until you begin to consume them regularly or in large servings such that you cross a threshold.

Just some thought to ponder.

[dixonpete]

15 hours ago, Ramncats said:

I was being insidiously contaminated by eating shelled nuts (almonds and pecans). Many brands of nuts are processed on equipment shared by food containing wheat and dairy. It had not occurred to me that I needed to read the label on a bag of unsalted almonds. Oh how wrong I was!! Now it will be probably about 4 months until my guts are healed. This is a very sneaky way people can be cross-contaminated. 

I think it was my very first glutening experience after diagnosis was pistachios. After I got sick I read the label. Flour had been added to the bag to stop the pistachios from sticking together.

[Rogol72]

I was on a webinar last year by the Dietitian with the Coeliac Society of Ireland. A question was raised in the Q&A at the end of the presentation about the safety of plain frozen veg. I recall her saying that in the past flour was used to prevent frozen veg from sticking together, probably many many years ago but that's not the case any more.

[dixonpete]

Those floured pistachios would have been 2008.

[Amy R.]

Hi,

I have to tell you I haven’t tried a nut that is GLUTEN FREE YET!
I called Fishers, Planters, checked many others. No luck. I ordered from NUTS.com because I heard from others that it is gluten free. But I will see how that goes. My husband just told me eat them with the shell it’s the safest. After reading this forum I guess not even that is safe 🤦🏻‍♀️

[trents]

3 hours ago, Amy R. said:

Hi,

I have to tell you I haven’t tried a nut that is GLUTEN FREE YET!
I called Fishers, Planters, checked many others. No luck. I ordered from NUTS.com because I heard from others that it is gluten free. But I will see how that goes. My husband just told me eat them with the shell it’s the safest. After reading this forum I guess not even that is safe 🤦🏻‍♀️

That would be a good experiment to separate reactions to CC from nuts vs. the nut protein itself. Many people have an intolerance or an allergy to tree nuts and peanuts.

[Ramncats]

2 hours ago, trents said:

That would be a good experiment to separate reactions to CC from nuts vs. the nut protein itself. Many people have an intolerance or an allergy to tree nuts and peanuts.

Nuts.com does say their nuts gluten-free nuts, but on their website they list that dairy (lactose) is on the equipment used to process the nuts. On the bags I ordered from them, this disclaimer is absent (about peanuts and dairy). They can’t claim the nuts are vegan because of the possibility of milk contamination. 
 

[Amy R.]

Thank everyone for your input!

 

[GF-Cate]

Unfortunately, nuts in many forms can be cross contaminated or processed on shared lines. I imagine it's because there are so many trail mixes that contain nuts and also have gluten-containing ingredients?

My go-to brands are Mariani, Fisher, Emerald (some at least are CGF) - I always have a bag or 2 of the snack packs with me. Wonderful Pistachios are labeled gluten-free. I do the plain ones, not sure if the flavored are safe. I buy these in my local grocery, but you can find them online as well.

If you live near a Wegman's, their store brand pecans, almonds, peanuts (and I think walnuts too, thought I don't have a bag of those handy) are all labeled gluten-free. I have found Wegman's store brand to be incredibly reliable & safe with gluten-free labeling. They are doing something right with their protocols.

[GF-Cate]

On 1/17/2023 at 2:42 PM, Rogol72 said:

I was on a webinar last year by the Dietitian with the Coeliac Society of Ireland. A question was raised in the Q&A at the end of the presentation about the safety of plain frozen veg. I recall her saying that in the past flour was used to prevent frozen veg from sticking together, probably many many years ago but that's not the case any more.

The problem with frozen veg (in the US at least) is that so many brands produce frozen veg with sauces and other flavorings. It is surprising the number of frozen veggie bags I have picked up that have the potential for CC or are produced on shared lines/facility (or have gluten containing ingredients).