Could this product be gluten free?

[Elizabeth M Blair]

I did not find my usual gluten-free ice cream when I went to the store recently and was checking content in new kinds I had not tried. I found a Natural Vanilla ice cream (Rebel Brand) which was advertised as Keto and lactose free and full fat and O grams sugar and it is delicious!    But it did not say gluten free. Here is the content list, the only thing that looks iffy to me are the gums? What do you think? Could it be safe to eat for someone with Celiac.  The biggest problem I've been having as a celiac (only six months post endoscopy diagnosis) is finding food with little to no sugar and more protein and fiber than what I see on the processed gluten free food.  Attached is a photo of the contents of Rebel Brand Natural Vanilla.

Well the file was too big to attach - so here is the list of ingredients:

Cream, water, Erythritol, Vegetable Glycerin, Egg Yolks, Chicory root fiber, Milk Protein Isolate, Natural Vanilla Flavor, Lactase Enzyme, Peruvian Carob Gum, Guar Gum, Salt, Monk Fruit.

I'm 5 foot 7 inches and only weigh 120 pounds. My GI dietician has been having me drink Lactose free whole milk, but am not gaining an ounce so far with my new diet and the lactose free whole milk.

Please advice.  Are the "gums" a problem? 

Elizabeth

[DoggoLady]

I searched their website and found this in their faqs:

“All flavors are gluten free but not gluten free certified. All equipment is thoroughly cleansed before and after any runs but we do not test for gluten cross-contamination.”

[trents]

54 minutes ago, Elizabeth M Blair said:

I did not find my usual gluten-free ice cream when I went to the store recently and was checking content in new kinds I had not tried. I found a Natural Vanilla ice cream (Rebel Brand) which was advertised as Keto and lactose free and full fat and O grams sugar and it is delicious!    But it did not say gluten free. Here is the content list, the only thing that looks iffy to me are the gums? What do you think? Could it be safe to eat for someone with Celiac.  The biggest problem I've been having as a celiac (only six months post endoscopy diagnosis) is finding food with little to no sugar and more protein and fiber than what I see on the processed gluten free food.  Attached is a photo of the contents of Rebel Brand Natural Vanilla.

Well the file was too big to attach - so here is the list of ingredients:

Cream, water, Erythritol, Vegetable Glycerin, Egg Yolks, Chicory root fiber, Milk Protein Isolate, Natural Vanilla Flavor, Lactase Enzyme, Peruvian Carob Gum, Guar Gum, Salt, Monk Fruit.

I'm 5 foot 7 inches and only weigh 120 pounds. My GI dietician has been having me drink Lactose free whole milk, but am not gaining an ounce so far with my new diet and the lactose free whole milk.

Please advice.  Are the "gums" a problem? 

Elizabeth

gums are not necessarily a problem from a gluten standpoint but many celiacs don't tolerate them well for other reasons. Personally, if I ate something with chicory root fiber and Monk fruit you wouldn't want to be around me. Those are famous "toot" ingredients.

[Elizabeth M Blair]

Trents, I will watch for that problem!  Have not noticed that yet with this ice cream.

[Elizabeth M Blair]

10 hours ago, DoggoLady said:

I searched their website and found this in their faqs:

“All flavors are gluten free but not gluten free certified. All equipment is thoroughly cleansed before and after any runs but we do not test for gluten cross-contamination.”

Wow, thank you so much for checking that. I should have thought of that myself.  This ice cream is so delicious!  But Perhaps it should be a only occasional treat.  Glad that the company is so transparent about not specifically checking for cross contamination.

[Elizabeth M Blair]

17 hours ago, trents said:

gums are not necessarily a problem from a gluten standpoint but many celiacs don't tolerate them well for other reasons. Personally, if I ate something with chicory root fiber and Monk fruit you wouldn't want to be around me. Those are famous "toot" ingredients.

Trents, What are the other reasons why Celiacs sometimes do not tolerate gums well? I tried looking that up on line but couldn't find it.  I checked my package of Bob's Red Mill Xanthum gum and it is guaranteed gluten free.

[trents]

1 hour ago, Elizabeth M Blair said:

Trents, What are the other reasons why Celiacs sometimes do not tolerate gums well? I tried looking that up on line but couldn't find it.  I checked my package of Bob's Red Mill Xanthum gum and it is guaranteed gluten free.

They are polysaccharides and hard to break down.

[Elizabeth M Blair]

1 hour ago, trents said:

They are polysaccharides and hard to break down.

This journey is so challenging. Now I need to look up polysaccharides to see what they are. I wonder sometimes if I will ever know what I'm doing.  Someone recommended an app called Shift to scan food labels.  Is that worth doing, Trents?  

[trents]

Those apps can be helpful in a broad sense but are only as good as the data base is kept current. Typically, they still do not cover all the bases in the sense of being able to report traces of gluten that might be found incidentally in ingredients such as spices and colorings that might be manufactured on equipment that is not dedicated to gluten free production. So, the apps would be helpful in revealing larger, intentional sources of gluten but would fall short in processed food items not actually tested to be gluten free. May or may not make a difference for you depending on how sensitive you are to trace amounts of gluten. Actually, once you develop that "sixth sense" as to where gluten can be hidden you would likely not find the apps that helpful. Reading labels is just as effective anyway.

Edited January 6, 2024 by trents

[Elizabeth M Blair]

26 minutes ago, trents said:

Those apps can be helpful in a broad sense but are only as good as the data base is kept current. Typically, they still do not cover all the bases in the sense of being able to report traces of gluten that might be found incidentally in ingredients such as spices and colorings that might be manufactured on equipment that is not dedicated to gluten free production. So, the apps would be helpful in revealing larger, intentional sources of gluten but would fall short in processed food items not actually tested to be gluten free. May or may not make a difference for you depending on how sensitive you are to trace amounts of gluten. Actually, once you develop that "sixth sense" as to where gluten can be hidden you would likely not find the apps that helpful. Reading labels is just as effective anyway.

 

[Elizabeth M Blair]

Thanks Trents. I looked up that item you mentioned in an earlier post and could not make sense of polysaccharides other than that they are starches or sugars that the body apparently needs for digestion and other purposes.  I feel so ignorant and the more I learn the more I seem to not know. 

I appreciate your patience with me.  I tried to buy a pre-cooked chicken tonight at the local grocery store.  They said there were only a few spices added to it.  I adked to the ingredient list for the spice mix and it included wheat.  The woman seemed quite irritated with me that I was asking these questions, but thank goodness I did.  Instead I bought a frozen chicken, organically raised and will cook it myself. 

[trents]

My wife and I used to buy Safeway's rotisserie chicken at their deli and it was gluten free. Then later on we looked at the label and they had changed the formulation and it was no longer gluten free. Lessoned learned. Once gluten free not necessarily always will be gluten free. Labels still must be checked. Take nothing for granted.

"poly" means "many". "Saccharides" are sugars as in the the original sugar substitute from many years ago, Saccharin. Polysaccharides therefore are very complex, long chain sugars. Simple sugars like glucose, dextrose and fructose break down easily and are taken into the blood stream via digestion before they ever get to the colon. Complex sugars can't be broken down fast enough such that by the time they wind up as simpler sugars in the colon where bacteria, fugus and yeasts feed on them and produce methane gas. Toot, toot! This also can cause irritation and discomfort. Of course, like anything else, it doesn't bother everyone or bother everyone to the same degree.

Edited January 6, 2024 by trents