Diagnosed w Celiacs, but reacting to gluten-free Digiorno Pizza AND Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing

[annamarie6655]

Hello, so I was diagnosed with Celiacs about 8 months ago. After being diagnosed, I have been trying very hard to maintain a completely gluten-free (and celiac safe) diet. 
Two of the main times I had a huge reaction, it was from:

- gluten-free Digiorno Pizza w Pepperoni

- Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing (this was in canada if that changes anything)

Both are marked as gluten-free. Following eating these items, I had a severe bout of diarrhea, uncontrollable and heavy muscle spasms throughout my whole body, and aching throughout every joint.
 

If these are both gluten-free, why would I be reacting to them? Should I be worried about a separate allergy?  In regards to the muscle spasms, should I follow up with someone about that?

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, @annamarie6655!

Are the muscle spasms and joint aches a new pattern of reaction to gluten or have you experienced these in the past?

Concerning DeGiorno's "gluten-free" pizza, we have had many reports from celiac.com members of gluten reactions from consuming this product. I believe it is one of those "gluten-free" products that is made from wheat (speaking of the crust component) that has been processed in such a way as to remove most of the gluten. The FDA regs allow food companies to use the claim "gluten-free" as long as the product contains no more than 20ppm of gluten. This works for most celiacs but not for those on the more sensitive end of the spectrum. There is another industry standard known as "Certified Gluten-Free" that is stricter, requiring no more than 10ppm of gluten. Certified Gluten-Free products use the "GFCO" logo.

Concerning the salad dressing, could you list the ingredients in another post or link it? There are certain other ingredients besides gluten commonly used in gluten-free manufactured food items to give them acceptable textures that give a lot of celiacs problems. 

[annamarie6655]

@trents thank you so much for your response!

 When i was diagnosed, I was exhibiting mainly joint pain, hair loss, bloating, and allodynia (painful feeling from non painful stimuli). The muscle spasms only started after diagnosis, and it seems to only happen when I am severely glutened. It’s only happened twice, but it definitely makes me nervous when it happens. 
 

In regard to the pizza, thats what i saw after i got sick from it. I’m still trying to figure out how to switch to ALL certified gluten-free goods. 
 

for the dressing, here is the ingredient list: 
WATER, VEGETABLE OIL, VINEGAR, SUGAR, GARLIC, SALT, RED BELL PEPPER, ONION, CONCENTRATED LEMON JUICE, XANTHAN GUM, POTASSIUM SORBATE, HERBS, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA, MONOACETIN, SPICES.

and the link: https://www.kraftheinz.com/en-CA/kraft/products/00068100903577-zesty-italian-salad-dressing

 

[trents]

As I suspected, xanthan gum is one of the ingredients. It is a polysaccharide used as a texturing agent in many gluten-free products. It's hard to digest and causes distress for many celiacs. I can't say for sure if that was the problem but you might be on the lookout for it in the future.

Muscle spasms can be caused by magnesium deficiency. Are you taking any vitamin and mineral supplements? I mean some things more potent than a multivitamin?

[Scott Adams]

13 hours ago, trents said:

Concerning DeGiorno's "gluten-free" pizza, we have had many reports from celiac.com members of gluten reactions from consuming this product. I believe it is one of those "gluten-free" products that is made from wheat (speaking of the crust component) that has been processed in such a way as to remove most of the gluten. The FDA regs allow food companies to use the claim "gluten-free" as long as the product contains no more than 20ppm of gluten. This works for most celiacs but not for those on the more sensitive end of the spectrum. There is another industry standard known as "Certified Gluten-Free" that is stricter, requiring no more than 10ppm of gluten. Certified Gluten-Free products use the "GFCO" logo.

DiGiorno reformulated and have not been using wheat starch for a couple of years now, so this should not be an issue:
https://www.goodnes.com/digiorno/products/digiorno-gluten-free-frozen-pepperoni-pizza/

It does contain other ingredients that may be causing you IBS-like issues, for example guar gum.  Many gluten-free foods and baking mixes contain xanthan gum or other gums like guar gum. Although they are both gluten-free, they may cause IBS-type issues in some people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity:

 

 

[annamarie6655]

23 hours ago, trents said:

As I suspected, xanthan gum is one of the ingredients. It is a polysaccharide used as a texturing agent in many gluten-free products. It's hard to digest and causes distress for many celiacs. I can't say for sure if that was the problem but you might be on the lookout for it in the future.

Muscle spasms can be caused by magnesium deficiency. Are you taking any vitamin and mineral supplements? I mean some things more potent than a multivitamin?

@trents thank you so much for your response!

 When i was diagnosed, I was exhibiting mainly joint pain, hair loss, bloating, and allodynia (painful feeling from non painful stimuli). The muscle spasms only started after diagnosis, and it seems to only happen when I am severely glutened. It’s only happened twice, but it definitely makes me nervous when it happens. 
 

In regard to the pizza, thats what i saw after i got sick from it. I’m still trying to figure out how to switch to ALL certified gluten-free goods. 
 

for the dressing, here is the ingredient list: 
WATER, VEGETABLE OIL, VINEGAR, SUGAR, GARLIC, SALT, RED BELL PEPPER, ONION, CONCENTRATED LEMON JUICE, XANTHAN GUM, POTASSIUM SORBATE, HERBS, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA, MONOACETIN, SPICES.

and the link: https://www.kraftheinz.com/en-CA/kraft/products/00068100903577-zesty-italian-salad-dressing

 

[annamarie6655]

@trents

i am only taking collagen powder and Vitamin D, but I can definitely look into Magnesium, thank you! 
 

@Scott Adams 

thank you so much for your input! I will watch closer to how I’m reacting to xanthan/guar gum from now on. Are there any other common ingredients to be on the look out for?

[trents]

It can be almost anything for the individual but I would suggest getting in the habit of reading labels to see if there are patterns. The form of magnesium is very important. Go for magnesium glycinate. A lot of over the counter stuff puts the emphasis on shelf-life as opposed to bio-availability. Magnesium glycinate is very bioavailable, very absorbable and isn't likely to have a laxative effect like some of the high shelf-life stuff which isn't absorbed well and draws water into the colon.

Oats and dairy also cause effects a lot like being glutened for many celiacs. 

Edited August 19 by trents

[captaincrab55]

I can't eat DeGiorno's "gluten-free" pizza, because of being dairy intolerant, but I can have cheddar and mozzarella cheese.  I did the EVERLYWELL test to help eliminate foods that I can and can't have.  I but the CAULIPOWER crust at and use plain tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Quite often I top it with shrimp.  Good Luck 

[Scott Adams]

15 hours ago, annamarie6655 said:

@Scott Adams 

thank you so much for your input! I will watch closer to how I’m reacting to xanthan/guar gum from now on. Are there any other common ingredients to be on the look out for?

There are tons of ingredients that can cause IBS-like issues in anyone, but especially in newly diagnosed celiacs, and it would probably make sense for us to do an article on that topic, but here is an article that might be helpful:

 

[Awol cast iron stomach]

I wanted to say hello, and add that  early in eating gluten free I had  to avoid processed foods due to too many ingredients. I also had additional intolerances that needed time to subside. My team suggested I limit gluten free processed foods, as I was having issues with items with too many ingredients. I see Trents explained some of the culprits when he responded. 

I found it helpful to go whole foods  diet. When I need inspiration I found Paleo and AIP (Autoimmune Protocol) recipes helpful to offer variety to my palate. 

Often our bodies in the early stages prefer we go whole foods/ minimal processed foods. In turn, I realized I prefer freshly made salad dressing which I still make to this day. My pocketbook also finds making my own has its benefits. 

 

Best wishes.

 

[knitty kitty]

Welcome, @annamarie6655,

I followed the AIP diet, too.  It allows the intestines time to heal.  I still avoid a lot of processed foods.  Once you get used to eating whole foods, they taste better than processed foods.

I couldn't eat pepperoni without becoming ill.  Pepperoni is a processed meat that uses "meat glue" to hold its shape.  "Meat glue" is microbial transglutaminase produced by microbes in a lab.  Transglutaminase produced by microbes works the same in our bodies as tissue transglutaminase, which causes inflammation.  Remember those antibody blood tests, tTg IgA and tTg IgG?  They test for tissue transglutaminase produced by the body in response to gluten.  The microbial transglutaminase provokes the same response in our bodies as if exposed to gluten.  Best to avoid processed meat products like formed chicken nuggets, luncheon meats, formed hams, sausage, etc.  

Best wishes.

[John767]

DiGiornos gluten free pizza at one point was  made from a dough derived of wheat starch...yet they were able to call it gluten free probably because it came in at under 20ppm for gluten.  Apparently the recipe was changed and the pizza not longer contains a wheat starch derived crust.  As for the Heinz dressing, it could be an issue with cross contamination with wheat barley and or rye somewhere during the production process.  If you read how Frito-Lays (on their website) designates items gluten free, you will understand the variances in the lengths companies go through in deciding when to put on a gluten free label and when not--Frito-Lays is pretty solid.  Also being in Canada, they may follow a common international rule of less than 20ppm of gluten is all that is required to be labeled gluten free regardless of the grains used to manufacture the product (common in Europe, Central, and South America)...it took a couple of really rough mornings after consuming some Dura Damm (labeled as gluten free outside the USA) for me to realize that it was a gluten reduced beer. Same with Mahou Beer which actually says in Spanish "suitable for celiacs", unfortunately it is not suitable for this celiac and of course the following day was really rough as well...really take the time to read the ingredients because had I read the ingredients of  Mahou's "suitable for celiacs" "sin gluten" beer I would have noticed that it was made from cabada (Spanish for barley)...hope this helps...