Is It Possible To Be Intolerant To Gluten-free Products?

[aparth]

Hi all,

I have had Crohn's disease for half of my life, the last 11 years. In the years since I have been diagnosed the condition has improved steadily so that I now lead a normal life. While I am unable to drink beer, coffee and milk, most other foods I can generally tolerate (if i dont overeat).

However I do occasionally get bloating, gas (burping repeatedly!), and some constipation/diarrheoa. I have recently switched to a new doctor who thinks diet may be the cause of these few nagging symptoms.

I was sent to undertake a fructose intolerance breathtest, which came out negative, despite getting obvious symptoms of diarrheoa. A dietician suggested i may therefore be intolerant to gluten and wheat products as well as fructose.

Here is my problem. During the week of breathtesting, I had to go on a special restricted wheat-free, calcium free, fructose free diet. On the third night I tried some gluten free bread - i actually loved the taste! But that night I awoke with bad diarrheoa, something which is completely rare for me (unless i had food poisoning).

I assumed it was the effect of the breathtesting (which was generally unsettling my gut throughout the week).

Yesterday, after purchasing a gluten-free cookbook I decided to give gluten free bread another shot. The last two days my gut had been feeling rather problem free. Once again, I awoke last night with unusually formed diarrheoa.

The only conclusion i can make is I'm allergic to gluten-free....because gluten-filled bread and pasta doesnt seem to make me feel ill as it does to some of you guys here.

Can anybody advise on my situation?

[elonwy]

Could you be intolerant of rice or corn? Most gluten free products are heavily rice and corn based.

Just a thought.

Elonwy

[BRUMI1968]

I've read lots of folks on here have trouble with tapioca, too.

[aparth]

that may be it, Bully4You. The second largest ingredient in the bread is tapioca flour.

I'm definitely not intolerant to rice and corn as I can eat these in fairly large quantities without trouble.

can anyone who has a problem with tapioca please share their thoughts?

[AndreaB]

I have a problem with beans which are in a lot of recipes and dry packet mixes.

[Deej]

I have problems that I think (don't know) are related to guar and xanthum gum which are often found in gluten-free baked goods. I get bloated and then suffer D. badly. I eat the baked goods only rarely. It never occurred to me it might be tapioca!

[jerseyangel]

that may be it, Bully4You. The second largest ingredient in the bread is tapioca flour.

I'm definitely not intolerant to rice and corn as I can eat these in fairly large quantities without trouble.

can anyone who has a problem with tapioca please share their thoughts?

Hi Aparth--I am one who is sensitive to tapioca. Before I was gluten-free, if I ate tapioca pudding (the only way I ever had it before), I would get a very dry mouth. I didn't notice any stomach reactions then, but I was sick for a good 20 years before I was diagnosed so it was not unusual for me to have stomach problems anyway. When I went gluten-free, after a few months, I was noticing a lot of my GI symptoms that had initally gone away on the diet were returning. I was eating gluten-free breads, and also using tapioca flour in my flour mix for baking. When I began reading up on the additional food intolerances that some Celiacs can develop--probably due to leaky gut--I began to experiment with my own version of a rotation diet. I found that with tapioca, I get symptoms very similar to gluten--D, nausea and stomach pain. I know there a few others here on the board who have reported being sensitive to tapioca, also.

[IrishLisa]

I don't know what ingredients the US gluten free breads contain, but I do know that many of the European brands contain soy of some sort. Being intolerant to soy, gluten free bread also gives me GI problems. You might also want to consider the yeast, which is another thing that I am intolerant too. Eating gluten free bread or any other yeast containing product gives me the same GI problems that you describe.