2 Questions

[GlutenWrangler]

Hello Everyone,

I have two questions that I hope you could answer for me. First, I read that using a charcoal grill is bad for celiacs because the charcoal can have gluten in it. I was wondering if the same applies to water filters because they also use charcoal.

Second, I eat filet mignon for dinner every day. I get it at my local butcher. I used to let him cut it, but I got glutened once, so now I just buy a whole tenderloin and I cut the filets myself. I am dealing with a pretty bad glutening right now, and I have definitely narrowed it down to the filets. If the gluten is coming from the source of the meat, it's obvious that I can no longer eat it. I was wondering if anyone knows about any guaranteed gluten free online stores which sell cuts of steak. Has anyone else had the same problem? Thanks for your help.

-Brian

[darlindeb25]

Hi Brian, I see no one has known the answer as of yet. I do remember reading about charcoal too and for the life of me, I do not understand why gluten needs to be in something we burn. I do remember also that there is charcoal which does not contain gluten. A simple answer to this one is getting a gas grill.

As for the water filter, I honestly never thought about that. Most all bottled water is filtered, how does that happen? We all drink bottled water.

And beef has never been a favorite of mine, a hamburger now and then and I was happy. I never liked steak. Maybe your answer would come in only buying organically grown beef. I personally do not believe that we can be glutened by meat simply by what the animal ate, yet some do believe that.

I often feel unsafe buying fish, especially when I see it displayed in the same cases as breaded fish. Also for me, the fat content is too high in red meats.

Sorry I have not been much help!

[ravenwoodglass]

Hello Everyone,

I have two questions that I hope you could answer for me. First, I read that using a charcoal grill is bad for celiacs because the charcoal can have gluten in it. I was wondering if the same applies to water filters because they also use charcoal.

Second, I eat filet mignon for dinner every day. I get it at my local butcher. I used to let him cut it, but I got glutened once, so now I just buy a whole tenderloin and I cut the filets myself. I am dealing with a pretty bad glutening right now, and I have definitely narrowed it down to the filets. If the gluten is coming from the source of the meat, it's obvious that I can no longer eat it. I was wondering if anyone knows about any guaranteed gluten free online stores which sell cuts of steak. Has anyone else had the same problem? Thanks for your help.

-Brian

Hi Brian, You may want to just try getting your meat at a larger chain grocerey. I had been glutened by meat at a small local store not because there was anything added to the meat but because the butchers routinely ate their lunch over the butcher blocks. I also agree that going with organic, no additive beef might also be an answer.

Also check for nonfood sources of the gluten, have you done any drywall work or started a craft project recently? Do you have a significant other that may be using creams, lotions or makeup that is not gluten-free? Do you drink distilled alcohol from gluten grains? Yea I know many say it won't bother us but for some of us it does. In addition to reviewing what you ate look at nonfood sources too.

[gabby]

Does the meat counter have fresh beef/pork/chicken sitting next to things like raw meat in bbq sauces, or chicken cutlets dredged in breadcrumbs? I've noticed lots of meat counters have these things sitting side by side, and have watched the butcher take out a piece of breaded chicken and drop the bread crumbs all over the rest of the fresh meat. Or I've watched them grab a piece of breaded chicken, then use the same hand to grab a piece of steak.

It is also a good idea to rinse all fresh meat under cold running water and then pat dry before cooking.

Hope this help!

[jerseyangel]

Hello Everyone,

I have two questions that I hope you could answer for me. First, I read that using a charcoal grill is bad for celiacs because the charcoal can have gluten in it. I was wondering if the same applies to water filters because they also use charcoal.

Second, I eat filet mignon for dinner every day. I get it at my local butcher. I used to let him cut it, but I got glutened once, so now I just buy a whole tenderloin and I cut the filets myself. I am dealing with a pretty bad glutening right now, and I have definitely narrowed it down to the filets. If the gluten is coming from the source of the meat, it's obvious that I can no longer eat it. I was wondering if anyone knows about any guaranteed gluten free online stores which sell cuts of steak. Has anyone else had the same problem? Thanks for your help.

-Brian

Hi Brian,

I copied a thread from last summer for you that has good information about charcoal--

Open Original Shared Link

On the subject of water filters, I looked into that myself--I suspected my water was bothering me after going away for a few days, and drinking bottled water made me feel quite a bit better.

I found that the charcoal they use is safe--from a gluten standpoint. I never could find an instance where wheat was in a water filter.

I did, however, find that they also routinely use coconut hulls in water filters. For me, that was the answer, as I am very intolerant to coconut! I switched to spring water, and it made a significant difference for me.

For meat, I find that I do best with either organic meats or those from Acme--Lancaster meats. They are a large company, and all of their meats come packaged. I react to meats from butcher cases (there are always breaded items in there, too) and small stores. I see that I'm not the only one

I've never oprdered meats from any of the on-line stores you mentioned, so I can't speak to that.

[tarnalberry]

First, I read that using a charcoal grill is bad for celiacs because the charcoal can have gluten in it.

This applies to charcol briquets, which sometimes use wheat as a binder to help hold the ground, and then pressed, charchol together. Instead, get whole, natural chunk charcol (what you see after you burn a log of wood, essentially), and it will have no additives.

I was wondering if the same applies to water filters because they also use charcoal.

No. Charcol isn't the problem, it's the additives. Charcol implies a particular molecular structure to carbon - that's why you'll sometimes hear the water filters referred to as carbon filters instead. It's pressed carbon, with a fabric or pastic material that's got holes small enough to keep the carbon molecules from going through it.

If the gluten is coming from the source of the meat, it's obvious that I can no longer eat it. I was wondering if anyone knows about any guaranteed gluten free online stores which sell cuts of steak. Has anyone else had the same problem? Thanks for your help.

How are you cooking your meat - is your cooking surface/seasonings/utensiles/serving area contaminated? Meat *itself* is fine. I've never seen a butcher area where meat would be contaminated, but I'll grant you I'm a food snob and certainly have not seen it all. (I'm assuming you mean a butcher in a supermarket, not a dedicated butcher, but the answer doesn't really matter either way.) Talk to your butcher. I've never met one who didn't want to help his/her client get the best meat for the purpose. It's not unimaginable, I suppose, that there's contamination behind the scenes, though I would be shocked and alarmed.

Additionally, you may want to consider that you are not doing well with the meat - that it's not *gluten* but the meat that your body is having a tough time with?

Good luck hunting this one down, and I hope the butcher has some answers that are useful.

[happygirl]

even if there is contamination at the butcher (with other marinades, crumbs, etc), it would be solved by thoroughly rinsing the meat, since the meat *itself is safe.

[Mary Contrary]

meat seems to be one of the few things I can eat right now that doesn't bother me..we bar-b-que on a gas grill and have been eating lots of steaks. Even an extra-lean hamburger pattie has been tasting really good lately.

[GlutenWrangler]

Thanks for the help everyone. To answer some of your questions, I get my meat at a butcher shop, not a supermarket. The meat is sealed in plastic, so the butcher never touches it. I just buy it and cut it. I am very safe about cross contamination. I cook on my own gas grill which no one esle uses. I agree that it seems improbable that I would get glutened from it. But I am definitely dealing with a gluten reaction.

Interestingly, we did recently have drywall done in our bathroom. We had a new tub, sink, tiling, and toilet installed as well. The walls were painted also. Could this be the cause of a gluten reaction? I never thought it would be a problem. Is there any way to check?

[Nooner]

FWIW, you might be developing an intolerance to beef. I found out through elimination that I can't tolerate chicken or turkey. I've tried different cuts, from different stores, cooked different ways, all natural (nothing added but not organic) or organic, and I always get a reaction similar to being glutened.

My husband's boss can't tolerate beef. He was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, and was scheduled to have most of his colon removed when he figured out beef was the problem. He stopped eating it years ago, still has his colon, and is fine now.

I hope you feel better soon!

[Helena]

Would never, ever have thought that there would be gluten in charcoal. The things I learn here!

[GlutenWrangler]

I don't know whether to think it was the meat or the recent remodeling. I have felt better after ceasing to eat it. I don't think I'm developing an intolerance to meat. It was only this batch that has really bothered me. I've been tested for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease, and was negative for both. If it was the remodeling, what can I do to fix it?

-Brian