Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

These Ingredients Are So Hard To Understand

Aj63

Recommended Posts

Aj63 Newbie
Aj63
Posted

Hello Everyone,

I was diagnosed on Wednesday and am OK with it all. At have been sick for a long time and at least I know what is going on, can manage it and am not going to die and leave my little girls. I now dramatic, but it's literally the only thing I have been thinking about the past year.

Anyhoo, I am in the process of cleaning out my cupboards, trying to get the house pulled together, which I can only do a little at a time, because I have no energy. I was at the store today and I am so confused about the ingredients on cans. I have Acesulfame Potassium, Sucralose, Monosodium Glutamate, Maltdextrin, etc., etc., etc. coming out of my ears. I mean Sucralose I am assuming is some type of sugar. Maltdetrin has malt in the word, so I am assuming it is bad. I was at the store for 2-hours yesterday and 2-hours today. Is there a detailed cheat sheet anywhere explaining the ingredients with the really big names?

BTW

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


JennyC Enthusiast
JennyC
Posted

Congratulations on the early success with gluten free food. The first two dinners after my little boy started the gluten free diet were absolutely horrible. I felt so bad I cried and gave him french fries for dinner--but he didn't mind! :lol:

The ingredients are tricky. There's a good list of ingredients to avoid on this site.

Acesulfame Potassium sounds very artificial so I personally would not worry about it. Sucralose is an artificial sweetener. My son reacted to it, but I think it was because it upset his tummy for other reasons. Monosodium Glutamate is MSG. It is not good for anyone and it can irritate your stomach. Maltdextrin is corn based in the US and Canada.

In my opinion, the most dangerous ingredient is natural flavoring, or other types of flavors. Modified food starch almost inevitably corn or wheat based. If it is wheat based, it must be disclosed on the label since wheat is one of the top eight allergens (barley, rye and oats are not).

I try to buy from manufacturers that will disclose all gluten (not just wheat) in the ingredient label. I will post a link to the list below. I recommend that you call the manufacturers yourself. A couple on the list are "iffy" in my mind. I like to stick with General Mills and Kraft as much as possible.

Open Original Shared Link

lorka150 Collaborator
lorka150
Posted

Acesulfame Potassium is an artificial sweetener. Often used in conjunction with Aspartame so it tastes less "aspartame-y". Safe if you are okay with artificial sweeteners, in the sense that it's gluten free.

Ridgewalker Contributor
Ridgewalker
Posted
Congratulations on the early success with gluten free food. The first two dinners after my little boy started the gluten free diet were absolutely horrible. I felt so bad I cried and gave him french fries for dinner--but he didn't mind! :lol:

Oh wow, me too! Lucas ate a lot of peanut butter on carrots and yogurt at the beginning... Sigh... a LOT! It took me quite a while to get the hang of gluten-free pasta.

In my opinion, the most dangerous ingredient is natural flavoring, or other types of flavors.

I agree completely. It's a very common ingredient, and it can actually be darn near anything. :angry: If I'm in the store and pick something up to check the ingredients, "natural flavors" will make me put it right back down. I'll look it up online when I get home. Luke and my Mom have both been glutened by "natural flavors" too many times. I never risk it anymore, EVER.

cruelshoes Enthusiast
cruelshoes
Posted

These lists are a life saver. When I was first diagnosed I printed them off and carried them everywhere with me.

Unsafe food ingredients

Safe food ingredients

psawyer Proficient
psawyer
Posted

There are quite a number of companies/brands that have a policy of clearly disclosing gluten in their ingredients. If the maker of the food is one of these, then if you don't see a gluten grain listed, the product is safe. With these brands, you don't need to worry about things like "natural flavor" or "modified food starch." If it contains gluten, the gluten grain will be named.

The list I currently have is:

Arrowhead Mills, Aunt Nelly's, Balance, Baskin Robbins, Ben & Jerry, Bertoli, Betty Crocker, Blue Bunny, Breyers, Campbells, Cascadian Farms, Celestial Seasonings, ConAgra, Country Crock, Edy's, General Mills, Good Humor, Green Giant, Haagen Daz, Hellman's, Hershey, Hormel, Hungry Jack, Jiffy, Knorr, Kozy Shack, Kraft, Lawry's, Libby's, Lipton, Martha White, Maxwell House, McCormick, Nabisco, Nestle, Old El Paso, Ortega, Pillsbury, Popsicle, Post, Progresso, Ragu, Russell Stover, Seneca Foods, Skippy, Smucker, Stokely's, Sunny Delight, T Marzetti, Tyson, Unilever, Wishbone, Yoplait, Zatarain's.

happygirl Collaborator
happygirl
Posted

Using that list makes a world of difference!!! Always turn the product over and look on the back label---you'll often find that a brand is owned by one of the companies that Peter listed. Makes food label reading SOOO much easier---and its trustworthy.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


missnbagels Explorer
missnbagels
Posted

Welcome aboard to the gluten-free lifestyle. It does get better

don't worry.

Here is a link with things you can have

https://www.celiac.com/articles/181/1/Safe-...ents/Page1.html

This is a link for things you can't have

https://www.celiac.com/articles/182/1/Unsaf...ents/Page1.html

Aj63 Newbie
Aj63
Posted
  • Author

Gosh, thank you all so much. The company list will be very helpful as will the lists of safe and unsafe foods. I really appreciate them. Today was a bit rough. Had a slumber party last night with 12 5-year old screaming little girls and it just about killed me not having a bite of piping hot pizza. Ugh!!! Tomorrow's task is making gluten-free pizza. Cross your fingers for me. :P

Matilda Enthusiast
Matilda
Posted

...

MeJenn Newbie
MeJenn
Posted

Another helpful hint is to ask your natural grocer for a list of gluten-free foods available in their store. I live in Colorado and we have a chain out here called "Vitamin Cottage" which has a huge selection of gluten-free items as well as a handy product list. Good luck with everything...it only gets easier, frustrating, yes...but easier.

J

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,671
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Paul1567
    Newest Member
    Paul1567
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Rejoicephd
      Draft gluten-free ciders… can they be trusted ?

      By Rejoicephd · Posted

      That and my nutritionist also said that drinking cider is one of the worst drink choices for me, given that I have candida overgrowth.  She said the combination of the alcohol and sugar would be very likely to worsen my candida problem.  She suggested that if I drink, I go for clear vodka, either neat or with a splash of cranberry.   So in summary, I am giving ciders a rest.  Whether it's a gluten risk or sugars and yeast overgrowth, its just not worth it.
    • Inkie
      Tea Bags and Gluten

      By Inkie · Posted

      Thank you for the information ill will definitely bring it into practice .
    • Scott Adams
      Tea Bags and Gluten

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      While plain, pure tea leaves (black, green, or white) are naturally gluten-free, the issue often lies not with the tea itself but with other ingredients or processing. Many flavored teas use barley malt or other gluten-containing grains as a flavoring agent, which would be clearly listed on the ingredient label. Cross-contamination is another possibility, either in the facility where the tea is processed or, surprisingly, from the tea bag material itself—some tea bags are sealed with a wheat-based glue. Furthermore, it's important to consider that your reaction could be to other substances in tea, such as high levels of tannins, which can be hard on the stomach, or to natural histamines or other compounds that can cause a non-celiac immune response. The best way to investigate is to carefully read labels for hidden ingredients, try switching to a certified gluten-free tea brand that uses whole leaf or pyramid-style bags, and see if the reaction persists.
    • Scott Adams
      Inconclusive results

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      This is a challenging and confusing situation. The combination of a positive EMA—which is a highly specific marker rarely yielding false positives—alongside strongly elevated TTG on two separate occasions, years apart, is profoundly suggestive of celiac disease, even in the absence of biopsy damage. This pattern strongly aligns with what is known as "potential celiac disease," where the immune system is clearly activated, but intestinal damage has not yet become visible under the microscope. Your concern about the long-term risk of continued gluten consumption is valid, especially given your family's experience with the consequences of delayed diagnosis. Since your daughter is now at an age where her buy-in is essential for a gluten-free lifestyle, obtaining a definitive answer is crucial for her long-term adherence and health. Given that she is asymptomatic yet serologically positive, a third biopsy now, after a proper 12-week challenge, offers the best chance to capture any microscopic damage that may have developed, providing the concrete evidence needed to justify the dietary change. This isn't about wanting her to have celiac; it's about wanting to prevent the insidious damage that can occur while waiting for symptoms to appear, and ultimately giving her the unambiguous "why" she needs to accept and commit to the necessary treatment. This article might be helpful. It breaks down each type of test, and what a positive results means in terms of the probability that you might have celiac disease. One test that always needs to be done is the IgA Levels/Deficiency Test (often called "Total IGA") because some people are naturally IGA deficient, and if this is the case, then certain blood tests for celiac disease might be false-negative, and other types of tests need to be done to make an accurate diagnosis. The article includes the "Mayo Clinic Protocol," which is the best overall protocol for results to be ~98% accurate.    
    • Scott Adams
      Medication

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Welcome to the community! Generally, for a gluten challenge before celiac disease blood tests, Tylenol (acetaminophen) is considered safe and should not interfere with your antibody results. The medications you typically need to avoid are those like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve) that can cause intestinal irritation, which could potentially complicate the interpretation of an endoscopy if you were to have one. However, it is absolutely crucial that you confirm this with either your gastroenterologist or your surgeon before your procedure. They know the specifics of your case and can give you the definitive green light, ensuring your surgery is comfortable and your celiac testing remains accurate. Best of luck with your surgery tomorrow
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.