Ocean Spray Craisins

[Emily Elizabeth]

I've been getting sicker and sicker for the last 3 weeks and I can't figure out what is causing it. The only thing I can think of is the craisins or the Diamond walnuts I have been putting in these muffins I have been baking for breakfast. Both appear to be gluten free based on previous posts and the company website, but I thought I would just find out if anyone else has had any problems. I could just have a stomach bug, but I of course think of celiac first. Thanks in advance for your help!

Emily

[blueeyedmanda]

I am glad you posted this. I bought a bag 2 weeks ago, and the first time I had some (and I have eaten crasins many times before this) I felt a little "off" for the next few hours. I didnt think much of it since I was just getting over having a stomach flu. Last week again, I brought them out of my desk for a work time snack. I ate a handful and felt bad again. I looked at the ingredients again thinking maybe I missed something. They seemed safe. I felt worse and worse and then gave my coworkers the bag for them to enjoy.

I hope others have some insight for us.

[Emily Elizabeth]

I hope others have some insight for us.

Me too! Thanks for posting, I'm glad to hear that I'm not alone on this one. Did you happen to buy a big bag of them from Costco?

[blueeyedmanda]

Me too! Thanks for posting, I'm glad to hear that I'm not alone on this one. Did you happen to buy a big bag of them from Costco?

Nope, I bought the regular sized bag from the grocery store. I only ate a handful each time too, but that proved to be too much.

[Emily Elizabeth]

I just called Ocean Spray and the woman assured me that craisens (even the big bags from costco) are produced in an entirely gluten free facility. So this got me thinking... maybe it has something to do with the cranberries themselves. I found out that cranberries have tannins in them and so does red wine (which I like to drink a lot of) and excessive intake of tannins can cause bowel iritation (wikipedia, see below)

"In sensitive individuals, large intakes of tannins may cause bowel irritation, kidney irritation, liver damage, irritation of the stomach and gastrointestinal pain. With the exception of tea, long-term and/or excessive use of herbs containing high concentrations of tannins is not recommended. A correlation has been made between esophogeal or nasal cancer in humans and regular consumption of certain herbs with high tannin concentrations."

Here's the link to the above quote - Open Original Shared Link

So maybe I'm looking into this too much, but I think I'm going to try and lay off the "tannins" for a while and see if that helps!

[blueeyedmanda]

The thing with me is, I dont drink red wine at all.....so what would have bothered me?

[Lisa]

Glad you received a confirmation, but Cranraisins have never bothered me. I used them often in chicken salad and muffins.

[Emily Elizabeth]

The thing with me is, I dont drink red wine at all.....so what would have bothered me?

Supposedly, tannins are in chocolate, red wine, some cheeses, some ice creams, "caffeine," beans, nuts, cinnamon, bananas, smoked foods, cigarette smoke, some sour creams, and fermented foods and some herbs.

Here is the website I found this at (it is for people w/migranes, but still discusses tannins) - Open Original Shared Link. The main ones were

Again, I am probably totally off base here. I'd love to find out the real reason!