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

Natural Flavors Vs. Natural Flavorings?

sleepybeauty

Recommended Posts

sleepybeauty Newbie
sleepybeauty
Posted

On May 1, 2008, my blood test came back with a highly positive reading of 271 for the gluten antibodies. I am having a biopsy on Monday. I have thrown every kind of suspect food item out my house. Or so I think. However, so many of the labels say natural flavors, or natural flavorings. Are these safe for us? Please help. I'm really afraid that with how positive my test came back I'm going to have to be EXTREMELY careful.

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


RiceGuy Collaborator
RiceGuy
Posted

Some flavorings can contain gluten, so it is best to verify by looking on the company website and/or contacting them by phone or email.

In case you haven't yet seen this, here's a link to some lists of safe and unsafe ingredients:

https://www.celiac.com/categories/Safe-Glut...3B-Ingredients/

ShayFL Enthusiast
ShayFL
Posted

I sure hope you have not been gluten free since May 1st as your biopsy might come up negative as your villi might have healed to a point where the biopsy will not pick up damage.

The villi begin healing as soon as you cut gluten out of your diet and some people heal VERY quickly (within weeks). So if you are gluten free and have been for more than a few weeks, dont be surprised if the biopsy comes back negative and you do not get a Dx of Celiac.

But with your blood YOU ARE Celiac. So try not to be lulled into a sense of security based on the biopsy. If you continue to eat gluten you will be damaging yourself and setting yourself up for auto-immune, cancer, etc.

***Now to answer your question. I avoid both of these things because I am sensitive to MSG and both of these contain it. MSG comes from seaweed, so they can still call it "natural". I personally do not buy any product that does not list everything out individually.

I WOULD NOT buy this product:

Ingredients: Rice flour, tapioca flour, xanthum gum, modified palm oil, spices and natural flavoring.

But I WOULD buy this one:

Ingrediets: Rice flour, tapioca flour, xanthum gum, palm oil, thyme, parsley, rosemary and sea salt.

***Manufacturers now know that we look for "hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated" so they use "modified" to fool us and since the Govt allows some trans fats and they can still claim zero trans fats, this is how they get around it and trick us into buying their crap. If the oil has been modified in anyway they have to claim that. They just dont have to tell you "how" it was modified.

JennyC Enthusiast
JennyC
Posted

Gluten can hide in natural flavorings, but many mainstream companies have policies of disclosing any gluten in their ingredients. If the product is not from a company that discloses gluten and it does not say gluten free, then I contact the company before I let my son eat it. When you do call companies, ask if the have a gluten labeling policy. It's best if they have a policy for disclosing gluten, so we don't have to rely on lists that can change. Also ask who their parent company is, as they will likely have the same policy. For example if you call La Choy and speak to them about their soy sauce, you could possibly miss that the parent company Con Agra discloses gluten in ALL of their MANY products.

These companies disclose gluten (it won't hide in natural flavorings, spices, etc.):

Open Original Shared Link

sleepybeauty Newbie
sleepybeauty
Posted
  • Author
I sure hope you have not been gluten free since May 1st as your biopsy might come up negative as your villi might have healed to a point where the biopsy will not pick up damage.

The villi begin healing as soon as you cut gluten out of your diet and some people heal VERY quickly (within weeks). So if you are gluten free and have been for more than a few weeks, dont be surprised if the biopsy comes back negative and you do not get a Dx of Celiac.

But with your blood YOU ARE Celiac. So try not to be lulled into a sense of security based on the biopsy. If you continue to eat gluten you will be damaging yourself and setting yourself up for auto-immune, cancer, etc.

***Now to answer your question. I avoid both of these things because I am sensitive to MSG and both of these contain it. MSG comes from seaweed, so they can still call it "natural". I personally do not buy any product that does not list everything out individually.

I WOULD NOT buy this product:

Ingredients: Rice flour, tapioca flour, xanthum gum, modified palm oil, spices and natural flavoring.

But I WOULD buy this one:

Ingrediets: Rice flour, tapioca flour, xanthum gum, palm oil, thyme, parsley, rosemary and sea salt.

***Manufacturers now know that we look for "hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated" so they use "modified" to fool us and since the Govt allows some trans fats and they can still claim zero trans fats, this is how they get around it and trick us into buying their crap. If the oil has been modified in anyway they have to claim that. They just dont have to tell you "how" it was modified.

sleepybeauty Newbie
sleepybeauty
Posted
  • Author

Thank you for all the information. No I have not been gluten free since May 1st, I will officially gluten free tomorrow. I am lucky enough to have found this web site, and knew that I could heal within the time in between my blood test and biopsy. It has given me time to get ready mentally also. Because although I know most of the foods I have been eating are making me sick, I am very fond of them. So now I am ready.

I had the same reaction to ingredients that are generically listed as "spices". I threw all of those away just to be safe. Thankfully my husband is really supportive and is even given up his bread for his beloved sandwiches. :)

Again thank you for all the information.

sleepybeauty Newbie
sleepybeauty
Posted
  • Author
Gluten can hide in natural flavorings, but many mainstream companies have policies of disclosing any gluten in their ingredients. If the product is not from a company that discloses gluten and it does not say gluten free, then I contact the company before I let my son eat it. When you do call companies, ask if the have a gluten labeling policy. It's best if they have a policy for disclosing gluten, so we don't have to rely on lists that can change. Also ask who their parent company is, as they will likely have the same policy. For example if you call La Choy and speak to them about their soy sauce, you could possibly miss that the parent company Con Agra discloses gluten in ALL of their MANY products.

These companies disclose gluten (it won't hide in natural flavorings, spices, etc.):

Open Original Shared Link

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


sleepybeauty Newbie
sleepybeauty
Posted
  • Author
Gluten can hide in natural flavorings, but many mainstream companies have policies of disclosing any gluten in their ingredients. If the product is not from a company that discloses gluten and it does not say gluten free, then I contact the company before I let my son eat it. When you do call companies, ask if the have a gluten labeling policy. It's best if they have a policy for disclosing gluten, so we don't have to rely on lists that can change. Also ask who their parent company is, as they will likely have the same policy. For example if you call La Choy and speak to them about their soy sauce, you could possibly miss that the parent company Con Agra discloses gluten in ALL of their MANY products.

These companies disclose gluten (it won't hide in natural flavorings, spices, etc.):

Open Original Shared Link

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.

sleepybeauty Newbie
sleepybeauty
Posted
  • Author
Some flavorings can contain gluten, so it is best to verify by looking on the company website and/or contacting them by phone or email.

In case you haven't yet seen this, here's a link to some lists of safe and unsafe ingredients:

https://www.celiac.com/categories/Safe-Glut...3B-Ingredients/

Thank you so much for taking the time to give me this info. I don't know what I would have done with out this site to find people that give such great support.

larry mac Enthusiast
larry mac
Posted
.....I had the same reaction to ingredients that are generically listed as "spices". I threw all of those away just to be safe. Thankfully my husband is really supportive and is even given up his bread for his beloved sandwiches......

If you haven't been gluten-free until tomorrow, how do you know you react to "spices"? Any possible gluten contained in spice ingredients (which I wouldn't worry about anyway since wheat is not a spice) would be infinitesimally small compared to the major gluten you eat before going gluten-free.

Why does your husband have to go on a gluten-free diet? He doesn't have Celiac Disease. I make my wife sandwiches; hasn't made me sick.

best regards, lm

Archived

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

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


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,681
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Donna Ybarra
    Newest Member
    Donna Ybarra
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

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



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

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

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I'd go with a vodka tonic, but that's just me😉
    • 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.    
×
×
  • 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.