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Quinoa Oh No-a Should Have Said Whoa To That Quinoa

chasbari

By chasbari
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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chasbari Apprentice
chasbari
Posted

Well, the title sums it up. I have been having a great two or three weeks. Have been strict with my diet. tried some Cassava chips the other day... didn't like them and reacted poorly to the salt but nothing too terrible. Thought I would try some prewashed quinoa with my fish and steamed veggies and fresh fruit for dinner. Cramps, blurred vision, extreme pain in my wrists.... not just the hands but clear into the wrists, chills and who knows what next. I think I will pretty much stay away from this stuff for the near long short term....or maybe even longer. Can't even think clearly and I have a feeling it is going to be hard to sleep well tonight. If I could make tears I would be crying right now. I am trying to keep from panicking but have been eating whatever I can get my hands on. Peeled and ate an orange. Had some strawberries and frozen blueberries. Thirsty, which is quite unusual. Oh yeah, the other thing that happened within an hour of eating it was that I had pretty bad heartburn for the first time in more than 3 months. I almost forgot what that felt like it had been so long. I hope I will feel better in the morning as I have some of my first traveling of significance in quite sometime and was planning out how to survive on the road. Crud, crud, crud... This too shall pass.... Just had to say something to someone somewhere.

CS

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foodiegurl Collaborator
foodiegurl
Posted

Sorry about your reaction to quinoa. I am not sure what it is, but I used to eat quinoa all the time. And then all of the sudden several months ago, I had it twice within a month of each other, and had a horrible stomach ache following each time. And once I only had a 1/4 cup. I gave all my quinoa away to my sister since then.

i was very careful about washing it too. And this was way before my celiac discovery. I even looked it up online and saw many people have reactions to quinoa. It is too bad since it is such a great grain nutritionally, and I figured out how to make it pretty yummy!!

chasbari Apprentice
chasbari
Posted
  • Author
Sorry about your reaction to quinoa. I am not sure what it is, but I used to eat quinoa all the time. And then all of the sudden several months ago, I had it twice within a month of each other, and had a horrible stomach ache following each time. And once I only had a 1/4 cup. I gave all my quinoa away to my sister since then.

i was very careful about washing it too. And this was way before my celiac discovery. I even looked it up online and saw many people have reactions to quinoa. It is too bad since it is such a great grain nutritionally, and I figured out how to make it pretty yummy!!

I thought I was being extra careful about adding new things. When I searched the forum after I ate it and was having my troubles I discovered that others also experienced problems.

I thought for sure I was going to get someone posting about my "pronunciation" of it in the title but it was as much a tribute to everyone's glazed looks when I would say "keen-wa" leaving them clueless. As soon as I would say "kwin-oh-ah" they would say "Oh, thaat." I suppose my title, for the purists, should have read

Not keen to wah but that quinoa is making me keen to wah...or some such nonsense.

My hands are feeling weak and terrible this morning so it seems as much to be an RA trigger. My eyes are also much worse than they have been (Sjogrens) and my tinnitus is the worst it has been in months. Live and learn. The operative word, of course, is live!

Back to healing.

CS

hhdavid Apprentice
hhdavid
Posted

RA trigger? :(:o Thanks for the heads up. I'm new at this, and I will remember not to try quinoa.

Hope you feel better soon.

N.Justine Newbie
N.Justine
Posted

Quinoa is a safe grain -- the transport and cultivation of quinoa makes it often open to cross-contamination - -no matter how much you wash it. Make sure your quinoa if sourced gluten free otherwise you are eating wheat.

  • 1 month later...
TearzaRose Explorer
TearzaRose
Posted

I had some quinoa recently and loved the taste and thought it was so pretty with the little curly q in the cooked grain.

ANYWAY, i ended up having a bad reaction from that too. :angry:

i don't know why, but it seems most grains are becoming an enemy. :(

  • 3 years later...
archaeo in FL Apprentice
archaeo in FL
Posted

I'm late to this discussion, but have been noticing that I'm having bad stomach reactions to quinoa. Bad acid, reflux, stomach aches. To clarify, I do not think this is Celiac related, but it's frustrating that such a healthy grain substitute is now off the table too! It has been my go-to for packing lunches with fresh veggies and healthy fats (avocados, olives), but I guess I'll keep looking...

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BabsV Enthusiast
BabsV
Posted

Right there with you. I trialled quinoa again after almost a year off it and...had horrible abdominal pain and tenderness and was an exhausted zombie for a day. From 1 stinkin' eighth of a cup of quinoa.

 

As it stands now I can tolerate small amounts of sorghum...and that is it. Lots of veg, meat and fruits on my plate at the moment! Plus nuts and small amounts of cheese or yogurt. I've pretty much given up on grains although I have some amaranth I ordered from nuts.com and I think I'll give it a try at some point. 

 

My nutritionist keeps telling me to stay positive and that I could very well get foods back as I continue to heal. We shall see.

Pegleg84 Collaborator
Pegleg84
Posted

Oh man! I feel your pain! I wasn't a huge quinoa consumer, but its tasty and its one of those grains that's supposed to be super great for you, but it never entirely sat right with me. Then last summer I had a bowl of it for dinner one night and had the WORST pain EVER! Worse than any glutening I'd had, worse than anything! It scared the s$#&e out of me! I figured it could have been a delayed glutening, but I hadn't eaten anything potentially ccd in several days, and this is not feel like any glutening I'd ever gotten. A few weeks later I was brave enough to have a little bit, and it got me too! So I haven't touched quinoa since. I should trial it and see how it goes, but too scared... I also had the "heartburn!? I never get heartburn! whaa?" reaction. Everything got thrown out of whack after the "quinoa incident".

 

Anyway, it does seem to be more common among celiacs than you'd think (check out the Other Intoleraces forum for other threads on this issue). No one really knows why - cross contamination, something about the saponin on the grains that might not be washed off well enough, or other aspects of its "defence" system. Even though its a seed, not a grain, it can be hell to digest for some of us (I also have trouble with brown rice and other whole grains). I seem to be able to handle quinoa flour and such, but not whole.

 

So stay away from it for a while, and maybe try it again in a few weeks, or months, or whenever you're brave enough.

 

Hope you feel better soon!

(I pronounce it keen-wah. Should be keen-whaaat??)

GottaSki Mentor
GottaSki
Posted

Ditto what Peg said -- Quinoa has a really high lectin content -- I was eating it a lot when first diagnosed -- as it is supposed to be a great gluten-free food.  It is indeed a wonderful gluten-free food, but it is also extremely hard to digest if your digestive system is damaged.

 

Remove it for awhile - but do trial it again at some point -- will likely be a very long time before I try it again, but I will eventually.

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

Remove it for awhile - but do trial it again at some point -- will likely be a very long time before I try it again, but I will eventually.

I don't think I will :ph34r:

  • 2 years later...
soccer-dude Newbie
soccer-dude
Posted

Hi,

 

Just ran across this thread on the Internet. I have at the very least Gluten Intolernace, and definately wheat allergies. But, it was never confirmed that I have Celiac.  In any case, it seems that whenever I eat Quinoa cereal, from Erewhon (Quinoa & Chia) I can get heart burn or acid refulx.  It seems to happen often.  I haven't had cooked quinoa in some time, so I don't recall how I reacted to it.  I person I work with said that his wife has BAD digestive issues with Quinoa. It appears to cause a reaction with her gallbladder.  Taking ox bile helped, but she just avoids quinoa now.  I've tried a supplement containing a low dose of ox bile but doesn't seem to help when I eat the Quinoa cereal.  I love this cereal because it's got less than one gram of sugar, is gluten free, only has Quinoa, Chia and some Brown Rice. But.....seems to hard to digest.  I also have a hard time digesting nuts/seeds. Oh well. :)

 

Cheers

StClair Apprentice
StClair
Posted

This is so timely for me to read! I've been improving rapidly, one month diagnosed and gluten free and starting to feel like my old self. Yesterday I had a small drive, three hours round trip, so I had a huge helping of nutritious quinoa for breakfast. By the time I arrived at my destination I wasn't feeling so well. The #%&$ heartburn was back, and then on the trip home I had to stop in a gas station parking lot and sleep for 40 min before I could drive home. If I hadn't read this I would have never suspected the quinoa (and I didn't wash it, my bad). I will trial it again in the distant future because I do like it, but very glad to have read this. I hope it has not set me back too far.

Serielda Enthusiast
Serielda
Posted

Ahh quinoa, how I miss that wonderful tasty grain. Yet this is the little gem that I did not know about that really caused a lot of fuss I am not happy with.

In my case while I was  vegan and indulging this grain I had no idea it has for some(not all)  affiliation with gallbladder issues. My naturopath and Dr. was very adamant  I avoid this at all costs. I am still somewhat in denial but not dumb enough to test fate.  I do know of some who can eat the stuff and for some of us on the other end, avoid it like the plague.

When I saw this post yesterday I did some research into it, and wishing I had bookmarked my findings but being tired after a very busy day I didn't think so and now having problems finding those links again.(bummer) . 

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