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

Citric Acid Sensitivity

GFtraingirl

Recommended Posts

GFtraingirl Newbie
GFtraingirl
Posted

I have been gluten free for about 2 1/2 years, and, for the most part, I am feeling OK.

However, there is something that still bothers me at times, and I wonder if it could be citric acid. I ate earlier today, and had no stomach pain, yet a few hours later, after eating some gluten-free cookies which contains citric acid, I got the worst stomach ache. It has happened several times before, but I have never connected this pain and very sick feeling to citric acid.

For years, I have not been able to eat any fruit, other than an occasional banana and pineapple. Most fruits and fruit juices and fruit drinks give me bad stomach problems, as in pain and bloating, just like I had today.

I have searched here on the forums, but only found that some people posted something citric acid sensitivity in 2005; I feel I need more information. I have also goggled citric acid and realize now that my calcium citrate is made with citric acid. Frustrating since I have had really bad stomach problems lately, as in extremely loose bowls...

Any help would be greatly appreciated... :-)

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


pele Rookie
pele
Posted

I quit eating anything containing citric acid last summer, because it did bother me. Also, citric acid is not usually made from citrus but made from grain. In some cases, citric acid or lactic acid might be made from wheat.

GFtraingirl Newbie
GFtraingirl
Posted
  • Author
I quit eating anything containing citric acid last summer, because it did bother me. Also, citric acid is not usually made from citrus but made from grain. In some cases, citric acid or lactic acid might be made from wheat.

Pele,

Thank you for your input. I am learning so much! Your comment just confirms what I have found out today: citric acid is not always made from fruit. I am going to stay away from it. Since I was so sick earlier today, I ate again once my stomach settled down. I ate something without citric acid, and I was fine. Great discovery!

NO more citric acid for this gal! :-)

jerseyangel Proficient
jerseyangel
Posted
Also, citric acid is not usually made from citrus but made from grain. In some cases, citric acid or lactic acid might be made from wheat.

I've never heard of this--do you have a link that you can share?

GFtraingirl Newbie
GFtraingirl
Posted
  • Author
I've never heard of this--do you have a link that you can share?

This link says that citric acid made from wheat is so "processed" that it no longer contains any gluten:

Open Original Shared Link

Not sure I believe that or not.

This web site suggests that citric acid COULD contain gluten:

Open Original Shared Link

This web site tells us that 90 % of citric acid is made from corn - and some of the last 10 % may be made from wheat:

Open Original Shared Link

This web site says citric acid is gluten free:

Open Original Shared Link

This web site tells more in detail how citric acid is made:

Open Original Shared Link

I know I do not tolerate fruit and berries very well - I never have, and I get sick every time I try to eat anything other than pineapple in moderation. I also know that earlier today I got sick when I ate something with citric acid in it, something I have suspected earlier. Today just proved it. Whether that is because the citric acid is made from wheat, been fermented with the use of yeast, which I also react to, or that it is simply too acidic for my system, I do not know. After more then 50 years of being undiagnosed with Celiac, my system is extremely sensitive to a lot of different foods and food ingredients.

It is a path we all must walk and find out what we ourselves can and cannot eat. :-)

RiceGuy Collaborator
RiceGuy
Posted

When I looked into citric acid, what I read indicated that most was made from corn.

However, two things stand out about your posts. One is that you're able to eat some pineapple without too much trouble. I wonder if this is because it contains Open Original Shared Link. Might this be an indicator that you need a digestive enzyme supplement? The other thing is that you are sensitive to yeast. What I've read seems to indicate that yeasts prefer an acidic environment. So perhaps the yeast multiply more rapidly when you eat citric acid. This makes me think you might have an intestinal yeast overgrowth.

How do you feel after eating coconut oil? It has caprylic acid, which inhibits yeasts.

jerseyangel Proficient
jerseyangel
Posted
It is a path we all must walk and find out what we ourselves can and cannot eat. :-)

So true :) I also went for many, many years sick and undiagnosed. I constantly have a hard time knowing why certain things don't agree with me in one way or another.

Thank you for those links--I had seen the Clan Thompson one but not the others. I also have difficulties with citric acid, and also with citrus fruits. I always asumed it was the acid nature of these things, but who knows.....

The fact is that ever since I went gluten-free, I have either developed or discovered so many other intolerances. I'm constantly just trying to make sense of it all just like you. :)

Thanks again!

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


GFtraingirl Newbie
GFtraingirl
Posted
  • Author
When I looked into citric acid, what I read indicated that most was made from corn.

However, two things stand out about your posts. One is that you're able to eat some pineapple without too much trouble. I wonder if this is because it contains Open Original Shared Link. Might this be an indicator that you need a digestive enzyme supplement? The other thing is that you are sensitive to yeast. What I've read seems to indicate that yeasts prefer an acidic environment. So perhaps the yeast multiply more rapidly when you eat citric acid. This makes me think you might have an intestinal yeast overgrowth.

How do you feel after eating coconut oil? It has caprylic acid, which inhibits yeasts.

RiceGuy,

Your reply is very interesting. I have recently learned about Bromalain, and have used it once in awhile to calm my stomach down, but I am not sure I use it properly. I will look more at the link you provided; I appreciate the help to learn more! I am so amazed about how much I am learning about all this. Makes life interesting. :-)

Perhaps it is the Bromelain in pineapple that makes me tolerate it, but no other fruit. I have not tried coconut oil, but know I can eat coconut without any problems.

GFtraingirl Newbie
GFtraingirl
Posted
  • Author
So true :) I also went for many, many years sick and undiagnosed. I constantly have a hard time knowing why certain things don't agree with me in one way or another.

Thank you for those links--I had seen the Clan Thompson one but not the others. I also have difficulties with citric acid, and also with citrus fruits. I always asumed it was the acid nature of these things, but who knows.....

The fact is that ever since I went gluten-free, I have either developed or discovered so many other intolerances. I'm constantly just trying to make sense of it all just like you. :)

Thanks again!

Jerseyangel,

Just like you, I have found more sensitivities since I went gluten free. I believe I had those sensitivities all along, but could not find them as long as I was eating gluten. It takes time, but it pays off when you feel yourself getting healthier.

pele Rookie
pele
Posted

Rice guy--

Pineapple is one of the few foods I crave all the time after two gluten-free years. I will check out bromelain. Thanks.

JA and GFTG, I went decades undiagnosed, too. Still dealing with the damage to the endocrine system.

  • 1 month later...
Rebecca's mom Rookie
Rebecca's mom
Posted

I am so glad I ran across this thread - I've been having reactions to canned pineapple, and I couldn't figure out what could have been causing it! I have a different "reaction" from most people - I start itching uncontrollably when I accidentally ingest gluten, and it doesn't take much at all. I also have been having problems with an ingredient called "Natamycin", which is now a common additive in shredded cheese.

Thanks so much for the info!

samcarter Contributor
samcarter
Posted

I can't tolerate oranges, orange juice, or lemonade--but I don't know if that's a citrus issue or citric acid. I take Citracal every day and have no issues so far with it.

Rebecca's mom Rookie
Rebecca's mom
Posted

I haven't noticed a problem with citrus fruits, but I haven't eaten any in a while - it will be interesting to see what happens. It appears that - in my case, at least - I personally am having a reaction to the Aspergillus mold that is used during the manufacturing of "food grade" citric acid. I have a similar reaction to vinegar, as well - apparently some people with mold allergies can have bad reactions to vinegar.

I knew that I was allergic to mold - it never occurred to me that mold could be an INTERNAL allergy......

Archived

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

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

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,322
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    James Minton
    Newest Member
    James Minton
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • catnapt
      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      By catnapt · Posted

      oh that's interesting... it's hard to say for sure but it has *seemed* like oats might be causing me some vague issues in the past few months. It's odd that I never really connect specific symptoms to foods, it's more of an all over feeling of unwellness after  eating them.  If it happens a few times after eating the same foods- I cut back or avoid them. for this reason I avoid dairy and eggs.  So far this has worked well for me.  oh, I have some of Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot cereal and I love it! it's hard to find but I will be looking for more.  for the next few weeks I'm going to be concentrating on whole fresh fruits and veggies and beans and nuts and seeds. I'll have to find out if grains are truly necessary in our diet. I buy brown rice pasta but only eat that maybe once a month at most. Never liked quinoa. And all the other exotic sounding grains seem to be time consuming to prepare. Something to look at later. I love beans and to me they provide the heft and calories that make me feel full for a lot longer than a big bowl of broccoli or other veggies. I can't even tolerate the plant milks right now.  I have reached out to the endo for guidance regarding calcium intake - she wants me to consume 1000mgs from food daily and I'm not able to get to more than 600mgs right now.  not supposed to use a supplement until after my next round of testing for hyperparathyroidism.   thanks again- you seem to know quite a bit about celiac.  
    • trents
      IBS-D vs Celiac

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to the celiac.com community, @SilkieFairy! You could also have NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity) as opposed to celiac disease. They share many of the same symptoms, especially the GI ones. There is no test for NCGS. Celiac disease must first be ruled out.
    • trents
      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      By trents · Posted

      Under the circumstances, your decision to have the testing done on day 14 sounds very reasonable. But I think by now you know for certain that you either have celiac disease or NCGS and either way you absolutely need to eliminate gluten from your diet. I don't think you have to have an official diagnosis of celiac disease to leverage gluten free service in hospitals or institutional care and I'm guessing your physician would be willing to grant you a diagnosis of gluten sensitivity (NCGS) even if your celiac testing comes up negative. Also, you need to be aware that oats (even gluten free oats) is a common cross reactor in the celiac community. Oat protein (avenin) is similar to gluten. You might want to look at some other gluten free hot  breakfast cereal alternatives.
    • SilkieFairy
      IBS-D vs Celiac

      By SilkieFairy · Posted

      After the birth of my daughter nearly 6 years ago, my stools changed. They became thin if they happened to be solid (which was rare) but most of the time it was Bristol #6 (very loose and 6-8x a day). I was on various medications and put it down to that. A few years later I went on this strict "fruit and meat" diet where I just ate meat, fruit, and squash vegetables. I noticed my stools were suddenly formed, if a bit narrow. I knew then that the diarrhea was probably food related not medication related. I tried following the fodmap diet but honestly it was just too complicated, I just lived with pooping 8x a day and wondering how I'd ever get and keep a job once my children were in school.  This past December I got my yearly bloodwork and my triglycerides were high. I looked into Dr. William Davis (wheat belly author) and he recommended going off wheat and other grains. This is the first time in my life I was reading labels to make sure there was no wheat. Within 2 weeks, not only were my stools formed and firm but I was only pooping twice a day, beautiful formed Bristol #4.  Dr. Davis allows some legumes, so I went ahead and added red lentils and beans. Nervous that the diarrhea would come back if I had IBS-D. Not only did it not come back, it just made my stools even bigger and beautiful. Still formed just with a lot more width and bulk. I've also been eating a lot of plant food like tofu, mushrooms, bell peppers, hummus etc which I thought was the cause of my diarrhea before and still, my stools are formed. In January I ran a genetics test because I knew you had to have the genes for celiac. The report came back with  DQ 2.2 plus other markers that I guess are necessary in order for it to be possible to have celiac. Apparently DQ 2.2 is the "rarer" kind but based on my report it's genetically possible for me to have celiac.  I know the next step is to bring gluten back so I can get testing but I am just not wanting to do that. After suffering with diarrhea for years I can't bring myself to do it right now. So that is where I am!   
    • catnapt
      anyone here diagnosed with a PARAthyroid disorder? (NOT the thyroid) the calcium controlling glands

      By catnapt · Posted

      learned I had a high PTH level in 2022 suspected to be due to low vit D  got my vit D level up a bit but still have high PTH   I am 70 yrs old (today in fact) I am looking for someone who also has hyperparathyroidism that might be caused by malabsorption    
×
×
  • 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.