Im Confused!

[Rachelmoon]

So I just started this whole gluten free thing, I do feel a lot better but I know that I am still eating gluten. I looked up the list of unsafe ingredients, but a lot of things that I read about on here dont have any of those ingredients from the list. Are lotions and creams something that I need to be worried about? And how do you truely know what is gluten free? ANY advice would be greatly apprieciated.

[mattathayde]

lotions and creams- you will get different answers but unless you have secondary issues like skin reactions or are extremely sensitive (which i doubt) dont worry about them, but if you keep having issues after being 100% gluten-free for a while its something to look at. most main stream products are gluten-free from what i have seen

when i found out i have celiac disease last year i didnt go gluten-free right away but gluten light and got soooooo much better but i still had issues, finally cut it out in aug and cut out things that i didnt realize had gluten in them (some cooking ingredients) a few months ago.

some stuff is cross contaminated in production and it gets some of us, others the shared lines done matter at all

stick to things that are naturally gluten-free and have to way to be contaminated (fruits, veggies, meats, rice, etc)

what are some of the things you dont get being glutened that dont have the ingredients?

-matt

[Rachelmoon]

I dont think I am extra sensitive so I wont worry about that but things like tortilla chips, obviously I buy the corn one but some people have told me that even corn chips can have gluten. And spices, I know marinades and such have gluten but spices?? I just get frustrated I guess because I am trying to stay away from gluten and then I keep finding out more and more things I thought would be ok arent. I understand the whole fresh foods thing which is not a problem being we always ate a lot of that but I dont know how to add flavor to anything anymore? Can I use bbq sauce? And then what about charcoal I read some of it had gluten in it. I just wonder how far I am supposed to take it...

[ravenwoodglass]

I dont think I am extra sensitive so I wont worry about that but things like tortilla chips, obviously I buy the corn one but some people have told me that even corn chips can have gluten. And spices, I know marinades and such have gluten but spices?? I just get frustrated I guess because I am trying to stay away from gluten and then I keep finding out more and more things I thought would be ok arent. I understand the whole fresh foods thing which is not a problem being we always ate a lot of that but I dont know how to add flavor to anything anymore? Can I use bbq sauce? And then what about charcoal I read some of it had gluten in it. I just wonder how far I am supposed to take it...

IMHO it is best to be super strict at first and then slowly add things in that might be risky, like corn chips, processed foods and gluten containing lotions and such.

The reason why is because a person with celiac is making antibodies to gluten. Those antibodies can choose to attack any organ in your body including your brain. You want to stop that antibody reaction and clear them from your system. Very, very small amounts of gluten will keep that antibody process going.

Keep reading here and learning. As to the barbeque sauce, do a board search and see what brands others use or post a query in the products section of the board. A good rule of thumb is to call a company and ask the gluten statis of a food before you eat it. Some companies are good about labeling gluten ingredients like Kraft and Unilever but others are not as good. Barley malt as a flavoring agent is IMHO one of our biggest risks. It hides in 'natural flavors' and because it is considered a flavoring agent it is not required to be listed.

It does seem daunting at first but you will get the hang of it.

[mattathayde]

I dont think I am extra sensitive so I wont worry about that but things like tortilla chips, obviously I buy the corn one but some people have told me that even corn chips can have gluten. And spices, I know marinades and such have gluten but spices?? I just get frustrated I guess because I am trying to stay away from gluten and then I keep finding out more and more things I thought would be ok arent. I understand the whole fresh foods thing which is not a problem being we always ate a lot of that but I dont know how to add flavor to anything anymore? Can I use bbq sauce? And then what about charcoal I read some of it had gluten in it. I just wonder how far I am supposed to take it...

some people have complained of the tostitos giving them reactions but i know many many more of us who never have an issue with them. as to spices, as long as you are just bying single spices and not some of the "mixes" and "blends" your should be safe in that area.

as to BBQ sauce i know sweet baby rays is gluten-free (they used to say gluten-free but they now say they cannot guarantee it since their lawyers basically told them to say that instead to cover them selves, but i eat it all the time and have no issues)

for charcoal, your gona get a lot of different views probably by heres my 2cents. if it has gluten in it by the time it lights it will be burned off, but if you use natural chunk charcoal your safe ya it takes longer to light probably but it doesnt have any of the other crap in the briquettes.

i understand why people say to be super strict at first but unless you are having a lot of issues right now i dont think cutting out everything that just might possibly be CC'ed is logical because honestly there are 100s of things that the vast majority of celiacs have no issues with at all that have the possibility of being CC'ed, given some celiacs have reactions to some of these still but most of them have many other allergies/sensitivities and have super super bad reactions to being glutened (weeks of reactions)

-matt

[QueenOfPain]

Here's a few tips that I've learned to help get you started.

As far as spices go--I try to stick with McCormick brand, because they use pure spices and if there is a gluten ingredient they are supposed to include that on their label. (I haven't run into one yet.) Kraft is also a good brand to buy, because they will clearly list gluten ingredients as well. (I use Kraft Hickory Smoke BBQ sauce.) As for meats I've noticed that Hormel will actually list gluten-free on their packaging. Also, Wal-Mart's Great Value brand also puts gluten-free on their products.

It's definitely a slow learning process. But you'll get the hang of it.

[GFinDC]

The advice to eat simply at first and cut out processed foods is good. When you are first starting out on the diet you want to give your body every chance to heal you can. That means not taking chances on food you aren't 100% sure about. If you can stick with whole foods you avoid lots of possible cross contamination issues, lots of preservatives, lots of other possible ingredients like soy, corn, barley, rye, MSG, yeast, or whatever else might be hidden in a processed food. Spices are nice, but doing without them for a little while is not so awful. If you can get your digestion stabilized somewhat, you can then add ingredients/foods into your diet one a day and see how they affect you. I don't think salt or plain black pepper affects most people badly, so those are some spices you could start with. Simplicity is easier to understand and identify reactions. And you won't have to spend all your time researching ingredients and reading food labels either. I suggest you check out some of the threads on elimination diets to see how people do them. The thing is, many of us have other food intolerances besides gluten, and you may also. So starting slow and simply with your foods may help you pinpoint other causes of problems. You may not have any, but won't know until you do know.

By the way, wheat is a good paste/glue. And it is used in some products to help stabilize emulsions (salad dressings, so they don't separate), and in some products to keep them separated/not clumping (spices). It's very handy for these uses since it also tastes good, like food. So handy it is in many things you wouldn't think of it being added to.