Could I Have Gotten Glutened From A Probiotic?

[jasonD2 11]

My doctor suggested I take a strong probiotic so I got some HLC Synbiotic by Pharmax. 20 min after drinking the mixed powder i got tingling in my arms and legs. I still dont know if this is a gluten-related reaction or something else, but I suspect it is gluten.

The company is in the UK and clearly states the product is gluten free. the US distributors also have gluten free listed all over their websites. the only thing suspicious is that they use maltodextrin to dry the flavoring, which is apricot powder. They site says the powder is also gluten free. could my "reaction" be unrelated? I didnt eat anything else different

[mushroom 1,209]

Sometimes we react to things whose source we cannot identify. I react to gluten-free sublingual B12 but do not have reactions to any of the ingredients individually. I would say if you react to something, just don't take it and leave it at that.

[yolo 62]

Natural flavorings by the way are usually alcohol based and thus not gluten free.

Bea

[jststric 13]

My doc also told me to do the same, but I'm very dairy-intolerant also. It took some doing to find a probiotic that was allergen-free besides the gluten-free. You COULD be reacting to some other food besides your gluten issues.

[Wolicki 39]

Jason,

I tend to be leary to things manufactured outside of the US because of labeling laws. Why not go down to Whole Foods and get the stongest ones they have, allergen free, and just take them three times a day?

Keep your chin up!!

[jackay 21]

My probiotic states that it does not contain milk, egg, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat (gluten) peanuts or soybeans. It goes on to say that some straines are fermented in soy and/or milk and that processing elilminates any soy and/or milk residue. I am intolerant to soy and milk. I question if this is a safe product for me.

Can anyone provide the brand name of a product that is definitely gluten, soy and dairy free?

[gaingus 1]

I'm not too sure about other products because I use dairy based probiotics which obviously doesn't work for you.

One thing I have learned, when it comes to allergen labeling (I know it's not an allergy it's a disease but the FDA considers it an allergy for labelling), in the US we only label wheat as an allergen on foods. I have learned to scrutinize each ingredient in a product, and sometimes some do slip through. I know you asked about maltodextrin, once again here in the US, if the maltodextrin is sourced from wheat and it is known to come from wheat it has to be marked on the label.

There are some foods that I purchase that come from other countries through Whole Foods or off the internet that specify were it is sourced from, for example: maltodextrin(corn); maltodextrin(wheat); maltodextrin(rye); et........ Maltodextrin can be sourced from many different grains and if it is from barley, malt or rye in the US it won't be labelled as such unless the manufacturer chooses to put it on there themselves. As of recently, most of the maltodextrin used (especially in the US) is corn so you should be safe there. Now depending on how sensitive your system is, there has been research on cross contact where silos are used for more than one type of grain for example, housed wheat one season and then housed corn the next without being cleaned. This is usually a bigger issue with oats, but could be possible with corn, rice etc.

[jackay 21]

I ran across a product that that lists flavoring. It is Goody's Cool Orange pain relief powder. I contacted the company and was told:

"The maltodextrin in the peppermint flavor is derived from wheat at less than 60 parts per million." That isn't disclosed on the product label. I couldn't taste that there was peppermint flavoring in it.

From now on I will question every product that lists flavoring.