New To The Site And In Need Of Some Advice... For Survival!

[ojayt]

Hey,

I'm Oli, I'm new to the site and forum. What you've got going on here looks like a good community!

I come to take first and not to give i'm afraid. I need help. It's a battle as we all know with a food intolerance living in a wheat and gluten world, where it is often hidden and has other names. But it's worth fighting for!

I'm 21 and have been suffering from what I believe is reactions to eating gluten and wheat containing products. But I need some foundational clarity and wisdom. So have here a few questions I'd like to ask anyone.

Questions:

1. Can one be wheat/barley/rye intolerant without being gluten intolerant or would one who says they are wheat/barley/rye intolerant only really be gluten intolerant because of course wheat contains gluten. So is it fair to say that in actual fact one if just gluten intolerant?

2. Which leads me to ask can something contain wheat/rye/barley and not contain gluten?

3. Does and can corn contain gluten or wheat/rye/barley?

Then just a few more about ingredients deadly...

Yeast extract?

Maize Starch?

And Spirit Vinegar?

Anti-caking agents?

Raising Agents?

Thank you for taking the time to read me, any responses even in not in full would be greatly appreciated!

[tarnalberry]

1. Can one be wheat/barley/rye intolerant without being gluten intolerant or would one who says they are wheat/barley/rye intolerant only really be gluten intolerant because of course wheat contains gluten. So is it fair to say that in actual fact one if just gluten intolerant?

2. Which leads me to ask can something contain wheat/rye/barley and not contain gluten?

3. Does and can corn contain gluten or wheat/rye/barley?

Then just a few more about ingredients deadly...

Yeast extract?

Maize Starch?

And Spirit Vinegar?

Anti-caking agents?

Raising Agents?

Thank you for taking the time to read me, any responses even in not in full would be greatly appreciated!

1. I don't think you could separate wheat/gluten/rye intolerance from gluten intolerance. Sure, you could have an allergy to those and not be celiac or gluten intolerant, but that's because it's a different immune reaction involved with allergies. But really, does it matter to separate names? It's still the same foods you can't eat.

2. No, if it contains wheat or barley or rye, it contains gluten. Gluten, in this case, is a colloquial word for "the protein found in wheat, barley, and rye". It may be useful to know that scientifically, gluten means "the protein found in grains", and this includes grains that are not problematic for celiacs. That bit is just useful to know for label reading.

3. Related to the previous answer, corn does not contain gluten (used colloquially), and is safe for celiacs and those who are gluten intolerant. You might one day see "corn gluten" on a label (I've seen it before), but in that case it is being used scientifically, to mean corn protein. Other safe grains include rice, millet, quinoa, buckwheat (not related to wheat at all), and teff.

4. The funky ingredients:

Yeast extract? Safe for celiacs - often a source of MSG, however, which is useful to be aware IF you are avoiding MSG (which you might, but not for gluten avoiding purposes)

Maize Starch? This is just the starch from corn.

And Spirit Vinegar? I'm not familiar with the term "spirit" vinegar. Distilled vinegar, being distilled and not having anything added back to it, is gluten free. Some people don't do well with it, however, so listen more to your body than any written "should" or "does/doesn't". If you're in the US, any label that just says "vinegar" must be referring to apple cider vinegar, which is absolutely gluten free.

Anti-caking agents? Yes, these are gluten free. They usually aren't actually "food" bits, but "edible" chemical compounds that can absorb water to prevent clumping.

Raising Agents? Yes, these are gluten free. It refers to things like baking powder, baking soda, and other items that cause non-yeast baked goods to rise.

(5.) Be aware that celiacs and those who are gluten intolerant generally also cannot tolerate regular oats. They are usually grown in alternation with wheat, and the oats are virtually always contaminated. So, mainstream granola and granola bars that are made from oats... wouldn't really consider them safe, even there is no wheat/barley/rye on the ingredient list. You can get "certified gluten free" oats, but also be aware that approximately 10% of celiacs (and presumably those who are gluten intolerant, but I don't know there have been specific studies on that) also react to the protein in oats, because it is structurally VERY similar to the protein in wheat. Because "most" celiacs can eat it, it's not considered "gluten" (colloquially) in US labeling laws. That doesn't mean that it doesn't have the potential to make you sick, however.

[GFinDC]

There are several things that can happen.

There are food allergies, like the hay fever type symptoms people get. That is one kind of immune reaction. So you could have allergies like that to a food. I think that is an Ige reaction.

Then there is celiac, where the immune system attacks the lining of the intestine. This is a different type of immune response from allergies.

There is also non-celiac gluten intolerance (NCGI), where the intestinal damage seems to be missing, but various symptoms and problems happen after eating gluten.

All 3 of these problems have the same treatment though, the gluten free diet.

[ojayt]

Thanks guys!