Nuts

[hawkgirl98]

Before being diagnosed in May, I used to eat almonds and walnuts all the time. To my great dismay, I discovered that the nuts I usually bought at Walgreens contained a statement that they are processed in a facility that also processes wheat, among other things, and thus may contain wheat. I've found other brands that don't say anything about possible cross-contamination - I know companies are required to disclose the definite presence of wheat, but are they required to disclose if something MAY contain wheat?

Target brand walnuts are one that made no statement so I tried them and soon was experienced minor symptoms - mainly fatigue and brain fog. I bought Emerald almonds a couple days ago - after examining several different products, a couple included the "may" language about wheat but the particular almonds I bought did not so I bought them hoping they'd be safe. Within hours I was experiencing horrible fatigue and a migraine soon set on. Absolutely nothing else I ate that day could possibly have contained gluten, so I'm afraid it was the almonds. My dad, who has been diagnosed as Celiac for a decade, thinks I'm crazy - he eats all sorts of nuts all the time without any issues (and often without even checking the label).

I should add, I was lucky to be diagnosed before experiencing any severe symptoms because Celiac runs in my family. But as a result, going gluten-free hasn't had a dramatic change on my health and I'm still figuring out what symptoms are from gluten and what may be due to other factors.

So I guess my questions are - has anyone else experienced getting glutened from nuts? And, is anyone aware of any brands of nuts that are definitely produced in "safe" facilities?

[Franceen]

No, never had a problem with nuts. I routinely check the label of anything and everything I eat too. I've been gluten-free for 4.5 years now.

I don't generally worry about "made in a facility.........." and so far, haven't had a problem.

I have eaten many different brands of nuts with no issues. The ones that are coated, candied, flavored, etc are the most likely to have gluten in them. I have seen wheat in some of those. But regular salted and dry roasted nuts have never been a problem - at least for me.

[oceangirl]

Hi,

I am hyper-sensitive and eat Planter's south beach diet mix every day (no nuts for 2 years though at first-they can be tough to digest while healing). It's a Kraft product and the company clearly lists allergens on labels and what are produced on same lines.

good luck!

lisa

[ravenwoodglass]

I have had issues with some nuts. Do you live near a Wegmans? They label gluten-free foods and some but not all of their nuts carry the circle G. You have to look for it as sometimes one size is safe but the same nut in a different size package is not. When I called to ask why they said that was because they get them from a different producer. Nuts in the shell would be fine so you could go with the shell your own if you wanted to.

[hawkgirl98]

Thanks. I have seen the Planters mixes but they cost like twice as much as other nuts and I'm on a really tight budget so I'd been avoiding them. Don't live near a Wegmans so that's not an option.

I'm thinking this may just be in my head - I think it can be easy to blame every adverse feeling on being glutened when really it's something else causing it. I hadn't had a migraine since going gluten-free so I assumed that there was a correlation, but perhaps there is some other trigger for those unrelated to gluten.

[CarolinaKip]

Hi,

I am hyper-sensitive and eat Planter's south beach diet mix every day (no nuts for 2 years though at first-they can be tough to digest while healing). It's a Kraft product and the company clearly lists allergens on labels and what are produced on same lines.

good luck!

lisa

I agree with Oceangirl, Kraft will list it. I was eating Planters until I found out I had almond and peanut allergy. Everytime I ate them I had gastro problems.

[dilettantesteph]

I have had problems with nuts, but I am very sensitive. The processed in a facility...statement is voluntary, I'm pretty sure. I buy nuts in the shell and that way I don't have any problems, though it is a bit time consuming to shell them.

[Skylark]

Remember that nuts are quite allergenic. A migraine out of nowhere might be almond sensitivity. If I remember correctly, Emerald makes gluten-containing products on their lines and GMP cleans them. Some folks react to that kind of thing. Open Original Shared Link has gluten-free certification and packages with dedicated lines. You can order some nuts and see whether you're reacting to the nuts or gluten CC that way.