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Can A Celiac Individual Tolerate Gluten-Free Pasta, Even If It Is Wheat-Based?

ammaestro

By ammaestro
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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ammaestro Newbie
ammaestro
Posted

I ate this past weekend at an exquisite Italian restaurant, where they serve gluten-free pasta. Is this safe to eat, even if it is wheat-based when you are a celiac individual? Moreover, can celiacs eat any wheat product as long as it's described as being 'gluten-free'??

Also, my symptoms are NOT classic in that I don't have chronic 'leaky' bowel, etc. They are more like getting fatigued and a compomised immune system ie; getting pesky bronchial infections, flus, etc WAY too often! Would anyone know if these symptoms would still suggest the presence of celiac?

Thanks. Andrew

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kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

Its not gluten free if its made with wheat. Why did you think the gluten-free pasta was made with wheat?

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ammaestro Newbie
ammaestro
  • Author
Posted

Its not gluten free if its made with wheat. Why did you think the gluten-free pasta was made with wheat?

i'm not sure, karen. i assumed it was. it was an otherwise mainstream italian restaurant. i will contact them to confirm, but what else might it have been made with??

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mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

Hi, Andrew.

First off, I don't see how they could serve wheat-based pasta and call it gluten free. Did you ask them what it was made of? More likely rice, corn, soy, quinoa or some combination of those. The latter would be safe to eat depending on whether you had any other intolerances.

Have you been diagnosed celiac by bloodwork and/or biopsy, or are you self-diagnosing? Celiac has many different presentations and gut symptoms are not necessarily one of them.

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ammaestro Newbie
ammaestro
  • Author
Posted

Hi, Andrew.

First off, I don't see how they could serve wheat-based pasta and call it gluten free. Did you ask them what it was made of? More likely rice, corn, soy, quinoa or some combination of those. The latter would be safe to eat depending on whether you had any other intolerances.

Have you been diagnosed celiac by bloodwork and/or biopsy, or are you self-diagnosing? Celiac has many different presentations and gut symptoms are not necessarily one of them.

Thank you for your response. I called the restaurant since posting this, and found out that it is indeed, as you mention, made with rice!! I suppose any and all wheat products are OUT, then. Oh well. (sigh) I was diagnosed celiac from infancy, not something i just reached for, to answer ur other question. Are you in the bay area? Do you know of any good docs who specialize in this? I believe my lack of adherence to a gluten-free diet has compromised my immune system for many years, by the way of greater frequency of getting ill, and longer recovery periods...

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mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

I used to be in the Bay Area, long ago when I did not know I had celiac disease. Sorry, can't help with any docs - mine just told me the usual IBS BS.

Yes, all wheat, rye and barley is definitely out for you. This is something you should take seriously, not mess around with, or you will ruin your health! Yes, celiac does severely compromise your immune system if you continue to consume gluten. But you should be able to get it functioning properly again if you stop presenting gluten to your body and causing it to make antibodies. Get really strict with yourself right now!

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srall Contributor
srall
Posted

I read these responses sort of quickly so sorry if I'm repeating. If I got sick from something I'd eaten in a restaurant I'd probably first assume cross contamination, or that the chef didn't really get what gluten free meant. I might try making some rice pasta for myself at home in a controlled environment before I ruled it out.

That said, I put my 7 year old on a gluten free/dairy free diet one week ago (btw: awesome having a kid that feels good, and awesome only preparing one dinner for the entire family) but I've noticed that because I've tended to make more "kid" friendly gluten free meals, or a lot of rice pasta based meals, my knees are very achy. I can't figure out if it's the pasta, too much coffee, too strenuous of a yoga practice, too many night shades. My stomach is fine and I think my energy level is okay. I know some people on this board have a problem with all grains.

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scarlett77 Apprentice
scarlett77
Posted

Thank you for your response. I called the restaurant since posting this, and found out that it is indeed, as you mention, made with rice!! I suppose any and all wheat products are OUT, then. Oh well. (sigh) I was diagnosed celiac from infancy, not something i just reached for, to answer ur other question. Are you in the bay area? Do you know of any good docs who specialize in this? I believe my lack of adherence to a gluten-free diet has compromised my immune system for many years, by the way of greater frequency of getting ill, and longer recovery periods...

I am going to assume you mean "Bay Area" in California. Although not sure which part you may be in. I'm in San Jose area. My son is the only one so far who is confirmed Celiac (so far) and he was diagnosed by a Pediatric GI. That doesn't really help you, I know, but do you have a regular doctor you could get a referral from? I'm actually taking both my boys to see her again on Friday, I could ask her if she knows any good GI's for adults.

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kdana Newbie
kdana
Posted

Its not gluten free if its made with wheat. Why did you think the gluten-free pasta was made with wheat?

Actually, there are wheat-based products that are safe for Celiacs. It's quite common in Europe to find gluten-free-approved products with wheat starch that has had the gluten removed -- after all, gliadin is just one of *many* different proteins in a grain of wheat. There's also a great Spanish beer brewed with barley malt, but that has the gluten removed after the fermentation process. It's called Estrella Daura Damm and is the closest thing to normal beer I've ever found. Hard to find, but definitely worth it!

That said, I've never seen a wheat/barley-based "gluten-free" product made in the United States. And hey, the restaurant's brown rice pasta must have been pretty good if it tricked you into thinking it was made of wheat :)

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precious831 Contributor
precious831
Posted

I read these responses sort of quickly so sorry if I'm repeating. If I got sick from something I'd eaten in a restaurant I'd probably first assume cross contamination, or that the chef didn't really get what gluten free meant. I might try making some rice pasta for myself at home in a controlled environment before I ruled it out.

That said, I put my 7 year old on a gluten free/dairy free diet one week ago (btw: awesome having a kid that feels good, and awesome only preparing one dinner for the entire family) but I've noticed that because I've tended to make more "kid" friendly gluten free meals, or a lot of rice pasta based meals, my knees are very achy. I can't figure out if it's the pasta, too much coffee, too strenuous of a yoga practice, too many night shades. My stomach is fine and I think my energy level is okay. I know some people on this board have a problem with all grains.

Yup, I'm one of the few...I'm grain-free.

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Brookesmom Newbie
Brookesmom
Posted

Thank you for your response. I called the restaurant since posting this, and found out that it is indeed, as you mention, made with rice!! I suppose any and all wheat products are OUT, then. Oh well. (sigh) I was diagnosed celiac from infancy, not something i just reached for, to answer ur other question. Are you in the bay area? Do you know of any good docs who specialize in this? I believe my lack of adherence to a gluten-free diet has compromised my immune system for many years, by the way of greater frequency of getting ill, and longer recovery periods...

The people who do the Gluten Doctors blog have a medical center in Sunnyvale. If I still lived there I'd definitely go there... Open Original Shared Link Good luck! Gluten isn't something to mess around with if you were diagnosed. You almost certainly have mineral deficiencies from malabsorption and maybe intestinal or neurological damage...

Good luck!

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WheatChef Apprentice
WheatChef
Posted

Also, my symptoms are NOT classic in that I don't have chronic 'leaky' bowel, etc. They are more like getting fatigued and a compomised immune system ie; getting pesky bronchial infections, flus, etc WAY too often! Would anyone know if these symptoms would still suggest the presence of celiac?

Thanks. Andrew

Actually those are classic symptoms of celiac disease!

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T.H. Community Regular
T.H.
Posted

Yeah, I'm off of all grains, too. I thought it was the grains themselves, at first, but more and more I'm leaning towards it being minute levels of CC that are still enough to affect me.

I've actually had the opposite issue as your family, oddly enough. I have much more severe issues with gluten, so we started having more basic meals for everyone because I didn't want to tempt myself with gluten-free stuff that I couldn't have. My daughter - also a celiac - started having some problems clear up under this diet.

She has had severe stomach pain in the last few months when she got gluten CC, but these symptoms that have been improving don't always correlate with the stomach pain. But they have been correlating with our change in gluten levels, so now I'm very much wondering the same as you: is CC actually causing the problem, even without the other symptoms, or is it something else entirely?

we're checking it out and trying to keep an eye on it to see where it goes. :-)

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RideAllWays Enthusiast
RideAllWays
Posted

Actually, there are wheat-based products that are safe for Celiacs. It's quite common in Europe to find gluten-free-approved products with wheat starch that has had the gluten removed -- after all, gliadin is just one of *many* different proteins in a grain of wheat.)

I still wont eat anything made from wheat. I think the risk of CC is way too high. Even distilled alcohols from gluten containing grains that are supposed to have all the gluten removed I avoid..Maybe it's a bit too far but I just can't see wheat ever being safe under any circumstance.

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Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

Actually, there are wheat-based products that are safe for Celiacs. It's quite common in Europe to find gluten-free-approved products with wheat starch that has had the gluten removed -- after all, gliadin is just one of *many* different proteins in a grain of wheat. There's also a great Spanish beer brewed with barley malt, but that has the gluten removed after the fermentation process. It's called Estrella Daura Damm and is the closest thing to normal beer I've ever found. Hard to find, but definitely worth it!

That said, I've never seen a wheat/barley-based "gluten-free" product made in the United States. And hey, the restaurant's brown rice pasta must have been pretty good if it tricked you into thinking it was made of wheat :)

Many celiacs do not tolerate the 200 ppm codex wheat starch and Europe is looking at revising their gluten-free standard down to 20 ppm. 200 ppm was historically chosen because of the accuracy of tests, not for safety. Recent studies on refractory celiac suggest that there is still too much residual gluten in so-called gluten-free foods for some celiacs to stay healthy.

The wisest decision is to steer clear of these de-glutenized products unless you are certain that they are well below 20 ppm gluten.

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sandsurfgirl Collaborator
sandsurfgirl
Posted

Actually, there are wheat-based products that are safe for Celiacs. It's quite common in Europe to find gluten-free-approved products with wheat starch that has had the gluten removed -- after all, gliadin is just one of *many* different proteins in a grain of wheat. There's also a great Spanish beer brewed with barley malt, but that has the gluten removed after the fermentation process. It's called Estrella Daura Damm and is the closest thing to normal beer I've ever found. Hard to find, but definitely worth it!

That said, I've never seen a wheat/barley-based "gluten-free" product made in the United States. And hey, the restaurant's brown rice pasta must have been pretty good if it tricked you into thinking it was made of wheat :)

I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot gluten free pole. Decaf coffee and tea have some caffeine in them because it's just impossible to remove all of it. I would imagine gluten is the same way. I can't see how they could remove all the gluten and why even bother when there are so many non wheat based alternatives? Scary to me.

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Tina B Apprentice
Tina B
Posted

Its not gluten free if its made with wheat. Why did you think the gluten-free pasta was made with wheat?

I went to an italian restaurant this week that offered gluten-free pasta and it was the best ever! I asked what brand they used and the waitress brought me the label. It was Rustichella D'abruzzio Open Original Shared Link

Up until now Bionature was my favorite but this was even better. The wholefoods near me carries their regular pasta but not the gluten-free version.

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