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Fairly Certain Gluten Is Getting Into My Diet

f1m

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f1m Newbie
f1m
Posted

Hi. I've been trying to gain weight recently and I'm pretty sure gluten has infiltrated my diet. I really only eat the following...

Giant eagle 95% lean beef

Udi's Bread

Hillshire farms honey ham, hard salami, turkey, smoked ham

Jif peanut butter

Egglands best eggs

assorted snacks that specifically say gluten-free

Boil in a bag rice

It's gotta be the Hillshire farms meat... right? Though everything I've read said that shouldn't be the case. I'm lost. Any ideas?

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heatherjane Contributor
heatherjane
Posted

What about any medications, supplements, lip products, etc.... have you checked those? Also, is your kitchen completely gluten free?

f1m Newbie
f1m
Posted
  • Author

What about any medications, supplements, lip products, etc.... have you checked those? Also, is your kitchen completely gluten free?

I do use a supplement but it is gluten free. It's the jay robbs stuff. I use nivea lip balm, and I take accutane for my skin. Kitchen is gluten free as its just me.

GFreeMO Proficient
GFreeMO
Posted

I doubt that it's the meat but if you are worried about it, get some Hormel Naturals. It says gluten free right on the back.

Udi's bread is def. Gluten-Free but it makes me sick...could be the yeast. Yeast gives some people D and cramps. Try cutting out the bread for some Mission Corn tortillas or wrap stuff in lettuce and see if that helps.

dilettantesteph Collaborator
dilettantesteph
Posted

Some of us are sensitive to lower levels of gluten than others. It also has to do with the amount that you eat. Someone here has given the example of low fat foods. If you eat enough of them you will still gain weight. Maybe try to cut down on the processed foods and stick to more whole foods.

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

Hillshire Farms says that they will always list gluten ingredients or potential cross-contamination. I doubt the meat is the source of your gluten. What snacks that say "gluten free" are you eating? Some people are sensitive to the traces of gluten in "gluten-free" cookies, breads, and other grain products. Have you considered substituting fruits and vegetables that are always gluten-free for grains?

Rissmeek Newbie
Rissmeek
Posted

You say that you want to gain weight and I'm guessing that you are having problems gaining weight and that's why you think that you are getting gluten. Am I right? If so it may not be a gluten issue at all. My husband is very, very thin. He's as gluten free as humanly possible. (Like a post here from the weekend 20 ppm is gluten free so it's possible that gluten is in his diet without our knowledge.) He had been working out, built up massive muscles to the point of not being able to move. When he talked with a personal trainer it was due to the fact that his body didn't have enough fat to support the muscles that he had built. The issue? Not what he was eating but how much he was eating. He wasn't getting enough fat and calories for his body's metabolic rate. He needed to be eating over 5000 calories a day to gain any weight. In order to do that, because it wasn't coming for the tons of food he eats in a day anyway, he added muscle milk to his diet. The liquid stuff that can be picked up in the store (pharmacy area at Wal-Mart) or at c-stores in the cooler is marked gluten free or not. That would be my suggestion, if none of the food is making you ill, it's all clearly gluten free, then try increasing your caloric intake one way or the other.

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f1m Newbie
f1m
Posted
  • Author

I doubt that it's the meat but if you are worried about it, get some Hormel Naturals. It says gluten free right on the back.

Udi's bread is def. Gluten-Free but it makes me sick...could be the yeast. Yeast gives some people D and cramps. Try cutting out the bread for some Mission Corn tortillas or wrap stuff in lettuce and see if that helps.

Hmm... maybe it is the yeast. Those are the symptoms I am experiencing, which are my typical celiac disease symptoms.

Some of us are sensitive to lower levels of gluten than others. It also has to do with the amount that you eat. Someone here has given the example of low fat foods. If you eat enough of them you will still gain weight. Maybe try to cut down on the processed foods and stick to more whole foods.

That's probably not a bad idea...

Hillshire Farms says that they will always list gluten ingredients or potential cross-contamination. I doubt the meat is the source of your gluten. What snacks that say "gluten free" are you eating? Some people are sensitive to the traces of gluten in "gluten-free" cookies, breads, and other grain products. Have you considered substituting fruits and vegetables that are always gluten-free for grains?

It's good to hear the meat more than likely isn't the problem. The thing with fruits and vegetables is they aren't very high in calories, so I tend to not make them a main part of my diet.

You say that you want to gain weight and I'm guessing that you are having problems gaining weight and that's why you think that you are getting gluten. Am I right? If so it may not be a gluten issue at all. My husband is very, very thin. He's as gluten free as humanly possible. (Like a post here from the weekend 20 ppm is gluten free so it's possible that gluten is in his diet without our knowledge.) He had been working out, built up massive muscles to the point of not being able to move. When he talked with a personal trainer it was due to the fact that his body didn't have enough fat to support the muscles that he had built. The issue? Not what he was eating but how much he was eating. He wasn't getting enough fat and calories for his body's metabolic rate. He needed to be eating over 5000 calories a day to gain any weight. In order to do that, because it wasn't coming for the tons of food he eats in a day anyway, he added muscle milk to his diet. The liquid stuff that can be picked up in the store (pharmacy area at Wal-Mart) or at c-stores in the cooler is marked gluten free or not. That would be my suggestion, if none of the food is making you ill, it's all clearly gluten free, then try increasing your caloric intake one way or the other.

The protein shake I'm on now isn't many calories... I probably do need something with more.

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

It's good to hear the meat more than likely isn't the problem. The thing with fruits and vegetables is they aren't very high in calories, so I tend to not make them a main part of my diet.

In general, that is not a healthy way to eat. First of all, unprocessed foods are safest for celiacs. Second, you are missing out on vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants from fruits and vegetables that are essential to maintaining your health. You cannot replace that sort of nutrition with pills. If you think you are still getting gluten and that is making you thin, the best thing to do is to switch over to completely unprocessed foods. Eliminate all processed grain products, and sift through anything small like rice or lentils for wheat berries. Skip the Udi's, as it may have traces of gluten (they test, but tests have sensitivity thresholds of 3-5 ppm), and buy your rice uncooked so you can sift through it and rinse it before cooking. If you are hypersensitive, how do you know your protein shake is perfectly gluten-free? It is trivially easy to tell if an apple, banana, potato, or broccoli is gluten-free and that may be what you need to do for a while.

You should have no problems eating over 2000 calories a day as long as you include some carbs like rice and potatoes, and calorie-rich foods like oils, nuts, olives, eggs and meats.

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

I do use a supplement but it is gluten free. It's the jay robbs stuff. I use nivea lip balm, and I take accutane for my skin. Kitchen is gluten free as its just me.

I do not wish to scare you at all but felt I must say this when I read you are taking Accutane for your skin. Accutane has been involved in many lawsuits because it has been shown to cause severe abdominal problems like Crohn's Disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease and a few others. Doctors routinely prescribe this for people without a bad acne problem, without mentioning it's horrible side effects. It is also a mutagenic, meaning it can cause birth defects in a fetus long after someone has stopped taking it. I doubt your doctor is aware of this or may downplay the side effects, as many do.

You may want to stop taking it because it could be causing severe damage to your already sensitive GI tract. You will be looking for gluten in your diet and it may be from this medication. I wish you well and hope you can get to the bottom of your issues!

Dixiebell Contributor
Dixiebell
Posted

About the accutane- my neighbors son takes this because of his severe acne and they told me they had to sign, basically, a wavier. I would guess it is because of the severe side effects. Kinda scary.

Rissmeek Newbie
Rissmeek
Posted

If anyone is interested in how to figure out how man calories you need to maintain, gain, or lose weight these websites will help you figure it out.

Open Original Shared Link (Step 1)

Open Original Shared Linkharris-benedict-equation/ (step 2 and maintain)

Open Original Shared Linkharris-benedict-equation/calorie-intake-to-gain-weight.php (gain)

Open Original Shared Linkharris-benedict-equation/calorie-intake-to-lose-weight.php (loose)

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

About the accutane- my neighbors son takes this because of his severe acne and they told me they had to sign, basically, a wavier. I would guess it is because of the severe side effects. Kinda scary.

Yup...that's why they have you sign a waiver. That way, if someone ends up with severe bowel issues because of it, you cannot sue the doctor. I would never sign a waiver.....you have to think many times about ingesting something which could potentially ruin your digestive tract. Funny enough, my skin problems were never that bad and yet they still pushed Accutane on me. I refused and guess what the cause of the problems were? Yup...gluten! Once I went gluten-free, all my skin issues cleared up and have never returned. You may want to tell your neighbor to look into this.

Tigercat17 Enthusiast
Tigercat17
Posted

Hi. I've been trying to gain weight recently and I'm pretty sure gluten has infiltrated my diet. I really only eat the following...

Giant eagle 95% lean beef

Udi's Bread

Hillshire farms honey ham, hard salami, turkey, smoked ham

Jif peanut butter

Egglands best eggs

assorted snacks that specifically say gluten-free

Boil in a bag rice

It's gotta be the Hillshire farms meat... right? Though everything I've read said that shouldn't be the case. I'm lost. Any ideas?

I would really watch out for the "gluten free" snacks. I was getting glutened by a lot of them & "gluten -free" cereals. Just because it's says gluten-free, doesn't mean that it is completely free of gluten. I only trust Glutino. And then I only eat them once in a while.

I was really skinny, too, but now, after I weeded all the things I was still getting glutened by, I gained some weight, look healthy & feel great. A food dairy really helped me to figure it out. I also went to a completely wholefoods diet for a while & then I tried to add some of the processed food I was eating one at a time. It took me a while to figure it out, but it worked.

I'm eating a lot of the same things your eating :

Egglands Best eggs- never had a problem with it

Jif Peanut Butter -never had a problem with it

Giant Eagle meats - never had a problem with it

Udi's Bread -LOVE IT!

I was eating Hillshire farms lunch meat too & I wasn't sure if it was causing some of reactions, so I switched to Oscar Mayor now & I feel really good. But I only eat it 2 times a week. It's really not good for you anyway.

Also, I hope you bought all new seasonings just in case.

I hope this helps. :)

taweavmo3 Enthusiast
taweavmo3
Posted

Consider really cutting down on the Udi's bread....we were eating it nearly every day for a year, and my son started having mild seizures (his reaction to gluten) because of it.

I took me forever to pinpoint it, I never thought to take Udi's out. It must have trace amounts that some are sensitive to, and it builds up over time. The same could probably be said for many "gluten free" snack items, with the exception of a handful of companies. Maybe you could try mostly whole foods for a while, and see if you get any relief. I know it's such a pain trying to figure out what's making you sick, it happens to us all the time!

dilettantesteph Collaborator
dilettantesteph
Posted

It must have trace amounts that some are sensitive to, and it builds up over time.

I have also found that some things have very low contamination such that they seem fine at first, but they build over time. I only add one new thing per week, and when it takes longer than that to cause symptoms it is really hard to figure out what is causing the problem. I have experienced this issue several times. Having this disease makes us have to become master detectives.

GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

You could also be having a reaction to soy. Soy is in many processed gluten-free foods, and probably in the Jif peanut butter. There are natural and organic style peanut butters that don't have soy.

Another possibility is nightshades, (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant). Potato flour and starch is also commonly used in processed gluten-free foods.

  • 3 weeks later...
cyberprof Enthusiast
cyberprof
Posted

Consider really cutting down on the Udi's bread....we were eating it nearly every day for a year, and my son started having mild seizures (his reaction to gluten) because of it.

I took me forever to pinpoint it, I never thought to take Udi's out. It must have trace amounts that some are sensitive to, and it builds up over time. The same could probably be said for many "gluten free" snack items, with the exception of a handful of companies. Maybe you could try mostly whole foods for a while, and see if you get any relief. I know it's such a pain trying to figure out what's making you sick, it happens to us all the time!

I'm glad that I read this. Everyone is so "pro" Udi's because of the taste/convenience.

I can eat one slice or 1/2 a bagel but if I eat more I get gluten symptoms.

It's too bad really.

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