Processed 'gluten Free'

[williamsburg000]

Hi everyone

Can I ask if anyone's taken the bull by the horns and only ever eats whole foods rather than incorporating processed products labelled as Gluten Free into their diet?

I have to admit I find it very difficult to steer away from all these tempting foods that hold out the promise of being gluten free, but even eating them in moderation I find myself continually being 'glutened.'

These products conform to the 20 ppm codex but they're still causing me problems, not necessarily immediately, but over the course of time there's a cumulative effect that's definately affecting me.

I guess I'm going to have to be more disciplined and begin labelling these products as out of reach or at least only eat them very rarely and as a treat.

My consultant's never said that I should steer away from these products, but I'm beginning to feel that long term the only safe option is to avoid all processed foods and flours whatever their claims.

Are we kidding ourselves consuming these products and damaging our health?

[Wolicki]

I've been g'd a few times by "gluten free" items. I have chosen to be grain and processed food free, just because after eliminating all the bad things from my diet, I realized that grains and processed junk makes me feel bad.

Well, except for peanut butter and salsa in a jar

My doc told me that if everyone took such good care of themselves, he would be out of a job It makes it hard to eat out regularly, but I feel fantastic.

[txplowgirl]

Yes, gluten free processed foods get me every time. I eat just plain meats, brown rice, sweet potatoes, nuts, some beans, some fruits and veggies, because it looks like I have fructose malabsorbtion also as well as dairy and soy free too. And I can eat peanut butter too, thank goodness!

Even with that I eat pretty well. Do I like it, no, but I'd rather eat like this than feel what I felt for nearly 40 years.

[GlutenFreeManna]

I eat mostly whole foods not just because I feel better, but also because it's less expensive. I do try a new gluten free processed food about once a month and I have a few that don't give me any problems (Pamela's ginger cookies are a fantastic). I eat some processed things that are naturally gluten free without problems too like corn tortillas, rice cakes, almond milk, etc. But I do make most of my meals from scratch to avoid gluten, soy and dairy. It's all about figuring out what works best for you.

[dilettantesteph]

Based on the posts I read here, I do believe that plenty of celiacs eat 20 ppm gluten without any problem. I'm not one of them. I can't even manage with 5 ppm gluten. I eat very few processed foods, and no processed grains. I wash and sort everything. I've found gluten grains in a lot of places where they don't belong. It's a pain, but you do get used to it.

[Jestgar]

I eat mainly whole foods. Processed stuff is fine for a treat, but I can't imagine it ever being a large part of my diet.

[lpellegr]

Same here. I don't substitute in store-bought gluten-free stuff for regular, I just do without, with a few exceptions. I cook from scratch, leaning toward Paleo, make my own bread and cookies but not much of it. I buy Tinkyada pasta, but don't eat it often. About once a month a waffle or bagel. I try to avoid carbs, and it costs less to skip all that stuff. And I almost never get my old symptoms back, so I think I'm doing a decent job not glutening myself.

[T.H.]

My consultant's never said that I should steer away from these products, but I'm beginning to feel that long term the only safe option is to avoid all processed foods and flours whatever their claims.

Are we kidding ourselves consuming these products and damaging our health?

I sometimes wonder about that. I can't tolerate the processed stuff, pretty much, and as the cook in the family, that meant I avoid them in our meals (my son and daughter are gluten free, too). My daughter, far as we knew, could tolerate them just fine. But after she's been on the VERY gluten free diet with me cooking? Now she's starting to have trouble whenever she goes out and tries one of the processed gluten free foods.

Makes me wonder if any of us could have that happen, go totally gluten free and then realize we DO have trouble with less gluten than we thought. Don't know, but it'd be interesting to try it.

That said...if you are having a hard time letting go of gluten free processed foods and want to wean yourself from them, might be useful to drop the ones with the most gluten and stick to the least gluten ones, perhaps?

Pamela's and Kinnickinik are two that I know test at 5ppm of gluten or less. If you call up the companies that make a particular food, you can ask what level of gluten ppm their food has to test below and they'll tell you (it takes a while, sometimes), so that might help out. I think Envirokidz is 5 or 10ppm gluten or below, too. Can't recall any others off hand.

good luck dropping the foods!

Oh, and if it helps? Corn and soy are often CC'd by gluten more than the other grains and legumes due to growing practices, so might be good to keep the level of those two low, as well, if you're avoiding even minimal gluten cc.

[mushroom]

I buy about one loaf of bread a week, and some cookies and a few rice crackers, along with rice pasta. I do have gluten free flours that I bake into gluten-free goodies occasionally. But that's about it.

[cap6]

I eat whole foods for the most part. I do buy a load of bread to have on hand as I will make a quick sandwich if we're going to be gone all day but really try to keep anything processed down to one small treat a week. The strange thing is that I no longer crave "junk" food. Now I find myself craving good stuff like veggies. Weird!!

[Cheryl-C]

I'd say I maintain a balance. Lately I've been making the move to more a more organic style of living, (so fewer processed items) but having found a few grocery store items I love (and a couple of restaurants) I can't (won't?) give it up altogether. That said, many of the "processed" things I buy from the store, I buy organic: no additives, flavourings, colourings, etc - I try to go as natural as I can. Also, I'd like to add that Glutino chocolate wafers are the devil.

[psawyer]

I use products from El Peto and Glutino regularly.

Both have facilities which do not have any gluten ingredients on site. Both realize that, even in the "gluten-free" facility, it is possible for an ingredient to be be contaminated before it reaches their premises. It is also possible for an employee to eat something and bring crumbs in on their clothing. There can never be a guarantee of zero gluten. It sucks, but that is reality.

Although the expectation is zero gluten content, there is no test that can prove that. Glutino test for 20 ppm. El Peto test for 5 ppm.