Danimals Dinkable Yogurt Gluten Testing

[lisabp]

My son was just diagnosed celiac disease less than a month ago and up to then his absolutely favorite food, and the only thing he would eat sometime for a week, is Danimals Banana Drinkable Yogurt (he will put up with the Vanilla only because it come sin the same package and that's sometime all that is left). I tried everything else out there that is officially gluten-free and he wouldn't drink any of the smoothies or yogurts. Since I am a professor and researcher I looked into getting an assay kit for gluten and I did get one that requires a lab to run it (centrifuge and all). There are home tests that are about $20 per test and this one is $10 per test which is not cheap, but for his yogurts I will do it. This test also goes all the way down to 5 ppm (the other home test is 200 ppm gluten).

With all of this introduction, I have checked now 3 batches of Danimals drinkable yogurt, banana and vanilla flavor, marked from plant 49-64 (I assume that's what that means in the top of the lid) and none of them have shown any gluten. The latest batch has a pull date of July 19. Dannon does not guarantee that these are gluten free so I will keep testing every 2-3 weeks as I get a new batch (4-5 boxes of 8) of the yogurt.

If anyone wants me to let them know the results each time, I would be happy to let you know. I am not going to be running tests on anything else (takes about an hour each test and costs $10 per test) so don't ask me to do that. There are probably contract labs that can do that if it's really necessary, but I'd be happy to keep anyone informed who wants to know about the yogurts that I have been testing.

Lisa Peppas

[Jnkmnky]

WOW! That's dedication or something else. Since you posted, I'd like to throw in my 2cents worth of opinion. You may find my opinion of even less value than that-feel free to disagree. However, some people need to live in the real world, so for them as well as for you, I say this:

I don't think it's necessary to run tests on Danimals drinkable yogurts at the cost of $10 a pop every two weeks for a 4 year old --this would go for my own kid too, so I'm not heartlessly singling out your child.

If there's a concern over a food item, sometimes you have to give it up.

This isn't a trauma. It's a fact of life. He has celiac disease. Compromise isn't fatal. Getting exactly what you want isn't a theme in life anyone can sustain - Kids benefit from NOT always getting exactly what they want.

No kid should survive on Danimals because their will is stronger than their parent's.

Let me ask you -

If you find gluten in a batch of Danimals one week, will you commission a batch to be made especially for your son so he can have his Danimals?? That isn't so far-fetched when you consider the lengths you say you're going to now.

You know, some people here have a difficult time affording a loaf of gluten free bread at $5.00 a loaf. I suggest *just a suggestion* you teach your son that his disease will occasionally interfere with his food preferences. Teach him how to COPE with these disappointments, make adjustments and accept the limitations his disease presents in a healthy way. These lessons are best taught at an early age so 4 is a perfect time to begin. Good luck to you. I think if you continue along the path of celiac disease in this manner, you will find every moment of your free time taken up by excessive measures to fulfil your child's dietary "must haves".

[lisabp]

My son is only 19 months old and he is scared to eat most things. He needs to get some calories somehow. Spending $20 plus the cost of 5 sets of 8 yogurts ($25) is $35. That's much better than spending $5 a pop for 4 gluten-free smoothies that he then doesn't eat and I have to throw away.

I'm glad that I have the time and money to give my son his favorite food. He hasn't gained any weight in the last 4 months so I'm happy to get him whatever he needs to start growing again.

[Jnkmnky]

It's not your child's fault *he's scared*. It's your responsibility to assit him with dealing with his auto immune disease. If he's scared of food at 19 months of age, you need to fix that issue, not avoid it by running $10 tests every 2-3 weeks on a Danimals product.

I am also wealthy enough to do most of what I'm so inclined to do. However, this isn't about that. I'm trying to tell you that living with celiac disease means you have to face reality. Even if you can afford to run gluten tests on a Danimal yogurt drink every 2-3 weeks, SHOULD YOU??? I don't think this is a healthy approach to dealing with the limitations of celiac disease. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I KNOW it's not a healthy approach to dealing with your son's 'fear' of food. He needs to trust you and your knowledge of what's safe for him to eat. Also, even talking about a 19 month old who's "scared" of food to the point that got you running in circles is weird. I've had three kids. None were running the show. I'm the parent and they trusted me when I told them what was what. In your initial post you didn't say you were going to these lengths because he was "scared", you said he would ONLY drink them, living on them for up to a week at a time. So, switching the cause of his fixation now seems convenient at best.

There are healthy ways to live the gluten-free life. That's what info here will provide you with. There are also mistakes to be made in the beginning of the process. One mistake would be what you originally posted about. I've heard here that kids can develop eating disorders due to the stresses of a gluten free life. I couldn't see how that was possible at first, but I'm beginning to see how there are lots of things that can go wrong when a parent is trying to *fix* the discomforts that arise from this diagnosis. Children need to know there are going to be limitations for them even without Celiac Disease but particularly WITH it. I'm not hostile towards you. I think you need to reexamine your approach, that's all. You posted, I resonded. We can agree to disagree. But I wasn't going to leave your approach unchallenged as it could leave an unrealistic goal out there for other parents not in your financial position. We are all dedicated to our children/own health even if we can't afford/or choose NOT to have diagnositic tests run endlessly on cheap, replaceable Danimals yogurts.

[Maija]

I think its great that you are taking the time and effort to make sure your sons food is safe. And the price of the test does not make it much more expensive then some of the "special" gluten-free foods.

I would try to introduce more naturally gluten-free foods to him and hope he finds one he will eat that will be easdier on everyone. But, by all means... if thats all he will eat let him have it, after its tested.

Has he tried the Enviro Kid products? The bars come in chocolate, peanut butter and mixed berry. (I think.) Fruity Pebbles?

There will be many things in his life he cant eat. While I agree he needs to learn that there are things he cant eat, he is way too young to understand.

[lisabp]

I apologize for trying to help others.

I won't do it again.

I am leaving this board and I won't be back.

[Jnkmnky]

Maija, he's not too young to understand.

"easier on him and everybody else" Hey, who's running the show in that house?

"Introduce him" to gluten free foods....better do it quickly. He has celiac disease and needs to eat today.

And price aside, what she's doing is unncessary. Hey, she can afford it, she has the time for it...great. Let's not pretend it's the *standard* for parents with celiac disease kids to attain. I'm merely the voice of sanity here. She set a standard of dedication to her son's gluten free diet with that approach when she posted. I'm only letting others who read this know, it's not expected of them. No one's letting their child down by refusing to run diagnositc tests on foods not certified gluten free. Her 'dedication' to her son's celiac disease smacks of mommy war crap you hear on the playground. She should find a blue ribbon avatar and proudly put it up. She wins hands down.

[Jnkmnky]

I can see where you son picked up his inability to deal with dietary restrictions. Pitiful goodbye posts don't enhance your status as a victim.

[KaitiUSA]

Please remember the board rules and this is not a place for fighting. There may be disagreeing on issues but please respect each other on here and not attack them personally.

Thanks everyone!

[celiac3270]

The problem with testing is that right now there's no way to test for the presence of rye and barley...only wheat.

I would recommend Yoplait--the whole line is gluten-free...the only thing that wouldn't be gluten-free would be if there was something with granola in the top, etc. And Yoplait makes a lot of kid-friendly stuff. Though I'd rather eat regular yogurt, the GoGurt is gluten-free.

[Guest taweavmo3]

Kids that age usually do go through food jags, it's completely normal (not at all "weird"). I also have three children, and there have ALWAYS been periods of time when they only want one type of food. They have so little in their life that they can control, I choose to pick my battles and feed them what they will actually eat.

The time after diagnosis is extrememly hard, especially for a 19 month old. If getting to eat his yogurt makes the transition easier, I think it's great. However, it isn't my place nor anyone elses to judge a parent on how they handle the diet for their children. This forum has been a great source of information for me, I hate to see someone leave because they were wrongfully attacked.

[jenvan]

celiac3270-

Good info to know on the gluten testing. Unfortunately Lisa probably left before she read it.

I think it is very sad that someone feels they need to leave the board because they have been attacked. We can comment and gently challenge one another here, however, we don't have the right to sit in judgment on the decisions others make. For one, that is just not good/healthy boundaries. I believe that to "speak into someone's life", an indvidual must have earned the others trust. That obviously didn't happen here...

Lisa--if you happen to come back on--don't leave! You are welcome here and we hope you will be able to put aside this first bad experience and try the board again!

[Merika]

Hi,

Well, Lisa's probably gone. Though if you're reading, I understand what it is like to be scared as a parent, and celiac is scary stuff, especially since your 19 mos old isn't really old enough to communicate about how *exactly* he's feeling. It does get easier, really.

The deal with Dannon, which is why I'm really posting here, according to the person I spoke with there a while ago, is that their fruit is processed with alcohol. *Theoretically* grain from the alcohol *could* transfer to the final product, and this is why they will not officially state that their fruit yoghurts are gluten-free.

However, if you consider balsamic vinegar and other items gluten-free (which is listed on the OK list) then as a celiac, you will most likely feel comfortable consuming their product.

Merika

[skbird]

On the balsalmic vinegar - that would always be gluten free as it's made of grapes, not grain. Grain alcohol is controversial, I think it must depend on the person. Science says it's ok, but some people report that it isn't.

All vinegars are ok unless they are made with gluten grains or flavored, and then it depends on the vinegar.

OK are balsamic, wine vinegars, cider vinegar, rice vinegar

Questionable are white vinegar (not specified), flavored vinegars (some "cider" vinegars are made with flavor, also seasoned rice vinegars - read the labels if unsure)

Not ok - malt vinegar

Stephanie

[Merika]

Oops, sorry, you are right Stephanie! I am not eating ANY vinegars right now, and I guess I've forgotten what's in which one now (doh!).

Brown cow yogurt has a good paragraph on their faqs page about this issue too. The link escapes me right now, it can be googled.

Merika

[skbird]

Yeah, I've gone off of vinegars before as well as other foods - it gets confusing as to why I stop which food!

I have been having gluten dreams lately - first time in a while. Don't know what it means but I'll be doing something like eating a huge batch of Chex Mix and suddenly realize the wheat and wonder if I should try to make myself throw up or something... Who'd a thought a dream about eating Chex Mix was really a nightmare?!?

Stephanie

[chasesparents]

If Lisa come's back:

You can do whatever you wanna do to make the transition more simple for you and your child, that's YOUR choice.

My son is 22 months old and there are some really great gluten-free cookies out there that he absolutely LOVES! Mi-del has some good ones....he really loves the Mi-Del Animal cookies and the Chocolate sandwich cookies. (so does my non-celiac husband) and remember that he/she is only 19 months....ALOT easier transition period at that age then older !!!

I hope your little one starts gaining weight soon and I wish you the best of luck and hope that you will continue visiting us !!!

[ruddabega]

Since I am a professor and researcher I looked into getting an assay kit for gluten and I did get one that requires a lab to run it (centrifuge and all). There are home tests that are about $20 per test and this one is $10 per test which is not cheap, but for his yogurts I will do it. This test also goes all the way down to 5 ppm (the other home test is 200 ppm gluten).

I am a high school student that's going to do a science project on gluten-contaminating kissing, but I need to be able to test saliva for gluten. Where could I get this testing material? How does it work? Can a high school student do it?

Thanks!

[KaitiUSA]

Ruddabega-The only test kit you can get is one to test for the presence of wheat. Nothing is out for rye,barley, or oats.

[lisabp]

OK...so I had to keep reading what was here.

This whole thing is probably turning moot since as my son is less and less scared to eat, he is eating less and less Dannon yogurt. He actually ate for an hour last night and 45 minutes tonight just before bed. YEAH!!!

Now I just have to figure out what to do about his loose BMs. I guess there's no "glue" to hold them together or it's too much fruit and milk.

About the test since people have been asking, it does check for rye and barley:

"The three gliadin test systems of R-Biopharm AG use a monoclonal antibody and are able to detect gluten in wheat, barley and rye".

In answer to the student question, this test is $200 plus shipping for a set of 20 tests and you need a contrifuge and other lab equupment to run the test and it goes to less than 10 ppm. There is a "dip stick" test, made by Tepnel but sold by others I think (Open Original Shared Link) that is $90 for 5 tests and does not require any specific equipment.

[ruddabega]

Lisabp:

Thank you so much for the testing information. It's really expensive, but I may be able to do it.

If I do go through with the experiment, could I possibly email you to ask you for pointers?

Thanks again! I'm glad your son is adapting better.

[jenvan]

Lisa-

Glad your back and glad that your son is doing better! I have been checking this post periodically hoping you'd return

[Kailynsmom]

I would expect that kind of behavior and insensitivity from a healthy person, but not from someone with celiac disease! She's just trying to help her child....

What a disappointment

She needed encouragement to relax and let her child enjoy life safely with celiac disease, not to be attacked.

[lbsteenwyk]

Lisa -

I'm glad to see you back on the board. I hadn't checked in for about a week so when I read this thread yesterday, I was really disturbed that you had been so upset. I know most of us want this forum to be supportive, especially to newcomers. You WILL find differing opinions here, which I think helps all of us to broaden our horizons when it comes to celiac disease.

When we began the gluten free diet with my daughter at 26 months, I would have done anything to get her to eat. Seeing your child malnourished, listless, in pain, etc, is very disturbing. Naturally your priority is to get your child eating again. This age is difficult anyway when it comes to food, without having the added complication of celiac disease. I think you'll find that your son will eat more and more foods as time goes on, but don't expect it to happen overnight! It took my daughter about 6 months after starting the gluten-free diet to show interest in food, and even now I would classify her as very picky. I found the best approach to encourage eating was to offer very small portions of 2 or 3 foods at a time and let her decide how much she wanted. I also would let her sit alone at a small table, rather than hanging over her and bugging/begging her to eat. Children will quickly pick up that they can use this as a control issue, even at such a young age. Basically, try to take the pressure off at meal times and create pleasant associations with food.

I hope this helps in some way. Keep us posted on your son's progress. I'm sure you will find lots of good information and support here to help you adjust to your son's diet.

[mcle8232]

Lisa, THAT IS SOOO COOL! Thanks for posting the info about these tests. I know how to run ELISAs, and I work next to tons of Chemistry labs, so if I had the money to buy these things, I'd be doing it too! You go girl!

Out of curiosity - which of the three (R7001, R7002, R7003) are you running?

Even the one with lowest sensitivity detects 10 ppm - which should be plenty sensitive enough (under 20 ppm). But I wonder if the R7001 would pick up something that the R7003 missed.

I hope dip-stick testers can oneday be purchased at drugstores the way diabetics purchase insulin testing devices etc...

Maybe I should start up a lab and do this testing for people, and publish all the results here The Organic Chemistry Lecturer salary stinks. Who's in?

Anyway.... Thanks!