Question About Gluten Free Products

[CathyG]

I've only been on this diet for a couple of days and have a question about what you consider to be really gluten free.

A number of products such as cornflakes will state that they do not contain wheat but are made on machinery that may have been used to manufacture wheat products - knowing this, do you still eat cornflakes?

Having to shop in the health food isle is fine, but it is alot more expensive, so if it's possible to eat things like cornflakes or rice bubbles or other products that are not made from wheat or gluten but not necessarily processed according to gluten free guidelines would be easier for me (but only if the risk is worth taking).

Has anyone here had any reactions when they've eaten food with these sorts of labels on them?

Thanks

Cathy

[psawyer]

Most mainstream cereal products contain gluten as an intentional ingredient in the form of malted barley. Before worrying about shared facilities, check the ingredient list for malt, malt flavor, malt extract or anything else with the WORD malt (not words containing the letters M-A-L-T).

Do not be misled by maltodextrin and maltose--they are gluten-free.

[Franceen]

I've only been on this diet for a couple of days and have a question about what you consider to be really gluten free.

A number of products such as cornflakes will state that they do not contain wheat but are made on machinery that may have been used to manufacture wheat products - knowing this, do you still eat cornflakes?

Having to shop in the health food isle is fine, but it is alot more expensive, so if it's possible to eat things like cornflakes or rice bubbles or other products that are not made from wheat or gluten but not necessarily processed according to gluten free guidelines would be easier for me (but only if the risk is worth taking).

Has anyone here had any reactions when they've eaten food with these sorts of labels on them?

Thanks

Cathy

Exceptions to the "most mainstream cereals" are SOME cereals made by General Mills in the "CHEX" series. Corn, Rice, Cinnamon, Chocolate Chex are all gluten free and the boxes are marked as such.

But Peter's post about the MALT word is correct. Malt flavoring, barley malt, etc are made from barley. And almost all Kelloggs cereals have it in them.

As for the CC issues with products that say "made in a facility that also makes..........." it is pretty much an individual thing. Some people are more sensitive than others. I generally don't have a problem with products made in the same facility as wheat, barley products. But my level of sensitivity is relatively low compared to many people. I keep "Glutenease" capsules in my purse. At Christmas, my SIL made both gluten-free Chex Mix and regular glutened Chex Mix. I accidentally grabbed two small handfulls of the regular stuff and ate it before I noticed. I panicked , took 2 Glutenease and was ok stomach-wise. But I did get a minor DH rash several days later (I get DH mainly), but now I also get the big D sometimes from glutening.

SO, it's up to you to do trial and error with the products made in a facility with gluten products.

[kareng]

Cocoa, fruity and maybe sprinkles ( not sure the flavor) Pebbles are now coming out marked gluten-free.

[T.H.]

It greatly depends on your sensitivity level, how safe these are for you.

I have members of my family who don't pay attention to the 'processed with wheat' label, and they are fine. Others of my family, however, react to lower levels, so paying attention to that label at least makes the risk lower.

Where you'll fall in that category is just something you'll discover as you get through this. There seem to be two schools of thought on how to do it. Start with the least restrictive and then take out more if you're still sick. Or start with the most restrictive, and add things in until you hit something that has too much gluten for you.

We chose the latter.

[Skylark]

I generally feel better if I minimize processed foods. I'll be doing great for a couple months, then suddenly I will have a weird reaction to something that was made on "shared machinery" or in a "shared facility". Over my six years gluten-free, I've had oddball reactions to potato chips, corn chips, nuts, mainstream cereals, frozen foods, and even occasional reactions to name-brand gluten-free processed foods that are supposed to be below 20 ppm gluten. I never know for sure if it's gluten, but the reaction has been to foods that don't usually bother me. I avoid the expense and oddball reactions by eating mostly home-cooked foods.

[Tigercat17]

I totally agree with T.H. ans Skylark - It does depend on how sensitive you are to gluten.

I do avoid processed foods a lot. And I too mostly stick with home-cooked meals. I make a lot of food when I make dinners & then I freeze it. My home-made frozen meals are great when I don't have time to cook. I feel so much better so it's definitely worth it.

I can't eat most of the "gluten free" cereals. The only one I can eat is Glutino -Honey & Nut cereal. All the others I get reactions with them. That's including Enjoy Life brand and even some other Glutino cereals -Corn Flakes. I guess I'm just really sensitive, but I've learned how to adapt - I'll eat warm brown rice with milk or silk almond milk with fresh fruit, Cream of Buckwheat cereal with fresh fruit (really good!)and milk or some scrambled eggs.

Right now I'm trying to find a good gluten free vitamin. I've had a lot of problems with them & even my blood work antibodies would not go down until I stopped taking them. I got glutened from some supposedly "gluten free" vitamins- Country Life, Member's Mark and Megafoods. You really got to watch them.

Good Luck!

Lisa

[larry mac]

I've never had a problem with the "shared" stuff. I just carefully look for "wheat, barely, rye, malt". Anything else I consider OK. I eat Corn Chex every morning. For some reason the Honey Chex don't aggree with my stomach, but it's very mild, and not a gluten thing.

best regards, lm

[jerseyangel]

I've found it's an individual thing. I have reacted every time to products made on shared equipment. Sometimes not right away, but after eating it several times in a row.

I do use a few mainstream products by companies I trust to be good about labeling, but I mostly stick to naturally gluten-free foods and cook from scratch--cheating a little by using some Gluten free Pantry mixes.