Daiya Cheese Making Anyone Sick?

[trents]

Don't rule out intolerance or allergies to other ingredients in gluten free prepackaged food. Many celiacs find they cannot do dairy or soy, for instance. Damage to the SB creates "leaky gut" syndrome that allows protein molecules to get into the blood stream that are normally too large to pass through and this tends to trigger new allergies.

The aging process for cheeses can sometimes use microbiota that are cultured on gluten containing grain.

Edited July 30, 2020 by trents

[knitty kitty]

Microbial transglutaminase (aka. Meat Glue) is an additive used to enhance flavor and texture in lots of products.  It acts the same as tissue transglutaminase which the body produces during a reaction to gluten or dairy.  It's classified as a processing agent and therefore doesn't have to be on the ingredient list. 

I can't eat dairy (lactose intolerant and casein allergy).   I can't tolerate fake cheese nor other dairy free products either because of the microbial transglutaminase. 

Cycling Lady's is so lucky! 

[Scott Adams]

Yes, good point. Here is an article on meat glue:

 

[hannah-e]

I tried Daiya's pepperoni pizza, and immediately knew it would not end well. I had indigestion almost immediately, and had terrible cramping for hours afterwards. I was also very bloated. I personally would not recommend Daiya, but I guess to each their own.

[Ellen F.M.]

I had a violent reaction similar to food poisoning after eating Daiya cheddar cheese slices also had in the past mild reaction to their pizza. I have realized that it is Tapioca Starch that I had been esting and tapioca syrup in other foods. Then I was sick from chips with Cassava. I found people having the same reactions to these ingredients. In small amounts they just made me a little sick to my stomach but I had a lot of processed gluten and dairy free foods all at once. Ones I’d never had in large amounts and all together before. Due to Covid and being tired not wanting to cook. I had debilitating painful gas and diarrhea for days. I was ready to go to doctor thinking I had picked up a parasite or infection but I did bone broth on empty stomach along with Braggs acv-probiotic. Then I was out of digestive enzyme and l-glutamine so I got Beano(name brand-generic has additives)-Finally I was able to be pain free mainly after 5 days!  I don’t really like bone broth but took it like medicine and it worked. I recommend anyone whose had reactions to these products to keep a food diary and write down any even mild discomfort. I finally looked at commen ingredients in all the foods I’d had mild reactions to. Thinking it was almond or coconut milk I was having a mild reaction too, which I think I may be sensitive to also but the ingredients that they all had in common “tapioca”!!!-and if not tapioca -cassava flour! So I hope this helps someone to figure this out sooner than I did and avoid being violently ill. I really need to do a healing of my gut again which means no processed foods for a few months. It’s very hard but I did it a few years ago to heal my gut and it worked but I slowly fell off the wagon until my poor stomach/gut revolted. No more “gluten free” “milk free” processed foods for me for a while just organic meats and veggies not even fruit at first. Gotta get the bad gut bacteria and obvious overgrowth of candida back under control ,  I’ve developed by not eating properly. I’ll miss my gluten free donuts! Good luck everyone! Hope your all feeling better soon!

[trents]

Yes, tapioca and cassava are used heavily in gluten-free processed foods these days. Seems like manufactures have been switching from using rice flour over to tapioca and cassava in the last few years.

[DJFL77I]

i had some yesterday melted over broccoli..  didn't seem to bother me at all.

[Scott Adams]

I'll admit that I'm truly amazed at all of the negative comments about Daiya, which have been ongoing on this forum for years now. If I were a principal in that company I'd definitely consider reformulating. They have a plant-based approach to their foods, and making cheese this way can't be easy:

https://daiyafoods.com/who-we-are/ 

[angry-guts]

Daiya cheeses (shreded, sliced, etc.) in the US _all_ contain titanium dioxide, a whitening agent. I'm highly allergic to it: instant blood pressure drop, wheezing, tingling extremities. My SO is less sensitive to it but still does not tolerate it well. Some hours later he and I will both have terrible brain fog (after the anaphlaxis wears off for me or if I take a part of a Benadryl). We no longer 'risk it' with Daiya or any other foods that contain titanium dioxide.

The European Union is banning titanium dioxide in food as of 2022 as it's a likely carcinogen: https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/10/11/EU-E171-ban-set-for-2022-The-safety-of-our-food-is-not-negotiable#:~:text=The Member States' decision to,not rule out genotoxicity concerns.

I believe that the Canadian Daiya does not have any titanium dioxide in it.

Hope that info helps!
- angry_guts - a new forum joiner (me with Celiacs, corn, rice, and many more allergies; my SO with Celiacs, FODMAPs sensitivities and allium allergies)

[trents]

1 minute ago, angry_guts said:

Daiya cheeses (shreded, sliced, etc.) in the US _all_ contain titanium dioxide, a whitening agent. I'm highly allergic to it: instant blood pressure drop, wheezing, tingling extremities. My SO is less sensitive to it but still does not tolerate it well. Some hours later he and I will both have terrible brain fog (after the anaphlaxis wears off for me or if I take a part of a Benadryl). We no longer 'risk it' with Daiya or any other foods that contain titanium dioxide.

The European Union is banning titanium dioxide in food as of 2022 as it's a likely carcinogen: https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/10/11/EU-E171-ban-set-for-2022-The-safety-of-our-food-is-not-negotiable#:~:text=The Member States' decision to,not rule out genotoxicity concerns.

I believe that the Canadian Daiya does not have any titanium dioxide in it.

Hope that info helps!
- angry_guts - a new forum joiner (me with Celiacs, corn, rice, and many more allergies; my SO with Celiacs, FODMAPs sensitivities and allium allergies)

Love your user name!

[angry-guts]

8 minutes ago, trents said:

Love your user name!

Haha, thanks! When my SO and I were figuring out our food issues - before we started cooking everything at home - we'd say that to each other a few times a week: "My guts are so angry!"

Some years later and a very boring but safe diet and we're both thankful that however boring our diets are now we're able to function again! The brain fog / cognitive effects of food allergies are a doozy.

As other people have written, the Daiya issue _could_ also be with the gums / thickeners, with tapioca or pea (my SO feels pretty bad from most pea [protein] products), but the more foods he and I have tried with titanium dioxide the more a pattern started to emerge. I asked a few friends who are careful about their diets due to autoimmune disease and they too said that titanium dioxide is a "no go" for the both of them as well.
 

[Racheus]

I’d just like to add my comments on this thread because it’s now 2022 and I, too, have had violent reactions to Daiya cheese. I am gluten, dairy, and nut intolerant, but based on their allergy-friendly statements, I have no idea why their products make me so ill. After eating half of their vegetable pizza, I immediately felt indigestion and nausea < 1 hour afterwards. Eventually I got tired of fighting it and ended up spending the night with frequent, violent vomiting and diarrhea. Normally their cheese products give me a little indigestion, so I’ve found it helps to scrape off some of the cheese to avoid this… That has worked well enough, except the vegetable pizza is hard to take cheese off of, hence why I think I was sick. I’ve also had very bad stomach problems with the mac n cheese. It’s reassuring to know other people have had this issue- no more Daiya products for me!

[trents]

30 minutes ago, Racheus said:

I’d just like to add my comments on this thread because it’s now 2022 and I, too, have had violent reactions to Daiya cheese. I am gluten, dairy, and nut intolerant, but based on their allergy-friendly statements, I have no idea why their products make me so ill. After eating half of their vegetable pizza, I immediately felt indigestion and nausea < 1 hour afterwards. Eventually I got tired of fighting it and ended up spending the night with frequent, violent vomiting and diarrhea. Normally their cheese products give me a little indigestion, so I’ve found it helps to scrape off some of the cheese to avoid this… That has worked well enough, except the vegetable pizza is hard to take cheese off of, hence why I think I was sick. I’ve also had very bad stomach problems with the mac n cheese. It’s reassuring to know other people have had this issue- no more Daiya products for me!

But you say you are dairy intolerant. How does dairy normally affect you.

[Courtney09]

I don't feel well after eating eat either. From what I remember, one of their ingredients is derived from corn and I am celiac/corn intolerant.

[Dr. Ron Hoggan, Ed.D.]

On 9/21/2022 at 6:26 AM, trents said:

But you say you are dairy intolerant. How does dairy normally affect you.

I just checked the ingredients list on the package of daiya shredded cheese, and the third ingredient is coconut oil. I believe that ingredients are listed in the order of their proportional presence in such foods, so coconut oil would likely be a major ingredient of this cheese. Since coconuts are tree nuts and you mention that you have a nut allergy or sensitivity, perhaps that is why the daiya cheese makes you sick.   

[lcarter]

Just now, lcarter said:

 Daiya product sensitivity

 I need to be 100% dairy free to be safe, but have had a poor experience with Daiya products as well.  I finally figured it out and decided it was the pea protein that they add to their products that bothers me.  [Unfortunately, I must avoid coconut milk, plus sugars like agave and stevia too , besides gluten.]   

[GfreeOH]

On 9/26/2022 at 7:58 PM, lcarter said:

 I need to be 100% dairy free to be safe, but have had a poor experience with Daiya products as well.  I finally figured it out and decided it was the pea protein that they add to their products that bothers me.  [Unfortunately, I must avoid coconut milk, plus sugars like agave and stevia too , besides gluten.]   

lcarter - this is me as well. I have been dairy free for years due to a casein intolerance. I had allergy testing done, and PEA was one of my highest allergens. I have to avoid dairy substitutes containing pea protein (which is alot of them). Daiya is a no-go for me for this reason.

[Lamos]

AHHHH!!!! I am a celiac and have eaten soy and corn with no problem, Xantham gum I need to test out more thoroughly. But HOLY COW- when I eat Daiya products I get SO SICK!! Every time. The Mac and cheese, the vegan cheese or the vegan pizzas. I have tried 3 products and each time I have been so sick. Bloating, nauseated or vomiting. I feel sick within 30 min of eating and it lasts hours. NEVER AGAIN. 

[trents]

7 hours ago, Lamos said:

AHHHH!!!! I am a celiac and have eaten soy and corn with no problem, Xantham gum I need to test out more thoroughly. But HOLY COW- when I eat Daiya products I get SO SICK!! Every time. The Mac and cheese, the vegan cheese or the vegan pizzas. I have tried 3 products and each time I have been so sick. Bloating, nauseated or vomiting. I feel sick within 30 min of eating and it lasts hours. NEVER AGAIN. 

You may have a dairy intolerance as well as a gluten intolerance problem. Intolerance of dairy is common among celiacs.

[angry-guts]

Wacky thing: the Daiya that has "made in the US" printed on its packaging has titanium dioxide and a bunch of other (soon to be banned in many places in the US) gnarly additives in it. The Daiya "made in Canada" cheeze, cheezcake, etc. does not have any titanium dioxide in it. That chemical is used as a whitening agent, but has been banned in the EU in food and makeup for years because there's strong evidence that it causes some types of cancer.

Perhaps it's the titanium dioxide in the US cheez that gets you? (It definitely gets me! I've experimented eating 'made in Canada' Daiya and I'm fine, but as soon as I eat US Daiya :-S)

8 hours ago, Lamos said:

AHHHH!!!! I am a celiac and have eaten soy and corn with no problem, Xantham gum I need to test out more thoroughly. But HOLY COW- when I eat Daiya products I get SO SICK!! Every time. The Mac and cheese, the vegan cheese or the vegan pizzas. I have tried 3 products and each time I have been so sick. Bloating, nauseated or vomiting. I feel sick within 30 min of eating and it lasts hours. NEVER AGAIN. 

 

[Wheatwacked]

I also had problem with the Daiya pizza. I think it was the immitation meat.  Against the Grain 3 cheese pizza with my own added sauce and mushrooms though is delicious. I actually pan fry it in a cast iron pan, covered, using Grapeseed oil (high temp smoke point) brushed on the bottom of the crust or the frypan. The pan fits a quarter pizza at a time.

[Scott Adams]

I just noticed that Daiya has reformulated and now uses oats in their products, and it's supposedly gluten-free:

https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/25190-daiya-rolls-out-reformulated-cheese-alternatives 

[Patricia cote]

I am so grateful to see this thread!! I found your thread three days after eating Daiya cheese. I had been suffering with severe indigestion with spasms and cramping under my ribs starting a half hour after eating it. I had contacted my doctor about my symptoms because I have kidney stones and thought they might be the cause. He advised me to go to the emergency room. I did. I had blood, urine, echo, and CT scans. They all showed normal. The doctor actually told me to use heating pads and Tylenol. 
 

After I saw this thread, I was convinced it was the cheese. I had an idea to take syrup of ipecac to clear my stomach. Online, I found advice that, before using it, you should call the poison control center. I’m so glad I did!  The fellow in the poison control center told me first of all that syrup of ipecac only works if you use it up to two hours after you have ingested the thing. He said that the Daiya cheese has extremely high level of coconut oil, which can cause bloating and obstruction. He advised me to take over the counter simethicone regularly. I am on day four of his protocol and the pains have moved down to my intestines and are now at a tolerable level.