Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Contamination Somewhere-Can't Figure Out The Source

gfbakingmom

Recommended Posts

gfbakingmom Newbie
gfbakingmom
Posted

My son and I were diagnosed with gluten intolerance about a year ago. His symptom is eczema; mine is intestinal trouble. I have been very strict since that time, rarely eating out, preparing all our meals at home, eating only foods that I have checked and made sure were gluten free. Our symptoms cleared up and we have been great, until . . . about six weeks ago. My son has developed his tell-tale eczema (and bad behavior) and my intestines are problematic again. This happens to coincide with my adding a new element to our diet: Baking gluten-free bread and muffins with flours other than almond flour, which I used exclusively until about mid-March. The flours I buy come from companies that claim certified gluten free: Bob's Red Mill, Nuts Online, and Arrowhead Mills. The "new" flours I had never used until the symptoms began are sorghum, millet, sweet rice, and tapioca starch. I use xanthan gum in the bread but not the muffins.

I am wondering if someone can give me some clues as to what might be causing our symptoms. We have not eaten out in at least three weeks. I cook with mainly whole foods, and the brands of canned goods/etc. are all things I have been using since we went gluten-free a year ago--they didn't trouble us before. Help!

Thank you.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


quincy Contributor
quincy
Posted

My son and I were diagnosed with gluten intolerance about a year ago. His symptom is eczema; mine is intestinal trouble. I have been very strict since that time, rarely eating out, preparing all our meals at home, eating only foods that I have checked and made sure were gluten free. Our symptoms cleared up and we have been great, until . . . about six weeks ago. My son has developed his tell-tale eczema (and bad behavior) and my intestines are problematic again. This happens to coincide with my adding a new element to our diet: Baking gluten-free bread and muffins with flours other than almond flour, which I used exclusively until about mid-March. The flours I buy come from companies that claim certified gluten free: Bob's Red Mill, Nuts Online, and Arrowhead Mills. The "new" flours I had never used until the symptoms began are sorghum, millet, sweet rice, and tapioca starch. I use xanthan gum in the bread but not the muffins.

I am wondering if someone can give me some clues as to what might be causing our symptoms. We have not eaten out in at least three weeks. I cook with mainly whole foods, and the brands of canned goods/etc. are all things I have been using since we went gluten-free a year ago--they didn't trouble us before. Help!

Thank you.

Despite the gluten free nature of flours you can still react to them. are you using oats as well? some celiacs/gluten sensitive people cannot tolerate gluten-free oats or gluten-free oat flour.

GlutenFreeManna Rising Star
GlutenFreeManna
Posted

Do you know if you are sensitive to oats at all? I will tell you I cannot use anything by Bob's Red Mill because they process "gluten free" oats in their gluten free facility with all the other gluten free flours they make. A small percentage of celiacs cannot handle any type of oats at all. For some sensitive people cc from even gluten-free oats can make them sick.

Takala Enthusiast
Takala
Posted

Well, that's a bummer. :(

I reacted recently to a bag of a certain kind of marked gluten free corn flour from Bob's, and it was a single grain type of deal with the quickbread, and it had to be that from what else I ate that day. I eat other forms of corn, so I was very annoyed. I do not know exactly what this is cc'd with, however.

It could also be the Arrowhead Mills. They use paper instead of plastic bags, and I've seen some displays with lots of flour dust residue on the bags, and the regular flours mixed in with the gluten free in the store displays, even in a venue where the store has the aisle marked gluten free. I also have seen several references here and elsewhere with people having cross contamination trouble with certain flavors, such as the millet. Other people swear by it and claim to not have problems. The other likely culprit would be the sorghum. Read here for a study done last year on cross contamination: Open Original Shared Link

The only way to tell for sure, is to just add one new gluten free flour at a time to the repertoire.

Rice is less likely to be grown near other wheat crops and tapioca is a root crop. You might try coconut flour, which is another nut flour. I grind my own almonds and buckwheat.

Whenever I do make something, I make sure if I'm dipping into a bag to always use a clean spoon, otherwise I pour it out into the mixing cup or bowl, so I don't spread residue.

gfbakingmom Newbie
gfbakingmom
Posted
  • Author

We do not eat oats in any form (I know I react to them), so that isn't the problem. The flours I buy come from (Company Name Removed - They Spammed This Forum and are Banned) or other online sources--the millet flour came in a plastic-wrapped carton, with the paper sacks inside.

About the sorghum -- the company I bought it from tests everything to ensure that it is not contaminated, so they say.

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

I seen several people on here say that they react to tapioca. If you hadn't been using it before, maybe that got you? Could be one of the other flours. Maybe go a week or so back to what you were doing. Feel better. Then try using 1 new flour/ starch at a time. If they have to be mixed, maybe you could do 2 at a time.

rdunbar Explorer
rdunbar
Posted

i just eat meat, vegetables and fruit. i'm trying to avoid anything that can have a chance of being contaminated.

for me, it's not 'is it contaminated ?', it's 'is it possible that it's contaminated.?"

if theres a chance, i don't take it if i don't have to. and it seems like there is always a risk.

w/ gluten free flours, and other processed foods, you don't know what else was put through the mill, or what it was stored around.

i'm sure certain complanies are fine, and diligent about protecting their customers. then be aware that you are going on trust, and letting you guard down when your consuming these products.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


GlutenFreeManna Rising Star
GlutenFreeManna
Posted

We do not eat oats in any form (I know I react to them), so that isn't the problem. The flours I buy come from (Company Name Removed - They Spammed This Forum and are Banned) or other online sources--the millet flour came in a plastic-wrapped carton, with the paper sacks inside.

About the sorghum -- the company I bought it from tests everything to ensure that it is not contaminated, so they say.

What I was trying to explain is that if you react to oats there is a chance you will react to ALL Bob's Red Mill products because they are processed with oats. That is the case for me as well as for at least one other member here. We cannot use any BRM products becasue of the oat cc.

quincy Contributor
quincy
Posted

What I was trying to explain is that if you react to oats there is a chance you will react to ALL Bob's Red Mill products because they are processed with oats. That is the case for me as well as for at least one other member here. We cannot use any BRM products becasue of the oat cc.

Hi GFM. I didn't know that all BRM flours are processed where the oats are processed. Good to know; I thought for some reason their oat processing was completely separate. I will have to remember that. I used BRM corn meal to make muffins and YUCK, what a bad response I had.

I also remember that right after going gluten-free I reacted to ALL processed foods, so the best thing was to stick with rice, veggies, meat and chicken. very simple....

gfbakingmom Newbie
gfbakingmom
Posted
  • Author

Wow, now that is very interesting. All Bob's Red Mill products are processed with oats . . . and I have been using them in earnest, especially the Hot and Tasty Cereal. I just started that about six weeks ago too. WOW, that is good to know. Now I am a bit miffed because I just ordered a TON of that stuff and it is not cheap at all. I will now cut out all the Bob's Red Mill products for two weeks and then see what happens. Hmmmm . . .

psawyer Proficient
psawyer
Posted

Bob's Red Mill has a dedicated facility for their gluten-free products. The oats that come into that facility are "the purest gluten free oats grown by over 200 farmers on clean, dedicated oat-growing fields." [per their web site}

If you are one of the minority of celiacs who can not tolerate even pure oats, this may be an issue. But for most of us the concern with oats is that, unless special precautions are taken at every stage of the production process, oats are always contaminated with wheat.

gfbakingmom Newbie
gfbakingmom
Posted
  • Author

Bob's Red Mill has a dedicated facility for their gluten-free products. The oats that come into that facility are "the purest gluten free oats grown by over 200 farmers on clean, dedicated oat-growing fields." [per their web site}

If you are one of the minority of celiacs who can not tolerate even pure oats, this may be an issue. But for most of us the concern with oats is that, unless special precautions are taken at every stage of the production process, oats are always contaminated with wheat.

Yes, this is true. However, I know that I react badly to Bob's Red Mill certified gluten free oats, specifically. When I was diagnosed, I went on a very strict, completely gluten and oat free for six months, and was completely healthy. Then, to test whether I could tolerate oats, I added Bob's Red Mill gluten-free oats into one meal. I had a horrible reaction. Most celiacs can tolerate pure oats, and clearly I am not one of them. So, now I must learn if the other gluten-free products processed by Bob's Red Mill could be contaminated with oats.

GlutenFreeManna Rising Star
GlutenFreeManna
Posted

Wow, now that is very interesting. All Bob's Red Mill products are processed with oats . . . and I have been using them in earnest, especially the Hot and Tasty Cereal. I just started that about six weeks ago too. WOW, that is good to know. Now I am a bit miffed because I just ordered a TON of that stuff and it is not cheap at all. I will now cut out all the Bob's Red Mill products for two weeks and then see what happens. Hmmmm . . .

Yes I think that's a good way to figure it out. Drop the Bob's Red Mill products and see if you improve. Good Luck!

dilettantesteph Collaborator
dilettantesteph
Posted

What you need to do is use each flour separately for a period of at least a week before you try another one. That way you can figure out which ones bother you and which ones you can eat. In general it is a good idea to keep track of new food items and symptoms in a food diary.

I react to gluten free oats and Bob's products. Lots of gluten free food companies use gluten free oats. Those of us sensitive to gluten free oats have to be very careful.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,963
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    AlissaW
    Newest Member
    AlissaW
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      Does anyone here also have Afib

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      If black seed oil is working for his Afib, stick to it, but if not, I can say that ablation therapy is no big deal--my mother was out of the procedure in about 1 hour and went home that evening, and had zero negative effects from the treatment. PS - I would recommend that your husband get an Apple watch to monitor his Afib--there is an app and it will take readings 24/7 and give reports on how much of the time he's in it. Actual data like this should be what should guide his treatment.
    • Jacki Espo
      Covid caused reoccurrence of DH without eating gluten

      By Jacki Espo · Posted

      This happened to me as well. What’s weirder is that within a couple hours of taking paxlovid it subsided. I thought maybe I got glutened but after reading your post not so sure. 
    • Mari
      New Celiac Mama in My 30s

      By Mari · Posted

      Hi Tiffany. Thank you for writing your dituation and  circumstancesin such detail and so well writte, too. I particularly noticed what you wrote about brain for and feeling like your brain is swelling and I know from my own experiences that's how it feel and your brain really does swell and you get migraines.    Way back when I was in my 20s I read a book by 2 MD allergist and they described their patient who came in complaining that her brain, inside her cranium, was swelling  and it happened when she smelled a certain chemical she used in her home. She kept coming back and insisting her brain actually swelled in her head. The Drs couldn't explain this problem so they, with her permission, performed an operation where they made a small opening through her cranium, exposed her to the chemical then watched as she brain did swell into the opening. The DRs were amazed but then were able to advise her to avoid chemicals that made her brain swell. I remember that because I occasionally had brain fog then but it was not a serious problem. I also realized that I was becoming more sensitive to chemicals I used in my work in medical laboratories. By my mid forties the brain fog and chemicals forced me to leave my  profession and move to a rural area with little pollution. I did not have migraines. I was told a little later that I had a more porous blood brain barrier than other people. Chemicals in the air would go up into my sinused and leak through the blood brain barrier into my brain. We have 2 arteries  in our neck that carry blood with the nutrients and oxygen into the brain. To remove the fluids and used blood from the brain there are only capillaries and no large veins to carry it away so all those fluids ooze out much more slowly than they came in and since the small capillaries can't take care of extra fluid it results in swelling in the face, especially around the eyes. My blood flow into my brain is different from most other people as I have an arterial ischema, adefectiveartery on one side.   I have to go forward about 20 or more years when I learned that I had glaucoma, an eye problem that causes blindness and more years until I learned I had celiac disease.  The eye Dr described my glaucoma as a very slow loss of vision that I wouldn't  notice until had noticeable loss of sight.  I could have my eye pressure checked regularly or it would be best to have the cataracts removed from both eyes. I kept putting off the surgery then just overnight lost most of the vision in my left eye. I thought at the I had been exposed to some chemical and found out a little later the person who livedbehind me was using some chemicals to build kayaks in a shed behind my house. I did not realize the signifance  of this until I started having appointments with a Dr. in a new building. New buildings give me brain fog, loss of balance and other problems I know about this time I experienced visual disturbances very similar to those experienced by people with migraines. I looked further online and read that people with glaucoma can suffer rapid loss of sight if they have silent migraines (no headache). The remedy for migraines is to identify and avoid the triggers. I already know most of my triggers - aromatic chemicals, some cleaning materials, gasoline and exhaust and mold toxins. I am very careful about using cleaning agents using mostly borax and baking powder. Anything that has any fragrance or smell I avoid. There is one brand of dishwashing detergent that I can use and several brands of  scouring powder. I hope you find some of this helpful and useful. I have not seen any evidence that Celiac Disease is involved with migraines or glaucoma. Please come back if you have questions or if what I wrote doesn't make senseto you. We sometimes haveto learn by experience and finding out why we have some problems. Take care.       The report did not mention migraines. 
    • Mari
      My only proof

      By Mari · Posted

      Hi Jmartes71 That is so much like my story! You probably know where Laytonville is and that's where I was living just before my 60th birthday when the new Dr. suggested I could have Celiacs. I didn't go on a gluten challange diet before having the Celiac panel blood test drawn. The results came back as equivical as one antibody level was very high but another, tissue transaminasewas normal. Itdid show I was  allergic to cows milk and I think hot peppers. I immediately went gluten free but did not go in for an endoscopy. I found an online lab online that would do the test to show if I had a main celiac gene (enterolab.com). The report came back that I had inherited a main celiac gene, DQ8, from one parent and a D!6 from the other parent. That combination is knows to sym[tons of celiac worse than just inheriting one main celiac gene. With my version of celiac disease I was mostly constipated but after going gluten-free I would have diarrhea the few times I was glutened either by cross contamination or eating some food containing gluten. I have stayed gluten-free for almost 20 years now and knew within a few days that it was right for me although my recovery has been slow.   When I go to see a  medical provide and tell them I have celiacs they don't believe me. The same when I tell them that I carry a main celiac gene, the DQ8. It is only when I tell them that I get diarrhea after eating gluten that they realize that I might have celiac disease. Then they will order th Vitamin B12 and D3 that I need to monitor as my B12 levels can go down very fast if I'm not taking enough of it. Medical providers haven't been much help in my recovery. They are not well trained in this problem. I really hope this helps ypu. Take care.      
    • knitty kitty
      Does anyone here also have Afib

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Fascinating.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.