These Seem Gluten Free- Why Are They Bothering Me?

[HS7474]

I love these 4C Totally Light to Go water flavoring packets. However, I'm pretty sure that they upset my stomach and give me "gluteny" symptoms. I can't figure out what the offending ingredient might be. There is also a variety that are energy ones, and those ones are even worse and cause nausea. Could anyone help me try to determine if there is anything specific that may be bothering me? I'd love to know so I could try to pinpoint and avoid it in other foods. I'm getting super sick of my seemingly daily symptoms, water packets or not.

Flavoring Packet flavors and ingredients:

Wildberry Pomegranate: Citric Acid, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Natural & Artificial Pomegranate and Wild (Mixed) Berry Flavors, Potassium & Sodium Citrate (Control Acidity), Acesulfame Potassium, Purified Polyphenols (Antioxidants) (One Serving Contains Approximately 20 mg of Antioxidants), Sucralose, Magnesium Oxide (Prevents Caking), Cellulose Gum, Xanthan Gum, FD&C Red 40, Tricalcium Phosphate (Prevents Caking), FD&C Blue 1.

Cranberry Pomegranate: Citric Acid, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Artificial Cranberry Flavor, Potassium and Sodium Citrate (Control Acidity), Acesulfame Potassium, Purified Polyphenols (Antioxidants) (One Serving Contains Approximately 25 mg of Antioxidants), Natural and Artificial Pomegranate Flavor, Sucralose, Gum Arabic, Magnesium Oxide (Prevents Caking), FD&C Red 40, Tricalcium Phosphate (Prevents Caking), FD&C Blue 1.

Fruit Punch: Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Potassium and Sodium Citrate (Control Acidity), Acesulfame Potassium, Artificial Color FD&C Red 40, Sucralose, Gum Arabic, Magnesium Oxide & Tricalcium Phosphate (Prevent Caking), Titanium Dioxide, Artificial Color FD&C Blue 1.

Lemonade: Citric Acid, Natural Lemon Flavor, Sodium and Calcium Citrate (Control Acidity), Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Cellulose Gum, Acesulfame Potassium, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Natural Lemon Juice Solids, Sucralose, Magnesium Oxide (Prevents Caking), Artificial Color FD&C Yellow 5.

Energy Flavoring Packets:

Berry Ingredients: Citric Acid, Taurine, Glucuronolactone, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Citrate, Caffeine, Acesulfame Potassium, Natural (Mixed) Berry Flavors, Sucralose (Splenda Brand), Niacinamide (B3), Calcium Pantothenate (B5), Pyridoxine HCl (B6), Silicon Dioxide, FD&C Red 40 & Blue 1, Folic Acid (B9), Cyanocobalamine (B12).

Citrus: Citric Acid, Taurine, Glucuronolactone, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Citrate, Caffeine, Natural Citrus Flavors, Acesulfame Potassium, Sucralose (Splenda Brand), Niacinamide (B3), Calcium Pantothenate (B5), Pyridoxine HCl (B6), Silicon Dioxide, FD&C Yellow 5, Folic Acid (B9), Cyanocobalamin (B12).

Orange: Citric Acid, Taurine, Glucuronolactone, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Citrate, Natural Orange Flavor, Caffeine, Acesulfame Potassium Sucralose (Splenda Brand), Niacinamide (B3), Silicon Dioxide, Calcium Pantothenate (B5), FD&C Yellow 5, Pyridoxine HCl (B6), FD&C Red 40, Folic Acid (B9), Cyanocobalamine (B12).

[sb2178]

Sucralose, maybe?

Magnesium can also affect GI function...

You could also get some juice or something to dilute in water.

[Looking for answers]

They seem to be full of chemicals and additives. I think my stomach would be upset too...I know the gums in it would make my stomach hurt.

[cassP]

it might be the cheaper quality vitamins... i know if i take vitamins from the grocery store- i get incredibly nauseus.. also, zinc makes me nauseas. and ascorbic acid gives me gerd. or it could be the corn byproducts ??? caramel color sometimes makes me nauseaus and i think it's from corn ??

[T.H.]

Might not be the ingredients, either. It could simply be that it's contaminated somehow. They say they are gluten free - did you ask if they tested for gluten? Do they test every batch, or periodically? If they test, what is their gluten ppm detection cutoff?

If they say they don't test because it 'has no gluten ingredients so it's gluten free,' then they're, well, very ignorant. Because if that was all it took, then we could all go to restaurants and there'd never be an issue with cc, ya know?

shauna

[mushroom]

And then again, there are all those dyes

[GFinDC]

I am pretty sure those water thingies are what turned the Toxic Avenger. Looks like a chemical factory product list not a food.

[HS7474]

Ok, ok, I know they aren't healthy but they are delicious!

Thanks for all of the replies I'll, obviously, stay away from them now.

I don't seem to have a problem with corn but I'll keep an eye out for the gums, vitamins, and caramel color.

The gums and vitamins hadn't occurred to me before.

I have sucralose regularly in one of my hot chocolates and don't seem to have an issue with that so I'm pretty sure that's not the issue.

I'll see if I can find the contact info for the company. They themselves didn't actually declare it gluten free, it was just me going by the igedients

Thank you again!

[momof2peanutz]

Citric acid!

It's found in most diet drinks and it gives me a major reaction too. It's in diet Snapple and was in my diet cherry soda and diet root beer.

Also, this site was helpful to me re: additives. Open Original Shared Link

This one looked very good, too: https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/forbidden-gluten-food-list-unsafe-ingredients-r182/

[momof2peanutz]

This safe list looks really good too:https://www.celiac.com/articles/181/1/Safe-Gluten-Free-Food-List-Safe-Ingredients/Page1.html

Actually sodium lauryl sulfate is on the "good list" and I know a lot of people can't use soaps with this in it if they're celiac, so .. I don't know if this list is great or not..