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Rice Dream Milk

JaneWhoLovesRain

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JaneWhoLovesRain Enthusiast
JaneWhoLovesRain
Posted

I know this topic has come up before, I just did a search and saw many posts here and elsewhere. I'm looking for current info. Do you drink this and if so do you have a reaction? I called the mfg a couple months ago and was assured it is gluten-free, even though it isn't labeled so (despite her tellng me it is on the label). So I have continued to drink it but now after researching it I see it may not be safe after all. Maybe this is the hidden source of gluten I am getting. If it is not safe do you have any ideas for substitutions? I love my cereal in the morning but milk and soy are out as is anything with a high sodium count. I'm open to most anything else.

Jane

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Jestgar Rising Star
Jestgar
Posted

almond milk? Coconut milk? Different brand of rice milk? Vodka? OK, only if you're expecting a really bad day, but keep it on the list. :rolleyes:

GFNewby Newbie
GFNewby
Posted

I know this topic has come up before, I just did a search and saw many posts here and elsewhere. I'm looking for current info. Do you drink this and if so do you have a reaction? I called the mfg a couple months ago and was assured it is gluten-free, even though it isn't labeled so (despite her tellng me it is on the label). So I have continued to drink it but now after researching it I see it may not be safe after all. Maybe this is the hidden source of gluten I am getting. If it is not safe do you have any ideas for substitutions? I love my cereal in the morning but milk and soy are out as is anything with a high sodium count. I'm open to most anything else.

Jane

Hi- I know that I am new to all of this but isn't Lactaid a decent alternative or am I missing something?

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

I know this topic has come up before, I just did a search and saw many posts here and elsewhere. I'm looking for current info. Do you drink this and if so do you have a reaction? I called the mfg a couple months ago and was assured it is gluten-free, even though it isn't labeled so (despite her tellng me it is on the label). So I have continued to drink it but now after researching it I see it may not be safe after all. Maybe this is the hidden source of gluten I am getting. If it is not safe do you have any ideas for substitutions? I love my cereal in the morning but milk and soy are out as is anything with a high sodium count. I'm open to most anything else.

Jane

Here is the best explanation of Rice Dream and gluten I can find. Tricia Thompson is a real expert on gluten in foods.

Open Original Shared Link

I can drink Rice Dream with no reaction. I'm pretty sure we have a few unusually sensitive board members who do react to it.

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

Hi- I know that I am new to all of this but isn't Lactaid a decent alternative or am I missing something?

Many people with celiac are intolerant to casein, one of the main proteins in milk. It can look a lot like gluten to your immune system. Lactaid only helps with lactose intolerance, not casein intolerance.

SensitiveMe Rookie
SensitiveMe
Posted

I am new here so anyone correct me if I am wrong.

I would think since Rice Dream rice milk uses a barley protein enzyme it would contain at least some gluten no matter how small the amount may be. And the more you drank of this product everyday then the more gluten you would be consuming. Since you posted about hidden gluten I would think you should not drink this brand. And I am remembering a post on here by a moderator who said your body reacts to gluten whether you are aware of it or not, and that some people react to even small amounts of gluten.

I am very grateful to a poster on here last week who mentioned this product uses a barley enzyme. I went searching all over the internet for all info I could find and then threw away all the Rice Dream I had and the bread I had made from it. I would never have bought this product in the first place had I known they were using barley with it. And the company apparently thinks we are supposed to know that because one of the ingredients is brown rice (partially milled). I have been drinking Rice Dream daily and using it in bread and ice cream I make for near 2 years. I have improved in some areas but am still in constant GI symptoms. So I am quitting this product for good...found an easy and quick recipe for making my own since I can't find a different brand in my area yet.

Good luck in finding another brand of Rice milk or a suitable replacement for it.

Kelleybean Enthusiast
Kelleybean
Posted

Hi -

My son appeared to have a reaction to Rice Dream. He normally drinks almond milk but Rice Dream was on sale so we gave that to him instead for a week. By the end of the week, he was exhibiting the behavioral symptoms that we associate with gluten. I'll never know for sure but that was the only new thing that we gave him that week, so we don't give it to him any more.

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JaneWhoLovesRain Enthusiast
JaneWhoLovesRain
Posted
  • Author

Thank you for the replies. I read the link Skylark posted and felt confident that this product was okay but then read the later posts and now I'm not so sure. The company says they remove the barley, but how do they do that? hmmmm.

I felt like I was getting hidden glutten this week. I have been very good at watching labels, trying to keep vertigo at bay as well as get rid of this rash, 100%, that I am convinced is dh. But this week I have felt very off balance and on the verge of vertigo. Also, I developed one small terribly itchy blister on my belly button of all places and it felt and itched exactly like my big rash felt and itched. But I couldn't find any where at all that I could have had hidden gluten, so I thought it was the milk.

Aha, tonight I was making chicken for supper and when I went to the fridge to get some marinade for it I realized when I made chicken last Sunday night I put the wrong marinade on that batch, I used the kind that most likely DOES have hidden gluten and is "made in a facility that uses wheat" so that may be what has made me feel so terrible this week. That bottle is gong out in the trash.

SensitiveMe Rookie
SensitiveMe
Posted

I am glad you found the cause and posted. A good reminder to me also of how careful we have to be...especially in the fridge or rushing around to make dinner.

I make separate meals for me and someone else in the house who isn't on a gluten-free diet and sometimes I shake my head wondering whose plate I put something on. But so far so good because the only mistakes I made were putting my sauces or condiments on his plate (he can't make his own plate because he is disabled). And he even ending up liking mine better.

GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

Another option is Tempt brand hemp milk.

Regardiing the barley in Rice Dream, there was an article posted a while ago about gluten testing for barley. The article said the testing methods we have now don't detect barley gluten very well. So they may test it and get a negative reading but that negative reading could be wrong. The tests give unreliable numbers on the presence of barley gluten. Can't be trusted.

I reacted to Rice Dream milk years ago and have tried it for years now. There are plenty of other milk substitute options.

Ginsou Explorer
Ginsou
Posted

I know this topic has come up before, I just did a search and saw many posts here and elsewhere. I'm looking for current info. Do you drink this and if so do you have a reaction? I called the mfg a couple months ago and was assured it is gluten-free, even though it isn't labeled so (despite her tellng me it is on the label). So I have continued to drink it but now after researching it I see it may not be safe after all. Maybe this is the hidden source of gluten I am getting. If it is not safe do you have any ideas for substitutions? I love my cereal in the morning but milk and soy are out as is anything with a high sodium count. I'm open to most anything else.

Jane

Rice Dream does have gluten in it....small amounts are not required to be listed per the FDA. In the 3 years that I have been "checking" the Rice Dream containers, none of them have ever had gluten-free listed on them ,with the exception of some small travel packs that clearly had barley listed.Other people have called the company and have been told yes, it is processed using barley enzyme. Go figure. When I first went gluten free, I started drinking Rice Dream and after a few weeks started getting sick. I stopped the Rice Dream and was well again. A month later, started drinking Rice Dream, and got sick again. I have switched over to coconut milk and also drink Vance's Dairy Free. I'm lactose intolerant and also casein and milk intolerant, so Lactaid Milk is out. I recently made my own rice milk,and it was OK...but I prefer to purchase coconut milk as long as the budget holds out!

SensitiveMe Rookie
SensitiveMe
Posted

All of my containers of Rice Dream have always said Gluten Free on them...it is written on the front of it in the left lowermost corner. It is small with red letters on a yellow background and a red triangular frame around it.

I have stopped drinking it and 2 days later I noticed I felt different...I had to think about it and then realized I was feeling more peaceful and the slightly agitated feeling I used to have all the time was gone. I can't tell yet about my GI discomfort...am still not feeling good but it feels a bit different in there and that things may be starting to move easier through my intestines.

I was also reading some things about testing for barley gluten in food and it said it was a tricky process and some tests severely underestimate the amount of gluten.

  • 2 weeks later...
Ginsou Explorer
Ginsou
Posted

All of my containers of Rice Dream have always said Gluten Free on them...it is written on the front of it in the left lowermost corner. It is small with red letters on a yellow background and a red triangular frame around it.

I have stopped drinking it and 2 days later I noticed I felt different...I had to think about it and then realized I was feeling more peaceful and the slightly agitated feeling I used to have all the time was gone. I can't tell yet about my GI discomfort...am still not feeling good but it feels a bit different in there and that things may be starting to move easier through my intestines.

I was also reading some things about testing for barley gluten in food and it said it was a tricky process and some tests severely underestimate the amount of gluten.

Wow, you are right, Rice Dream is now advertising that their product is gluten free, at least the packages in my local supermarket have the symbol on it. I know up until a few months ago, this symbol was not on their packages because I'm always browsing the special diet sections looking for something new that I can eat safely. Somewhere on this forum I read that Whole Foods Rice milk is safe to drink, and I never had a problem with their product when I was in the area that had a Whole Foods. Unfortunately, Whole Foods is 1 1/2 hours away, one way, but a Trader Joe's has opened up 1 hour away, and at some point in time I will check it out to see what they offer, since Costco is also in the same area.Costco was at one time selling Rice Dream, but my local Costco has switched to their own brand.

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