Some gluten-free Bread May Not Be Gluten Free!

[DogWalkerNYC]

I received an email from Gluten Free Society at 8:30am this morning. The subject of the email is: Gluten Free Bread Causes Celiac Damage.

Here is a blurb from the article:

"A recent study found that patients with celiac disease can react to "gluten free" bread made with maize (corn) protein. Serum IgA was measured against the prolamine in corn. Previous studies have found similar reactions with corn in patients with gluten sensitivity."

Upon reading this, I immediately sent the following email to Schar:

"Hi Schar,

I just received an email from Gluten Free Society saying:

"A recent study found that patients with celiac disease can react to "gluten free" bread made with maize (corn) protein. Serum IgA was measured against the prolamine in corn. Previous studies have found similar reactions with corn in patients with gluten sensitivity."

I am very upset to read this because I have been enjoying your bread and rolls for awhile now, but your products contain corn starch, and if eating them is harming me I will find another manufacturer that does not include corn in their ingredients.

Please let me know your thoughts on this. Is corn starch the same as corn protein? If it would be helpful I can forward you the complete article.

When people on the celiac.com forum and members of celiac sprue read about this I'm sure they too will stop purchasing these products if eating them is causing us harm.

Thanks,

Laura"

Forum members, Schar products are sold in the Gluten-Free Mall. Is this nothing to be concerned about? If not, great. But if it is, why are these products for sale in the mall and why is this company being touted as a trusted gluten free company? If this is new research why isn't it on the main page of celiac.com, and if it's old research why am I receiving an email today about this? And again, why are these products for sale in the gluten free mall.

I am trusting my health to forums like this one and expect consistent, updated info.

[kareng]

Corn doesn't bother me. All of the reputable Celiac associations and Celiac Medical Centers do not warn against corn.

Why say bad things about only Schar? Lots of certified gluten-free foods have corn in them. Do you have a personal issue with that company?

[DogWalkerNYC]

It may not bother you but it may bother others who are continuing to have symptoms despite strictly adhering to what they think is a gluten free diet.

Are you saying The Gluten Free Society is not a reputable resource or do you not believe the study? Here's a link to their website: www.glutenfreesociety.oMy linkrg

The issue is not that corn doesn't bother one person with celiac, the issue is that corn may bother many others.

[DogWalkerNYC]

Apparently I'm not able to link their name because the note says they spammed your forum and are banned. If their information is accurate why would you ignore it? I will do further research about the effects of corn on celiac disease. Isn't the idea here to share information so that we can all heal and feel better?

[kareng]

I think you can only read thier "studies" if you subscribe to thier website.

I know that some people with Celiac and some people without Celiac have issues with corn, or potatoes or strawberries. If corn was a concern, don't you think the Celiac Medical Centers would warn us?

I still wonder why you have targeted one manufacturer of gluten-free products when many use corn?

[DogWalkerNYC]

I just called Gluten Free Society and left a voice message. I will follow up on Monday and track down the research on corn and celiac damage. If I track the research to reliable sources I will share that info here and I sure hope members on this forum will take note. The alternative, which is to ignore the info because it's from Gluten Free Society, and to continue eating corn and suffering seems rather ridiculous. I will also let you know Shar's response to my email.

[Jestgar]

Is this the same article?

[GFinDC]

HI,

The study about corn affecting some people with celiac has been posted here not too long ago. Actually corn has been suggested as a possible problem for several years. But there isn't a lot of information about how many people it affects or how much damage it causes yet. Most likely it doesn't affect a lot of people or we would hear about symptoms from people here who eat corn. There are some people here who react to it and I don't eat a lot of it myself. But it doesn't seem like it is a problem for most people at this point. There is still a lot to learn though.

[DogWalkerNYC]

Here is the article. I don't know if this info is new or old, but I just received it by email at 8:30am this morning:

Gluten Free Bread Damages Celiacs

[psawyer]

Is this the same article?

If it is, that one refers to corn sensitivity in a subset of people with celiac disease and specific genes. It does not suggest that everyone with celiac disease will react to corn.

We know that some people, including some people with celiac disease, are intolerant to corn.

Laura, as previously asked, why have you specifically targeted Schar when many, many gluten-free foods contain corn? Why just Schar?

[DogWalkerNYC]

Hi Pete, I was just about to answer that question. I was actually in the supermarket when I read the email from Gluten Free Society. Guess what I was buying? Dag has an entire gluten free section and I was stocking up on some items, including bread. Schar is the only manufacturer of gluten free bread and rolls sold in Dag. When I read the email I grabbed the bread in my shopping cart and read the ingredients. Standing in the gluten free aisle in the supermarket I sent the email to Schar. I came back home and came online to post in the forum and start doing research. I will definitely avoid all corn products and all manufacturers who have corn in their ingredient list, and if it would be helpful I'll list them here. If there is a kernel (little play on words) of truth to this corn thing, trust me, I will avoid corn products like the plague.

[kareng]

I would like to know what research shows that 90% of us don't get better on a gluten-free diet? If that is true, why would we bother? Why would medical research centers recommend the gluten-free diet?

[DogWalkerNYC]

In my opinion, the point is if corn affects even one celiac it may affect many. How many posts have I read from people saying they are sticking to the gluten free diet and still having symptoms? How many of those may be eating corn thinking it's a safe food, but for them it's not. Isn't it worth it for even one of those sufferers to be told that corn may be the culprit? It should be noted on the home page of Gluten-Free Mall: "Attention Celiacs: Some celiac sufferers react negatively to products containing corn. If you are sticking to the gluten free diet and still having symptoms, you might want to consider removing corn products from your diet to test if corn is an irritant." Something like that would really be helpful.

[DogWalkerNYC]

I would like to know what research shows that 90% of us don't get better on a gluten-free diet? If that is true, why would we bother? Why would medical research centers recommend the gluten-free diet?

I will try and find out.It did not say "ALL" research. You must admit, there are many (many) celiacs following all the rules and still suffering. You bother, as I do, to understand what affects us negatively and positively. You are correct, medical research recommends the gluten free diet. The question is, is corn gluten free?

[mushroom]

It should be noted on the home page of Gluten-Free Mall: "Attention Celiacs: Some celiac sufferers react negatively to products containing corn. If you are sticking to the gluten free diet and still having symptoms, you might want to consider removing corn products from your diet to test if corn is an irritant." Something like that would really be helpful.

If we did that, we would also have to put similar notes about soy, nightshades and several other different foods to which many of us are also intolerant. As a celiac, you need to be aware that you may be intolerant to other foods or food groups than gluten -- you just have to learn by trial and error which your particular foods are. If you removed from gluten free foods all the things that many of us are intolerant of also, the gluten free shelves would be pretty empty. Not all celiacs react to corn; I happen to be one who does but I don't want to inflict my restrictions on others.

[Jestgar]

In my opinion, the point is if corn affects even one celiac it may affect many. How many posts have I read from people saying they are sticking to the gluten free diet and still having symptoms? How many of those may be eating corn thinking it's a safe food, but for them it's not. Isn't it worth it for even one of those sufferers to be told that corn may be the culprit? It should be noted on the home page of Gluten-Free Mall: "Attention Celiacs: Some celiac sufferers react negatively to products containing corn. If you are sticking to the gluten free diet and still having symptoms, you might want to consider removing corn products from your diet to test if corn is an irritant." Something like that would really be helpful.

or soy

or milk

or nightshades

or salicylates

or any number of other things that end up bothering someone who has a messed up digestive system.

Look around, this is pretty common on this forum.

[DogWalkerNYC]

Exactly. This forum, and other similar forums and resources, are here to help people navigate through this situation.

As a fellow sufferer wouldn't it have been helpful when you first started out if you were made aware of some of the innuendos of dealing with celiac? Do you really think the better way is to learn by (painful, damaging) trial and error? Wouldn't you have appreciated being told, on some of these information sites, that some celiacs react to corn or soy or nightshades, etc.

Certainly on a site that sells food, like Gluten-Free Mall, I expected no less. Just a simple little disclaimer would have done it. Is that really too hard for them to do or might they be concerned about the effect such a notice would have on sales?

Also, you mentioned that 'not all celiacs react to corn'. But I read on this and other forums that just because celiacs may not have a reaction to eating glutened food that does not mean that damage to the intestines is not being done. In other words, just because you don't feel the damage doesn't mean it's not happening.

[Jestgar]

Since anyone can react to anything, a disclaimer is really pointless. If you react to a particular food, it's up to you to read the ingredients. Why choose corn as your target annoying food, when there are so many?

[Junior Chef]

Corn has gluten in it. It's just a different gluten than what wheat, barley, and rye have. Yes, some people are corn intolerant. That doesn't mean corn isn't gluten free. I for one can handle corn, and I'm sure there are people that are super-sensitive to gluten that can eat it. Asking gluten free websites to start listing all the things you could be allergic to is like asking for more warning labels on things. There are just so many things that you could be intolerant/allergic to that it would be practically impossible to list them all.

[DogWalkerNYC]

I am discussing corn at this moment because I was in the supermarket several hours ago buying Schar bread when I received the email saying that some gluten free breads are damaging to celiacs. That is the reason I'm discussing corn at this very moment. When I arrived home I went online to the Gluten-Free Mall to see if they carry the same product, and if there's a disclaimer, etc. And they do, and there is no disclaimer.

I completely disagree with you about the disclaimer. Any company that sells food products geared towards a particular group of people owes it to those people to provide them with every single detail, and every bit of information, about their possible or probable reaction to eating the food they are selling. Period. It is their moral and ethical obligation to their customers, who already have food issues and are coming to them to get healed.

Attention Celiacs: Certain celiacs are sensitive to one or more of the following products. Please be aware, or please speak to your doctor, or please do a test, or please anything, etc.

Yes, we all have different reactions to different products. But there are only a handful of items that are potentially harmful to many of us: corn, soy, dairy, nightshades, salicylates.

How hard would it be for a store selling gluten free products to mention the more common allergens? Corn has been iffy for while, from what I read. This is not a new problem food.

You can ban The Gluten Free Society for spamming or whatever they did, but it irks me that I heard about corn from a website that hasn't received a penny from me and not from The Gluten Free Mall, who sells this stuff to make a profit.

[sreese68]

Personally, I eat a TON of corn products every day - grits, tostadas, tortillas, corn flakes, pasta, Fritos, etc. OK, maybe not all of those in one day, but several. And I feel AMAZING! Better than I have in over a decade! All my awful symptoms are gone or greatly diminished. So no, not all people with celiac react to corn or don't get better while eating it.

Now, brown rice is another story for me. Gives me the worst stomach pain and the big C. (C is one of the ways celiac affected me.) I can't eat gluten-free baked goods because almost all of them have brown rice flour in them. If I ate gluten-free bread, brown rice pasta, muffins, doughnuts, cookies, crackers, etc, I'd be in terrible shape. But that doesn't mean that no other celiacs should eat them.

You'll read a lot of alarming articles about what you should and shouldn't eat in terms of intolerances. Or what's safe or not in terms of cross contamination. It's best to research first, react second. Some articles are exaggerated. Some aren't. Classic example is not licking postage stamps or envelopes because the adhesive contains gluten. In actuality, they don't, but that misinformation keeps popping up.

[Jestgar]

I still disagree. You are responsible for your own health, and 50 disclaimers on a product only means that no one will read any of the disclaimers. If you choose to live your life expecting people to take care of you, that is certainly your right, but don't expect everyone to agree with you.

Isn't the GFS the one set up by one guy who wants you to buy all his products?

[DogWalkerNYC]

For those of you who are eating corn and feeling great, I read on this, and other forums, that if you are a true celiac even the smallest amount of gluten can cause damage to your intestines, whether or not you feel the damage. If corn contains gluten aren't you concerned about that? If not, why?

To Jestgar, of course we are all responsible for our own health, even me! And part of that responsibility is to learn who to trust, which people and companies run their companies ethically and honestly. We all cannot be experts, not even you. And so we rely on the experts we choose, and expect them to fill in the gaps in our knowledge base.

I am a business owner too and my clients expect me to be 'the expert' in the services I provide. When I do business with other companies I expect them to be 'the experts'. That does not mean I am not responsible for my own health. To the contrary, it means, I am very much responsible, and acting responsibly. And that means expecting the experts I turn to, to do their job.

[ravenwoodglass]

For those of you who are eating corn and feeling great, I read on this, and other forums, that if you are a true celiac even the smallest amount of gluten can cause damage to your intestines, whether or not you feel the damage. If corn contains gluten aren't you concerned about that? If not, why?

I eat corn both fresh and in flour form. I am a very sensitive celiac. I am not concerned at all. Corn gluten is not a concern for people with celiac disease, in general. Even though it is called gluten it is not the same as the gluten found in wheat, rye or barley.

You don't have to take my word for it. Go to the NIH or another reliable source like Celiac.org to research this not some guys website who is selling their own products.

There is no reason why Scott should put any kind of disclaimer on the Mall site. It would have to list every food know to man. As others have said people need to find out what their own individual intolerances are, if they have any, and avoid those foods.

[DogWalkerNYC]

I don't know if the GFS guy is the one who wants you to buy his products. All I did was sign up for a free newsletter. I don't know the organization or the guy. But if this info is correct, I don't care if this guy stands in the middle of Broadway spitting nickles to make a living. I am grateful to him for information that may finally help my hives resolve.