Healthy Crumbs Week: Feedback Friday: Gluten: Where to Find It

HEALTHY CRUMB: FEEDBACK FRIDAY

Gluten: Where to Find It!

I often get ask, what foods contain gluten? Here is a list of foods and ingredients that often contain gluten. You must become an excellent label reader, gluten is hidden in so many ingredients. 

The following are the grains and starches gluten is found in:

Wheat	Couscous	Semolina
Wheat Germ	Farina	Spelt
Wheat Grass	Graham Flour	Triticale
Rye	Kamut	Oats*
Barley	Matzo	Oat Bran*
Bulgur	Seitan	Oat Fiber*

*Oats may contain gluten due to easy cross contamination. Oat fields frequently have wheat or rye growing in them and therefore most oats show gluten contamination when assayed. If contamination doesn't happen in the fields it often occurs in transport or at the manufacturing facility. You can find certified gluten free oats from a few companies. Bob's Red Mill, Creamhill Estates, and Gluten Free Oats.  Bob's being the most readily available. Bob's offers certified gluten free oats as well as oats that are not gluten free, so check the packaging to make sure you are getting the oats specifically stated as gluten free.

The following is a list of foods/ingredients that MAY containing gluten (check labels!):

Breading	Marinades	Seitan
Broth	Meat Balls	Self-Basting Poultry
Coating Mixes	Meat Loaf	Soup Bases
Communion Wafers	Meat Substitutes (Tofurky, etc…)	Soy-Based Veggie Burgers
Crab Cakes	Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)	Soy Sauce
Croutons	Pastas	Stuffings
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein ("wheat")	Processed Meats	Textured Vegetable Protein ("wheat")
Imitation Bacon	Roux (common sauce base)	Tamari
Imitation Seafood	Sauces	Thickeners
Malt or Malt Flavoring, Malt Vinegar(usually from barely and corn)	Sausages	Vital Wheat Gluten (found in imitation meat)
Caramel Coloring	Vinegars (often a derivative of gluten containing grains, especially distilled vinegar.)	Vegetable Gum
Rice Syrup	Blue Cheese (the mold usually originates on old bread)	Vitamins and Supplements

Alcohol

Beer is made from grains therefore it contains gluten. Alcohols such as scotch, rye, and vodkas, while made from grains that contain gluten, have been distilled removing the gluten, making them safe to consume. Keep in mind that alcohol when mixed with gluten in food seems to magnify the reaction of gluten and should be avoided. 

Soy

Soy has some negative characteristics. Soy foods are one of the most common sources of hidden gluten. Seitan and most soy-based veggies burgers contain "vital wheat gluten", the ingredient that gives those foods the texture and taste of meat. Despite being gluten free, soy beans often provoke digestive bloating, gas, and allergic symptoms. As a bean they contain the same lectins that grains have. 

You must become an excellent label reader. Many products say they are gluten free but contain ingredients such as oats, hemp, wheat grass, malt or wheat starch with may contain gluten. Also be wary of food additives labeled as "natural flavorings", "spices", or "extractives of…" If in doubt don't consume the product unless you have written the company or called to verify the product is indeed gluten free. Most companions are forthcoming about whether or not their product is gluten free. So do your research!

I hope this helps shed some light about the foods and ingredients gluten is in. Whether you are new to a gluten free diet or have been following one for a while it is always good to remind ourselves how many foods and ingredients do contain gluten and make sure we are reading our labels. 

posted by Allergy Free and Cheap Like Me! at 6:00 AM 14 comments

Healthy Crumbs Week: Feedback Friday: Food Allergy vs. Food Intolerance

Healthy Crumb: Feedback Friday

Food Allergy vs. Food Intolerance

I often get asked the question, what's the difference between having a food allergy and having a food intolerance?  A lot of times these two terms seem to get used interchangeably. Hopefully I will be able to help clear up any discrepancies you or others may have about food allergies vs. intolerances.  

The word “allergy” is frequently overused and misused to include any irritating or uncomfortable symptoms after eating. However, the term "allergy" should only be used for the symptoms which develop after eating certain foods that are part of the body's immune response. In an allergic reaction, the body’s immune system mistakenly believes the food is harmful and tries to protect itself. In doing so it overreacts and produces, harmful antibodies, called immunoglobulin E (IgE), and other chemicals such as histamines to fight the food “allergens”. This type of reaction can cause reactions, sometimes severe, that affect the skin, breathing, gut, and heart. IgE antibodies can also “cross react“ with other allergens, causing a person to become allergic to a related allergen. For example, a person with a birch pollen allergy can suddenly become allergic to apples or kiwi fruits. Also overexposure to certain foods can also cause a cross reaction, for example, a person could acquire a wheat allergy after working in a bakery. Food allergies often run in families, suggesting that the condition can be inherited. Food allergies can be triggered by even a small amount food and occur every time the food is consumed. 

Symptoms of a food allergy include:

• rash or hives
• nausea
• stomach pain
• diarrhea
• itchy skin
• shortness of breath
• chest pain
• swelling of the airways to the lungs
• anaphylaxis

An intolerance is a digestive system response rather than an immune system response. An intolerance occurs when something in a food irritates a person's digestive system or when a person is unable to properly digest or breakdown a food. Symptoms of a food intolerance can be similar to food allergy symptoms, but are generally less severe, which is one reason the two are so commonly confused. An intolerance is much less likely to be life-threatening than a true food allergy. People with food intolerances may not have symptoms unless they eat a large portion of the food or eat the food frequently.

Symptoms of a food intolerance include:

• nausea
• stomach pain
• gas
• cramps or bloating
• vomiting
• heartburn
• diarrhea
• headaches
• irritability or nervousness

Hopefully this helps show the differences between food allergies and food intolerances. Whether you have a food allergy or intolerance neither one is much fun, can cause many unwanted symptoms, and be overwhelming when you first learn you have them. But fortunately there are many great resources out there to help you along the way. Here are links to a few I have found helpful along the way.

The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network

Kids with Food Allergies Foundation

Food Allergy Initiative

Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

Do you have any resources you have found helpful in your food allergy/intolerance journey?  Please feel free to share them with your fellow readers in the comments section!

posted by Allergy Free and Cheap Like Me! at 6:00 AM 3 comments

Healthy Crumbs Week: Feedback Friday: How Do I Avoid Cross-Contamination at Home?

HEALTHY CRUMB: FEEDBACK FRIDAY

Feedback Friday gives me a chance to respond to you, my readers. Topics will be based on your comments, questions, and thought you are interested in discussing. Each week I will pick a reader to respond to in this post. These topics are up to you, my readers, so start commenting on what you would like to hear about! Leave a comment, question, or suggestion on the blog, our Facebook Fan Page, or email me, and your response might be picked to be our Healthy Crumb: Feedback Friday of the month!

Healthy Crumb; Feedback Friday: How Can I Avoid Cross-Contamination at Home?

One question that comes up a lot among our readers is, "how do I avoid cross contamination in my kitchen?"  Many people, as careful as they are, still ingest allergens by cross contamination, whether it's at a restaurant or even in their own homes. Let's face it, it is hard when one person is eating allergen free foods and other individuals in your household are not. Because crumbs go everywhere, it can be hard to prevent cross contamination. However, there are a few tips and guidelines you can follow to help prevent cross contamination in your kitchen. 

• No sharing, no double dipping, and always squeeze if possible! Don't share, even for items that are naturally allergen free. This includes common condiments like peanut butter, jam, butter, and mayo; if the spreading knife has touched it, it's contaminated. When making toast and sandwiches these items can easily become contaminated with gluten, dairy, or other allergens via a contaminated knife. Try marking and using specific containers for "allergen free" foods or designating parts of your pantry and refrigerator to be allergen free zones. Knowing what they are putting their serving utensils into will help make sure allergen eating family members don't accidentally contaminate your food. Also, if available, buy squeeze bottles. This helps prevent condiments like ketchup, mustard, relish, and mayo from getting any allergens in the bottles.

• No sharing goes for some appliances too! If you are gluten sensitive, have your own separate toaster. I know this sounds extreme, but think of all those little crumbs that fall into the toaster and hardly ever get cleaned out! Besides, can you really get them all out even if you clean it after every use; no!  Another option is to use a toaster oven where the rack can be removed and washed after each use. Or have both; gluten bread only goes in the toaster and gluten free foods only go into the toaster oven. 

• Be a label freak and keep it separate! Store all allergen free products in separate labeled containers. You can label them "allergen free" or buy brightly colored stickers and put them on everything that is, and should remain, allergen free. In addition, storing all allergen free foods in a separate place in the cupboard or pantry and refrigerator helps prevent accidental cross contamination. For dried goods, like flours and cooking aids, store them on the upper shelves of the pantry or cupboard, always above the allergen containing products, to prevent flour dust and crumbs from falling into or onto the packages and containers of allergen free items. 

• Keeping things separate goes for utensils too!  Have your own set of utensils and other items for allergen free baking and cooking. This includes things like wooden utensils, cutting boards, colanders, and sifters; anything that can be hard to get completely clean. In some homes, if you are the one who does most of the cooking for the family, most everything you eat is probably allergen free anyways, so this separation issue may not be as difficult to maintain as it might be in other households. 

• Scrub, scrub, and scrub some more! Always make sure pots, utensils, and anything that is used for food storage and preparation are thoroughly scrubbed before bringing them into contact with allergen free foods. (No using the same fork or utensil to stir gluten containing pasta and gluten free pasta when they are being cooked at the same time!) Also, always make sure the counter space used to prepare allergen free foods has been freshly scrubbed down to ensure it is free from crumbs or flour dust. Be sure to use a fresh sponge, cloth, or towel when cleaning up, otherwise, you could just be spreading the allergen around instead of cleaning it up! One good tip is to cook the allergen free item first before preparing allergen containing foods. This way the allergen free foods are less likely to get contaminated. 

By following these tips and guidelines you can help prevent cross contamination in your kitchen!  Do you have other suggestions or unique routines you follow to prevent cross contamination from happening in your kitchen?  If so, please feel free to share them with your fellow readers!

posted by Allergy Free and Cheap Like Me! at 7:00 AM 0 comments