Gluten-Free: Eight Years Later

On September 11, 2012, I started switching from foods with gluten to gluten-free foods in an attempt to clear my skin. I’ve come a long way since that time, even since my five-year update. Many of the events mentioned here have arisen since my five-year update.

Over the first three or four years, I thought I was either gluten-sensitive or had celiac disease, despite testing being negative. However, another idea occurred to me when I started to react to smaller and smaller traces and noticed symptoms more quickly. I began to wonder if I might have an allergy instead. In the months before I went gluten-free, I was skin-tested for a wheat allergy, which came back negative, so I had dismissed the idea of a wheat allergy previously. I requested a wheat allergy blood test since I had not had that done, and it resulted in a class I, which my doctor didn’t feel was clinically significant. Over time, I was tested for different types of grass pollen and tested at classes IV, V, and VI on those. I concluded that I was most likely allergic to wheat through my allergy to grass pollen. I didn’t have any idea how I might react to barley or rye, if at all. I had no problems with gluten-free oats, corn, or rice. In 2018, I finally decided to try something with barley to see if I would react. I had noticed some frozen dinners containing barley at the grocery store, and I thought something like that would be the perfect thing to try. I was elated that I had no reaction to the dinner. I later tried rye flour and had no reaction to it either. To this day, I continue to enjoy foods containing barley and rye with no reactions. I’ve been able to eat cereals like Frosted Flakes and treats like regular Milky Way bars, foods that I had previously avoided. I love making pancakes with rye flour. Technically, I’m no longer gluten-free but am wheat-free.

During the early years of my gluten-free diet, I had developed reactions to other foods. I discovered that I had problems with guar gum and vinegar. I had eliminated these foods from my diet for several years. After I realized I had a wheat allergy, I wondered if the problem with vinegar might have been due to possible traces of wheat in the final product, if wheat was used to make the vinegar. I tried food products with vinegars that could not have been derived from wheat, like apple cider vinegar and red wine vinegar, and I had no reactions to those foods. When I reintroduced guar gum, I noticed I had no reaction to it either. I believe it, along with acesulfame potassium later, became problems because I was consuming them on an almost daily basis while my body was under stress because of major dietary changes, removing gluten and balancing copper with zinc and iron with vitamin E in my diet. Thankfully, I no longer have problems with either of these ingredients. However, I don’t stock up on foods with those ingredients at home in case I develop reactions to them in the future.

One fear I’d always had was eating out at restaurants. I was worried about cross-contamination and having reactions to restaurant meals. I felt that since I had to go so far to prevent reactions, cooks couldn’t possibly think of everything and keep my food safe. I’ve only eaten out at restaurants that have gluten-free options, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I’ve not had reactions once that I could not trace back to something I did or didn’t do. I feel a lot better about going to restaurants and ordering meals, especially since wheat is my main concern. I don’t worry as much about distilled vinegar and xanthan gum if I have them in foods that I’m only eating at isolated times, especially since I’ve not recently reacted to such foods, which I believe is at least partially due to the fact that Bob’s Red Mill has gone back to using corn to manufacture their xanthan gum. Flaxseed seems to be a very uncommon ingredient, at least from my own experience, so I don’t generally worry about it when eating at restaurants. I’ve never had to worry about oats in restaurant meals I’ve ordered.

I also grocery-shop differently now than when I thought I still had problems with gluten. I still buy only gluten-free oats due to potential contamination with wheat. However, when it comes to other food products that are not labeled gluten-free and don’t have obvious wheat ingredients, I’ve not noticed any problems with the ones that I’ve tried. I don’t stock up on products with distilled vinegar (or just vinegar on the label) and xanthan gum unless I know for sure how they’ve been manufactured. I know that Mt. Olive, the brand of pickles and pickle relish that I buy, and Heinz use distilled vinegar made from corn. I use xanthan gum in baking that I know was made using corn. While I have noticed no issues with one-time purchases like a frozen dinner or a restaurant meal with these ingredients, I don’t want to buy something to keep at home that may have potentially reactive ingredients. I would then have to throw the product away or give it to someone if I ever have a reaction. Discovering I have a wheat allergy rather than a reaction to gluten I feel has opened up more options for me and has made me less worried about cross-contamination in manufactured products. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered any cross-contamination that was not the result of something I or someone I know did or didn’t do.

Since going gluten-free in 2012, I’ve discovered many things and made a lot of changes. In the early stages, I was frustrated with the lack of answers as to why I was having the type of reactions I was having. Over the years, I finally got what I think was the right answer, a wheat allergy, and I was able to make certain changes that I feel has made things easier with regards to avoiding reactive ingredients in my diet. I also love being able to eat out at certain restaurants and am finding it much easier to grocery-shop for safe foods. While it will never be easy, I’m so thankful for the progress I’ve made since 2012 and even since 2017 and have learned to live well with the dietary changes I’ve had to make.

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