Gluten issues

Hey Keith, not up on the subject but remembered this post coming round.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2134442&postcount=1

Also this, looks like it can be a bear!
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/gluten-free-diet/my01140/

Yes you are correct. Just make sure you read the labels. Most all rubs and marinades would be gluten free and all your protiens. As a chef I deal with gluten allergies all the time. Every label will give allergy info on ingredient list usually last on list. Like you said its the wheat to stay away from breads, pastas etc... The good thing is if you slip up they want die just have a severe stomach ache. If you google celiac disease causes you can get a complete list.

A surprisingly large number suffer from from this. I've seen estimates ranging from 2-5%. It is largely unknown and is not commonly diagnosed, so it is a good thing to keep in mind -- especially when catering to the public. I work with a few people with gluten allergies and have a relative. All tell a similar story of very severe symptoms. Nearly all switched doctors many times until someone suggested this possibility. I have one colleague whose daughter suffered terribly for years and went through many doctors until her boyfriend took a semester off school to study medicine to try to find out what was wrong. He finally diagnosed her.

Butt Rubb'n BBQ said:

Yes you are correct. Just make sure you read the labels. Most all rubs and marinades would be gluten free and all your protiens. As a chef I deal with gluten allergies all the time. Every label will give allergy info on ingredient list usually last on list. Like you said its the wheat to stay away from breads, pastas etc... The good thing is if you slip up they want die just have a severe stomach ache. If you google celiac disease causes you can get a complete list.

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The labels don't always list allergies. You've got to know what ingredients to look for. It's more than looking out for wheat, barley/malt and rye in their various forms. You also have to look for things that they are in that are then in the thing you are using such as soy sauce, teriyaki, etc.

And, slipping up can be far worse than just a severe stomach ache for someone with celiac. It is causing damage to their intestine. Sorry if that last par comes off as being assy. I've pretty much given up on eating out due to chefs not being overly concerned about their slip ups-- and I'm not nearly as sensitive to it as someone with celiac.

Hopefully Kathy's Smokin will see this thread. She has that problem in her household, and just entered a potato starch pizza in a throwdown. I know nothing about this condition, but she would be a good "brethren" to know.

CD

Marrs said:

The labels don't always list allergies. You've got to know what ingredients to look for. It's more than looking out for wheat, barley/malt and rye in their various forms. You also have to look for things that they are in that are then in the thing you are using such as soy sauce, teriyaki, etc.

And, slipping up can be far worse than just a severe stomach ache for someone with celiac. It is causing damage to their intestine. Sorry if that last par comes off as being assy. I've pretty much given up on eating out due to chefs not being overly concerned about their slip ups-- and I'm not nearly as sensitive to it as someone with celiac.

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Not only do you have to look at the ingredients, you have to make sure that where the rubs and sauces was processed at was not made where gluten containing ingredients are also processed due to cross contamination. My wife has celiacs and I bbq for her almost every weekend. I also have to make sure no knife's, cutting boards, pans, brushes, grill grates, or even my hands touch gluten containing foods then touch hers. If I slip up and she gets contaminated, that makes for unhappy times. I would be on the safe side and unless you know for sure its gluten free, I wouldn't chance it.

My wife has celiac sprue disease. We sell different BBQ sauces at our gift shop and ask all of our suppliers if their product is gluten free. This is becoming more well known and there is a lot of products out there that now have "Gluten Free" on their labels. My biggest problem is with Soy Sauce. There are some that are gluten free. Most are not.
The one problem with this disease is that it will not always affect the person when they eat gluten. However, it can just pop up and cause cancer in the person.

Sorry if I upset anyone by saying you won't kill them. I was just trying to ease his mind a little. My wife and daughter suffer from it as well so I understand the severity of the problem but majority of labels do list allergens and that's also why I said to google celiac disease so he could understand hidden contributors. If you are selling food to the public and don't know about a food allegy just say so and don't try to guess. It is the individuals responsibility to be ware of their own needs. If you are honest you should not have a problem.

Just like me being diabetic high sugar is my enemy. If I am going to eat at a people choice I should know what I am getting into.. People should still ask but eater beware.

It is a bear for those with the condition. My sister suffers with it and once had ONE Mentos mint...ONE, and within half an hour she was impacted by it. She also has to use two toaters in her house since using the once that held "regular" toast will also get her. If you aren't 100% certain better to say you aren't sure.

I have come accross this question recently and I am thinking of posting a sign that says "all food served is not gluten free". This would keep me from getting into trouble. I would rather not serve someone than take the chance of making them ill. But if they want to try the food thay are more than welcome.

There is a range in gluten issues from mildly intolerant, moderately intolerant (me) to Celiac Disease. I think because there is a spectrum in intolerance/allergy it is confusing to people just learning about it. Sometime in September I'm going to do a cleanse of gluten (and dairy, additives/processing, sweetners and all processed fats) to see what gluten exactly is giving me trouble. Some things affect me less, some things affect me more. Medical testing for gluten intolerance/allergy is poor and unreliable. Eliminating all gluten for several weeks (I'm doing 6 weeks), then rotating one thing in, eliminating again to rest and heal, then rotate another thing in to test is the best way I know to approach diagnosis. There are many good books out there, I like Dr. Hyman's "Ultramind Solution" best for my purposes -- but I'm going further with gluten investigation in my body than he does. Dr. Hyman's footnotes are amazing, he really knows his stuff and gets his information from reading well-done studies. I'm interested to see if GMO wheat affects me differently than a non-GMO wheat. Rye has gluten but the molecule is different than wheat gluten -- some people on the lower spectrum are intolerant to rye gluten and some are not. Oats are naturally gluten free but are mostly processed in factories that process wheat so with cross-contamination cannot be called gluten free when processed that way. The side-effects of gluten intolerance can be hard to pin down -- I don't experience gastric trouble. I experience muscle ache and pain, fatigue, horrific cravings for more wheat that drive me to distraction, strong sugar cravings, irritablilty and loss of concentration. There are more symptoms than these, too. I agree with Marrs -- gluten leaks out of the intolerant intestine and creates havoc in the body and brain in all kinds of ways. Gluten can get into the brain and show up as behavioural side-effects -- so often the case in autistic children. Gluten creates inflammation in the body and exacerbates arthritis. It's been a while since I did my reading, I remember what directly affects me best but in September/October I'll be immersing in the subject again. I'd be pleased to share what I remember and discover on this section of the forum or another, whichever seems best. We could discuss this issue in the health and lifestyle forum -- if we are able to advertise the thread creation in a few places we'll have a wider notification. Not sure about brethren rules on advertising threads in different sections but I will ask.

There are lists of food additives that don't scream out gluten in their name but definitely are unsafe for celiacs -- here's a link to it.
http://www.celiac.com/articles/182/1/Unsafe-Gluten-Free-Food-List-Unsafe-Ingredients/Page1.html

This website (www.celiac.com) is a really good place to start learning -- there are many, many good GF based websites to be found in a google.