Gluten free bread bloats me

[appletina]

Does anyone have trouble digesting Gluten free bread like me? I would like to have a sandwich from time to time but it usually ends in a few days of suffering with constipation and bloating!

[Penel]

I assume you're talking about ready made gf bread? You may find that it's the additives used that are causing the problem. I can't eat any of them.

If you want bread perhaps you could try making your own?

withoutgluten.co.uk

[appletina in reply to Penel]

I did try once and it was disgusting. I got rid of my bread maker after a few attempts.

[pvanderaa]

The ingredients, such as chickpea flour, tapioca flour, rice flour and guar gum may also cause you specific issues.

Have you tried foods of each component to see if that causes you a specific issue?

Hummus, tapioca pudding or rice dishes?

The guar gum is the sticky element that does the same job as gluten in regular bread.

Some GF products I can't stand and others are great.

Also how acidic are your foods? I find my stomach acidity is low I have issues with diarrhea and if I keep the acidity up, I'm fine and sometimes get constipated.

One of my reactions to gluten is almost like gut paralysis where nothing moves. I have a B12 deficiency also and taking B12 supplements helps get things moving again.

[appletina in reply to pvanderaa]

thanks for the tip about b12 gluten paralysis my gut too, it literally stops working. yes hummus gives me gas

[PoDundee]

Gluten free bread is highly processed and full of sugar.

[freelancer]

It's probably a question of identifying one ingredient. I find Genius bread makes me fuzzy and tired, but I don't have the same reaction with the bread from Romeo's Bakery, which I suspect has less processing. I've never worked out what's the problem, though, so mostly avoid GF bread.

[Hidden in reply to freelancer]

Genius makes me pretty ill.

[freelancer in reply to Hidden]

I picked up your reply just as I was eating gluten-free bread so thought I should probably update! Seven years on little has changed but I’ve finally found one I actively like (mainly for toast) – Good Grain Bakery GF sourdough – though it costs more than £5 a loaf, so is more of an occasional treat than a staple. It doesn’t have any of the gums or hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, so I reckon one of those is my issue. Mainly I avoid bread though – I’ve found buckwheat pancakes are quite a good breakfast filler.

[Hidden in reply to freelancer]

Wow, that is expensive! Ye, make your own is more cost effective, and pancakes are so easy to make. Bread just phases out eventually. I've read lot of additives that are common in GF baked goods and products are damaging for good bacteria in our GI tracts. Buckwheat is ok, and pretty good for nutrients. We just have to get creative. I've tried to make pancakes with coconut flour but it was an unmitigated disaster!

[appletina]

I bought a quiche from Romeos yesterday I didn't feel too bad, but I've been blocked up all week from marks and Spencer's free from bread,

[Ruthi]

Your mistake is common enough. We give up gluten and imagine that the substitutes are good for us because they contain no gluten.

In addition to everything said above about the individual ingredients, there is also the whole concept that somehow we can be healthy eating this highly processed stuff. I did it too, its natural for the supermarket animal to look for easy substitutes, but it didn't work for me, and it doesn't work for most people.

I'm 5 years into GF and hardly ever eat the ready made stuff. Its in the freezer should my husband decide that only cheese on toast will do. But mainly I eat rice or potatoes when others would eat bread. I hardly eat sweet stuff any more so cakes aren't a real issue, but I have a few recipes that use single ingredients.

But its a gradual change. Try rice cakes (I hate them) or corn thins (not quite so bad) for when you really feel you need a bread substitute. But I generally eat my cheese and pate with things like celery, carrot or salad now. I rarely mind - only when my best mate is making bread in my old breadmaker, or when we are in France and I can't eat croissants!

Now, the reason, apart from the junk aspect that these bread/flour substitutes are no good is quite interesting. Gluten is a protein that is only made by four members of the grass family, wheat, rye, oats and barley. But its one of a group of proteins called gliadins. All grasses make gliadins. Coeliac disease is a very specific immune reaction to gluten. But I suspect that all of us gluten sensitives are also sensitive to other gliadins to a greater or lesser extent. I can get away with small amounts of corn, and normal portions of rice. But the other grains, like gf oats, millet (very high in proteins) and corn all cause me grief.

[appletina]

Interesting thanks. Yes rice and potatoes is what I mainly eat. And I can't tolerate sweets now

[Venetia]

well, thanks for opening the subject up, I thought it was my imagination re certain breads, now through trial and error I occasionally have Sainsburys brown seeded loaf, ok ,but not satisfying, its like eating air, Rice cakes ok but ...... and Biona millet bread I do like , not available everywhere, and pricey,

M&S have nice tasting Frangipani choc cake, but I don't feel well if I eat it, most other cakes taste awful,

I have tried baking but not really successful, Dove's flour recipe works for me , but only when freshly made and for one person is a waste.

So the best for me is cutting out bread and pastries and eating naturally gluten free foods, as fresh and whole as possible, I find I can buy the better meat and veg and fruit if I cut the expensive breads and cakes, and have much more energy too.

[Snottie]

Glad I found this, I was worried. Tried a gluten free burger bun from Islands Burger last week, woke up that night with shooting stomach pains. I was gassier than I've ever been; for about 30 minutes it sounded like a really long jazz trumpet solo.

[thepilgrim]

Likewise: I suspect lack of fibre is the issue. I will avoid in future. I tried both Genius and Warburton's sourdough with the same outcome

[Hidden]

'Gluten Free' does not mean free of gluten, so you may be sensitive to the codex level. Also, as others have pointed out, the addiditives in commercial GF bread are pretty dire. You may need to also consider that some on the non-gluten grains may be something that cause you issue, e.g. oat flour and/or maize - both have proteins that may mimic gluten for those with coeliac. Best option is to make your own if you have the time and will.

[CATRYNA49]

You may be like many of us who not only need to be gF, but must be entirely grain free. I did not become completely comfortable and free of the accompanying Celiac skin disorder Dermatitis Herpetiformis (DH), and other complaints until I became grain free, along with no soy, yeast, artificial colors and flavors.