I've been concerned at reading here recently about so many things I shouldn't be eating, that i was unaware of.

[lamcg]

eg, bean sprouts & strawberries. I don't understand how this is a problem for us coeliacs-I have no doubt that people are feeling the effects, though! But surely gluten is neither adsorbed onto, nor assimilated by these plants? Why is it not possible, with care, to simply wash it off? I thought proteins were fairly delicate, easily denatured by heat, or mechanical means-gluten must be a tuffy!!

[FionaGFG Administrator]

Iamcg - please bear in mind that this forum allows people to discuss their ups and downs and that bean sprouts and strawberries are naturally gluten free. If you are a new coeliac as per worldwide research & coeliac disease advice you only need to avoid grains that contain gluten or items that are derived from them e.g.

- wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt

The other issue with coeliac disease alongside avoiding obvious gluten free foods (pasta, pizza & the above grains) is to avoid contaminating what you eat or drink. As CD is an auto-immune disease just 1 breadcrumb is enough to ignite the immune system into attacking itself. This maybe why you have seen discussions on bean sprouts etc where people have moaned about cross contamination of foods by food retailers e.g. factory production lines where gluten is also used alongside gluten free items - which increases the risk of cross contamination.

The following are classified as gluten free world-wide:

-vegetables

- fruit

- quinoa

- rice

- corn

However, many coeliacs find that once they go gluten free their stomach has trouble processing some foods e.g. raw salads whilst the stomach is healing. Likewise dairy products. This does not necessarily mean this will be a permanent problem.

Hope this helps.

[meanioni]

I think a degree of common sense applies - the gluten reaction is to the proteins that are in the seed head of the grain concerned. The only way a strawberry could be "glutened" would be if the seed heads were crushed over the plants themselves. This is fairly unlikely and even then washing them would remove any trace.

There are a number of Internet myths around gluten and one is that if a plant or animal lives/grows on gluten it will somehow magically become infected with gluten.

This is nonsense as the act of the plant/animal growing involves the digestion of the food, i.e. breaking it down into its components. Once processed it is no longer dangerous to a coeliac.

There is a risk that a plant grown on a flour/wheat base could be cross-contaminated, but washing or removing roots should remove that risk.

[ianwoowoo]

I agree - as a new sufferer I find the more you read the more confusing and worrying things seem. Just stick to the basics initially but do learn where there may be hidden Gluten. Not all Coleacs have the same threshold and some are more sensitive than others, only you can tell if something effects you. I found that some Vit C tablets I was tkaing contained Maltodextrim which I understand can be derived from Wheat - I stopped taking these and felt better. Also Malt Vinegar is one that I overlooked but is a Barley derivative.

[Maqh]

I agree this is very confusing, I to stopped using anything with barley malt, or codex wheat starch even if it's in the coeliac book as I react to these. Fresh bean sprouts in our supermarket have a warning of containing gluten duh! Anyway, I understand from other people that it is the packing line that causes this as it is dusted with wheat flour! So you really need to check everything you buy and work out what doesn't affect you just as none coeliacs sometimes react to certain foods badly.

[lamcg]

Thank you all- I am as careful as possible-aren't we all! It's my own ignorance & suppositions that are worrying-ie, fruit & veg are free from gluten! For over half my life, I presumed that how I felt was normal, but now even though I think I do all I can, I find it a concern, when I hear things like in my question! Maybe even now, after 5 years, of presumably being gluten free, am I still making too many mistakes-still not feeling as well as 'normal' people, & causing myself damage without realising! I guess most of us don't have that base line! It's a good reason for visiting here!