Sure Foods Living - gluten-free and allergen-free living

I just got back from a family vacation and though the summer is already half over, I thought someone out there may still benefit from some travel tips for traveling with gluten intolerance or with food allergies…

When planning a vacation, rather than start with what to pack?, start with what’s my destination? Where you are going will determine how you are getting there and finally, what you need to bring.

THE DESTINATION

kitchen?

Where are you staying? Is it a tent, condo, hotel room, someone’s house? Ideally it would be somewhere with a kitchen. There are hotels that offer kitchens, so if you are really worried about the food that you will be able to eat, you might seek out this type of hotel (Marriott Residence Inns are one example, but there are others, and even some upscale hotels offer kitchens). Timeshares and condos have kitchens, but if this is not an option, there are some small adjustments you can make to turn any hotel room into a pseudo-kitchen.

If staying in a hotel room, the first thing to do is call and see if there is a refrigerator in the room. Most hotel rooms are equipped with a mini-frig or mini-bar. If there is not one in the room, request one. Explain your situation and perhaps they will be able to put one in the room for you. Also, ask if they have a microwave and/or toaster that you can use in the room. We did this on the last trip and were told that they do not have them in the rooms, but the woman on the phone suggested we buy a microwave or toaster when we got there. My mother-in-law had a better idea: she bought a small cheap toaster and packed it in her suitcase. (It was so inexpensive, we didn’t even bother to pack it back home.) That toaster and a small frig made it possible for us to have a bit of breakfast every morning (we saved a lot of money too!) — more on that later.

driving

If you are driving to your destination, you can bring more items in your car, like a microwave, or a thermo-electric cooler. This is a cooler that plugs into an outlet to stay cool (car adapters also available). No wasted space on ice! This makes a good frig in a hotel room, or helps keep your safe food away from everyone else’s at a friend’s weekend house (no worries about someone’s knife in your butter!)

shopping

What kind of grocery stores are at or near your destination? Do a search ahead of time to see if your shopping can be done there, rather than bringing everything with you. If there are special items you need, call the store ahead of time to see if they carry them. Perhaps they can even pack you a bag and hold it for you. If you plan to do your shopping there, plan the time you will go and make it a priority. If you don’t, it will be harder to find time during the vacation.

care package

No grocery stores where you are going? Don’t feel like lugging it all? How about mailing some food to yourself? Think of it as a care package! You will be so happy to find all your safe foods waiting for you! With airlines charging for bags these days, it might even be more economical to do it this way. You just need to plan ahead! If traveling abroad, be careful of customs restrictions.

dining out

If you are going to be dining out, try reading blogs (like this one!) that are located in the area to which you are traveling. Often they will discuss restaurants, bakeries or stores where they have found a safe meal. Online support groups or local support groups can also be good resources. Support organizations in other countries can be helpful also. Gluten Free Passport has a list of global celiac organizations.

If traveling to a foreign country, don’t forget your dining cards translated into another language. Check out Triumph Dining Cards or SelectWisely Food and Travel translation cards. Food Allergy Buddy provides free cards you print yourself and CeliacTravel.com also provides free translation cards and an iPhone application. More applications are available and coming out for smartphones — do a search for your particular smartphone.

GETTING THERE

byof

Once you have determined your destination, how are you getting there? The number one rule for travel is BYOF — Bring Your Own Food. You just can’t go wrong with this option. For every plane trip, I get up early and make sandwiches on gluten-free bread. I pack them in a soft little cooler with an ice pack. I also bring lots of dry snacks like chips, crackers, dried fruit, beef jerky, cereal, bars — these will also last if needed during the vacation or to save for the plane trip home. I bring a small box of rice milk for my little one (airlines allow passengers to bring milk for children — just let the security guards know). I also bring a few lollipops (either Yummy Earth or Dum-Dums for any child-bribing that needs to be done!)

airports

Airports can be a challenge, so think ahead! If you want or need to eat a meal there, you can actually look up which restaurants are located in each airport, and even which terminal. Just do a search on “Airport Name dining.” For example, San Francisco Airport Dining. Knowing the restaurants ahead of time can help find a quick safe meal, or at least let you know that you need to bring something of your own. You can always buy chips, nuts and dried fruit at the news stores (if that works for your allergy).

airplanes

As airlines cut costs, it is unlikely that you are even having a “meal” on an airplane, unless you are in first class or are flying international. If you are having a meal, you can try requesting a gluten-free meal ahead of time, but there will be no guarantees that they will get it right! Some airlines are offering boxes of snack pack items as meals. On the way home from our last trip, we were short on food so my husband bought all three snack boxes, took out the gluten-free items in each and made his own assorted gluten-free snack box. Wasteful, yes. But he didn’t go hungry!

automobiles

Going on a road trip? BYOF of course, and pack it in your cooler. If you need to make pit stops, research roadside restaurants ahead of time. Keep my page of fast food restaurant information and links handy. And don’t forget that you can probably find a grocery store along the way.

WHAT TO PACK

Once you have figured out your destination and how you are getting there, you can decide what is necessary to bring with you.

As I mentioned before, on our vacation we were able to have a simple breakfast every morning with just the toaster we brought and the mini-frig in the hotel room. We either had a piece of toast or a bowl of cereal, and complemented it with fresh fruit or yogurt. Here is what I packed:

• fresh bread, that I made before we left. I use Pamela’s Bread Mix to make a loaf, I put it in a large plastic bag, and pack it in a children’s shoe box in a suitcase. The shoe box is the perfect size and prevents the bread from getting smashed. (Grab one the next time you are at Target — they always have empty ones lying around.)
• another loaf of frozen or refrigerated bread, like Udi’s or Food for Life. I left it in the freezer until the morning we left and then stuck it in the suitcase. Because it was frozen, it didn’t get smashed.
• new jars of Sunbutter and Jelly. I packed these in a padded wine bottle carrier — it worked perfectly!
• 2 unopened boxes of gluten-free cereal
• paper plates and bowls, and plastic spoons and knives. I should have packed a real knife for cutting the fresh bread.
• rice milk (if you can drink regular milk, you can easily find it nearby, or ask room service)
• coconut yogurt and dairy-free butter, packed in a cooler with ice pack
• Redbridge gluten-free beer — okay, that wasn’t for breakfast, but very refreshing later in the day! Pack carefully. We have never had problems bringing beer in our suitcase, even to Mexico (but they sure thought we were crazy!)

Even if you want to go out for breakfast and get eggs and bacon some mornings, it’s nice to have the option of something simple. We liked that we didn’t have to go out for breakfast. These things work as a snack later in the day too, especially for kids.

Enjoy the rest of the summer and happy travels!

Our next meeting of the Gluten Intolerance Group of Marin will take place on Tuesday, August 10 at 7:00. As always, there will be food to taste, samples, and raffle prizes!

The first topic of the night will be “Gluten and Skin Conditions — Are They Related?” Is there a connection between gluten and skin problems? Come and find out! The second topic of the night will be “GF Pizza 101.” What are your pizza options? Learn and share the brands available in the stores, restaurants that are doing gf pizza and how to make it yourself!

Also, we will welcome guest Cameo Edwards of Crave Bakery, who will be sharing her story and some of her gluten-free, dairy-free baked goods! Yummy!

Whether you have Celiac Disease, are gluten-sensitive, or are learning more about gluten free living for yourself, family or friends, we look forward to seeing you at the August 10th meeting of the Gluten Intolerance Group of Marin! New members are welcome.

To be added to our group email list and/or to RSVP to this event, email us at: glutenfreemarin@yahoo.com.

The Gluten Intolerance Group of Marin will meet:

• Tuesday, August 10
  
• 7:00 to 9:00pm
  
• Community Room at Corte Madera Town Center (upstairs at PF Chang’s end) 770 Tamalpais Dr. Suite 201, Corte Madera, CA, 94925

We look forward to seeing you,
Sheila and Alison

Meet the Co-Founders of the Gluten Intolerance Group of Marin:
Sheila Wagner, PT, CN has been an Orthopedic Physical Therapist for 29 years. Discovering her Non Celiac Gluten Intolerance 12 years ago prompted Sheila to become a Certified Nutritionist and integrate that service with her Physical Therapy private practice. Sheila is known as an expert in evaluating and treating orthopedic conditions and discovering their connections to food incompatibilities and metabolic dysfunctions. www.sheilawagner.com.
Alison St. Sure was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2002 and is the mother of a daughter with multiple food allergies. Alison was inspired to create SureFoodsLiving.com to provide information to others who are living with Celiac Disease, Gluten Sensitivity andor other food allergies. Alison’s website and consulting services are known as an exceptional source of information and assistance.

This is important! All type 1 diabetic patients, regardless of the presence of symptoms, should be regularly screened for celiac disease. This was the message at The Endocrine Society 92nd Annual Meeting, based on findings in a new study of Type 1 diabetics.

I’ll break down the numbers for you, as I understand them:

• 493 patients were screened for celiac disease within roughly 3 months of being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
• 25 of these patients had positive celiac blood tests on their initial screening. Of those who tested negative the first time around, 14 tested positive the second time, making the total number of patients with a positive blood test 39, or 8% of those screened.
• Of the patients who tested positive on the blood test, 12 had positive biopsies (one showed a positive biopsy 5 years after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.) 7 have not been biopsied.

Now, these numbers are compelling, but I still believe the number of those with a gluten problem is higher. We know that the tests for celiac miss people. A lot of people. I wonder if the gluten intolerance or sensitivity, undetected by mainstream tests, contributed to the onset of  diabetes. The diabetes gets noticed first, because doctors understand it, are aware of it, know how to diagnose it, and to treat it, but perhaps it is another symptom of gluten wreaking havoc on the body.

Having diabetes is hard. Having celiac is hard. Having them both — well, I can’t speak from personal experience, but I imagine it is doubly hard. I can also imagine that someone with type 1 diabetes or a parent of someone with type 1 diabetes would not want to think about having celiac too. But I hope that my urging to pay attention to gluten will get someone’s attention out there.

Undiagnosed celiac disease or gluten intolerance can lead to very serious problems. As stated in an article about the study, “Undiagnosed celiac disease might cause significant morbidity… Short-term complications include growth disturbances, weight loss, and difficulty achieving glycemic control in type 1 diabetics. Long-term complications can include small bowel malignancy.” And these are just a few of the many symptoms and associated conditions related to celiac disease and gluten intolerance.

To read articles about the study, go to the Global Diabetes Community or to Medscape.com (sign up for a free account).

Does anyone have a personal story about gluten and diabetes?

Last night my daughter ate a dinner of pasta (gluten-free) with a sauce of olive oil-sauteed red onions, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, yellow bell peppers and chicken apple sausage. There was nothing left in her bowl… not because she is an amazing kid who eats anything, but because tonight she cooked it with me.

Let me back up a bit and introduce you to Michelle Stern of What’s Cooking. I was introduced to Michelle on Twitter by Stephanie O’Dea, the Crockpot Lady — this is the virtual blogger world that I live in, but we all live in the Bay Area and I now know them as real people. Michelle teaches cooking to kids. She has built a business around it, not because she is a businesswoman as much as she is a teacher, which is where she and I really connected. It turns out that she was a student teacher for a science class at the same high school where I was teaching history. Our paths didn’t cross at that time, but here we are now!

Michelle’s work inspires me to get my kids more involved in cooking and understanding where their food comes from. Her blog is full of great advice… recently she gave two tips for cooking with kids:

1. “Let go of perfection.” - I don’t know about you, but this is a hard one for me!
2. “Let kids DO.” - seems obvious, but this is easy to forget.
3. And I would like to add: “Have patience.” Give them time to learn.

Michelle and I met up for the first time at the farmer’s market where she encouraged me to buy kale to make kale chips (they were yummy!) Her passion has stuck with me since that day, although I really do forget to involve my kids enough in food preparation.

But not last night! Last night my daughter cut cherry tomatoes in half with a serrated knife for the first time. I taught her how to hold the knife, how to hold the tomato and how to cut with a forward and back motion. She was so proud of herself. (If your child isn’t ready to use a sharp knife, you can let him/her use a butter knife to cut olives, as shown in the picture.) She also stood at the stove on a step stool and stirred, as I added each ingredient. The result was that she felt that she cooked the dinner, and so of course she thought it was delicious! (Bonus: little sis also ate most of it, even the yellow peppers, because big sis was eating it!)

Involving your children in the preparation and cooking of healthy food helps them to appreciate it, understand it, and best of all — eat it!

Well, we did it today. We did the egg challenge. The way it turned out was not at all what I expected. I documented the whole thing as it was happening, not knowing what the outcome would be as I scribbled my notes.

I brought my daughter in to the doctor at 9:15, one scrambled egg in tote (to find out why I decided to have her do an egg challenge, please read Adventures in Food Allergy Testing Part 1). I was also armed with ketchup, salt, some bread (egg-free) and some turkey, just in case she didn’t like the egg and I had to doctor it up. The taste of the egg wasn’t a problem at all. Here’s how the rest of the egg challenge went down:

9:25 am: She eats a tiny amount of egg. “Yummy,” she says and the doctor says, “She likes it — that’s good.” I am surprised she likes it so much.

9:35 am: Doctor comes in and examines her throat, face, skin and breath. There is no reaction. He says to eat a larger amount, so she eats about a teaspoonful. After a few minutes she says her ears itch inside a little and her tummy hurts a teeny, tiny bit. But after another few minutes, she doesn’t seem to be having any problem and continues to watch the movie on the DVD player I brought. She is even singing with the movie. 15 minutes later she says her tummy hurts again, but then she gets a drink of water and says she is fine.

10:00 am: Doctor checks her again, sees no sign of reaction and says she can eat 3 bites of egg. She again says “It’s yummy.” The doctor says again that the fact she likes it is a good sign.

10:25 am: Doctor checks her again. So far, so good. Now I am starting to get a little excited, thinking we are in the clear. She is excited too, but I tell her that we are not done and that she gets to eat the rest of the egg now. She doesn’t really want to, but she is motivated by the possibility of getting to eat eggs in the future. She takes a few bites and then says that her tummy hurts. She finishes the egg at 10:35.

10:45 am: She scratches her chin and I see that there is a little hive there. She is using her upper teeth to scratch her lower lip, where I see another hive and she is simultaneously scratching her lower arm where there is another hive. I go get the doctor. He checks her throat and says it is okay. She is feeling more and more itchy and uncomfortable. He gives her allergy medication (Zirtec) and wants to give her an adrenaline shot. I look at him wide-eyed — really? A shot of epinephrine? Is that necessary? I don’t want to freak her out and he says okay, we can wait and see and gives her an asthma pill just in case. By now, her eyes are really red and itching like crazy. Her tummy is hurting, she’s feeling awful and starts crying, “I want to go home!” As she is deteriorating before our eyes, the doctor says she needs the shot to reverse the symptoms more quickly. The nurse gives her a small dose (.5mg) of epinephrine in her arm. The regular epinephrine shot, most commonly known as the Epi-Pen, is .15mg and is administered in the thigh muscle for the fastest absorption into the body. When given in the subcutaneous fat level of the arm, it is absorbed more slowly. The doctor felt that this was all she would need. Nope.

11:10 am: She is lying down, feeling a little better. Her eyes are still itching like crazy, but she refuses to try eye drops to relieve them. She is really congested and begins to cough. The doctor checks her and finds that she has swelling in the right side of her throat. The coughing is a sign that her airways are being affected. The doctor orders another adrenaline shot, this time .1mg. I ask if this is a considered an anaphylactic reaction. The answer is yes, and this is why you do food challenges in the doctor’s office. No eggs for her, in any way, shape or form. I am feeling shocked. I thought she might have a rash today at most.

11:35 am: She is a little hyper from the adrenaline and feeling better. The doctor warned me that she might get pale lips from the epinephrine. Yes, her lips are looking pale.

11:50 am: I am reading a book to my daughter who is sitting on my lap when the doctor comes in for another check. “Flushed,” he says. I turn her around and my eyes must have bugged out of my head. Her face, chest and back are flushed so red she looks like she has a really bad sunburn. She also has a few hives on her back. “I think her reaction would have been much worse without the medication,” says the doctor. He checks her heart rate and it is okay, but because she is so flushed, he orders a third shot of epinephrine, this time .5mg. The red is traveling slowly down her body, and eventually reaches her legs, which eventually also look sunburned. She is cold, so they bring her a blanket. She is feeling much better and is in good spirits, but we have to stay another hour.

1:00 pm: After a few more checkups, the doctor determines that nothing is progressing any further and that we can go. She is still really red, but other than that, she is okay. She wouldn’t resume her normal color for another hour.

Before we left the doctor’s office, I confirmed with him that had this happened out in the world, I should have given her the Epi-Pen. Absolutely. “And even if you aren’t sure, just give it.”

So many thoughts have been swirling in my head since this experience. The first is, I can’t believe I didn’t cry. I was quite unemotional and I’m not sure why — maybe I was in shock? Or maybe because I felt like I was part of a science experiment. Or was it because I was playing it cool for my daughter’s sake so she wouldn’t freak out? It is sad news: my daughter had an anaphylactic reaction to an egg. So… we will continue to avoid egg, but be even more careful about it.

Another thought: Did I have false hope? With the 50% chance given by my doctor, I figured it was worth the gamble to try the egg. If we could have added it back into her diet, it would have been like winning a jackpot.

The most important realization of all: THIS IS REAL. FOOD ALLERGIES ARE REAL. Dare I say that part of me has at times wondered if she really was allergic to all these foods, that maybe the tests are overdiagnosing as several past news articles and editorial pieces have suggested, that maybe her tests weren’t accurate, that since we’ve never had to use the Epi-Pen, maybe we wouldn’t really need to. Even though this day did not bring me the happy results I wanted, it did bring me clarity. It brought me resolve to stay vigilant in protecting my daughter. It brought me confirmation that we need to continue to raise awareness about food allergies. After what I saw happen right in front of me today, I know for sure that they are real.

Related reading: Diary of a gluten poisoning

It’s happening, people. We are getting our own bakeries — gluten-freedom at last!

I am excited to share the news with you that you have a few new options for finding gluten-free baked goods:

Miglet’s Gluten-Free Bakery
This adorable bakery features everything from cutesy cupcakes to personal-sized quiche!

• What: a dedicated gluten-free bakery, and can accommodate dairy, casein, corn, soy, egg, and nut-free orders too
• Where: located at 480 San Ramon Valley Boulevard #A2 in Danville
• Who: Katie Alin, owner and founder (mom is Elaine Taylor who has celiac disease and founded Camp Celiac)
• Website: www.migletsgf.com

Good Chemistry Baking
With a daily menu posted on their website, you can find an array of goods, including biscuits, scones, cookies and bread.

• What: a dedicated gluten-free bakery, with some dairy-free and nut-free options
• Where: located at 3249 Grand Avenue in Oakland, near the Grand Lake Theater
• Who: Jane O’Hara, owner and baker (has celiac disease)
• Website: www.goodchemistrybaking.com

Mariposa Baking Company
Mariposa isn’t new (it was started in 2004), but what is new is that it is at the Marin Sunday Farmer’s Market! Yippee! There are also many new products being offered, like cinnamon rolls and breads.

• What: a dedicated gluten-free bakery
• Where:
  • located at 5427 Telegraph Ave, Unit D3 in Oakland, in the Temescal neighborhood
  • also in a kiosk in the Ferry Building in San Francisco
  • also in the Sunday Farmer’s Market at the Civic Center in San Rafael in Marin County
• Who: Patti Furey Crane, owner and founder (was diagnosed with MS and then learned she had a gluten allergy)
• Website: www.mariposabaking.com

I am writing this post to help others who might need to go through allergy testing with their children. I was anxious before knowing what to expect and searched the web hoping to read about others’ experiences. Here is one of mine…

Last week I brought my 5 (almost 6) year old daughter in to the allergist to repeat some food allergy tests. My primary motive was to get her cleared for eggs.  When she was a toddler, she got a rash on her face and body when she ate eggs. When I brought her in for skin allergy testing at age 18 months, she tested positive for eggs. We have avoided eggs ever since, but an article in Allergic Living magazine called Allergy Breakthrough on Baked Milk and Egg inspired me to take her back in.

In addition, my allergist has assured me every time we visit that most of his egg-allergic patients eventually outgrow their egg allergy. To add eggs into her diet would be so helpful as cooking and baking gluten-free is challenging enough!

I was also hoping that I could add almonds into her diet. She had consistently tested negative for almonds, but we were advised to avoid all nuts because she tested high for peanuts, cashews and pistachios. There is a lot of cross-contamination with nuts, and possible confusion about which nuts are safe and which are not — better to just avoid them all. But, I thought, if I could ensure that certain almonds or almond products were not contaminated with other nuts, there would be another food I could add to her diet.

At the allergist’s office this time, they tested her for the following: eggs, almonds, 6 different types of shellfish (she had tested allergic to shellfish before), and many different environmental allergens including grass, various pollens, cat and dog. The environmental allergens were done because she has been having itchy eyes and a stuffy and irritated nose, and the allergist said that her nose was swollen inside.

The test consisted of 3 sets of “stamps” on her back, and then one on her arm. The stamps are 6 tiny little pricks with a different allergen going into the skin. If a “wheal” or a welt shows up, it means that the person is reacting to the allergen. When she was younger she completely freaked out about the prick tests, but this time she didn’t even flinch. I’m glad she couldn’t see the egg reaction developing on her back though.

Here are the results of the skin prick test:

• Egg: positive
• Almond: positive
• Shellfish: negative
• Environmental allergens: all or almost all positive

Here are the recommendations from the doctor:

• Egg: do an egg challenge in the office. The doctor says that even among kids with a positive skin test for eggs, 50% can actually tolerate eggs. The egg challenge is scheduled for June 23rd. She will, over a few hours, consume one cooked egg as she is being monitored for a reaction. We’ll see what happens!
• Almonds: forget it. All nuts are out. No challenge because nuts are considered risky.
• Shellfish: looks like she is cleared for shellfish, although he wants to do a shellfish challenge in his office given the fact that I think I am allergic to shrimp and abalone and don’t eat it anymore (based on experience). But for the most part, it’s looking good!
• Environmental: “Close the windows.” Yes, that was really the advice from the doctor. And Claritin as needed.

Stay tuned for Adventures in Food Allergy Testing Part 2 after we do the egg challenge on June 23rd!

Snyder’s of Hanover, known for their pretzels (I used to eat the big fat ones), has introduced Gluten-Free Pretzel Sticks. It is part of their Eat Smart Naturals Line. The pretzel sticks have been certified gluten-free by the GFCO and the bag I bought had a sticker on the bag showing this.

The pretzels are very buttery tasting but they are dairy-free. They are also egg-free, and do not contain soy other than soy lecithin.

INGREDIENTS: Corn Starch, Potato Starch, Tapioca Starch, Palm Oil, Dextrose, cellulose gum, baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch, mono-calcium phosphate), salt, citric acid, yeast, soy lecithin, soda.

I don’t really eat gluten-free pretzels because I don’t want to be eating a bunch of starch, but I get pretzels for my daughters to have once in a while, especially for when other kids have them. We love Glutino pretzels and will continue to buy their brand out of loyalty, but it’s nice that these are available also. It also shows that another mainstream company is answering the call for gluten-free food!

Welcome to the June 10, 2010 edition of living with food allergies carnival! For readers who don’t know what a blog carnival is, think of it like a magazine of articles that gets published on a schedule. Every two weeks, bloggers submit an article related to food allergy to be published by the host blogger. We hope that we can all learn from each other and introduce our readers to other food allergy sites out there.

Here are the articles submitted for this edition:

COOKING & BAKING & EATING

• Colette Martin presents Baking Without Eggs – How to Make Flax Seed Goop posted at Learning to Eat Allergy Free - Multiple Food Allergies.

• Alison at Sure Foods Living presents Fluffy Gluten-Free Egg-Free Pancakes posted at Sure Foods Living.

• My Circus McGurkus presents The Circus McGurkus: How to Start Eating Gluten Free-Where to Start posted at The Circus McGurkus.

• yeastfreediet presents Diet, Yeast Allergy, and Yeast posted at Yeast Free Diet.

ISSUES, AWARENESS, EMOTIONS & ADVICE

• Jenny presents The High Cost of Food Allergies posted at Soy Milk Babies.

• Thanita Glancey presents IEP or 504 or Both? posted at Vicky’s Ickies.

• Ann presents Family « Food Allergies ToGo.com Blog posted at Food Allergies ToGo.com Blog, saying, “‘Love Is A Food Allergy Friendly Dad’ feels appropriate in honor of father’s day!”

• chupieandjsmama presents Allergic Living Magazine VS. The NY Times posted at Our Story.

• Jane Anne presents Peanut Allergy Fallout posted at Gravity of Motion, saying, “We can all learn from allergy kids. My son is constantly teaching me through his allergy journey and I often learn principles that apply to all of life.”

• Food Allergy Assistant presents More Allergy Meds Recalled posted at Food Allergy Assistant, saying, “Food Allergy Assistant is feeling frustrated over the numerous medication recalls.”

• Jennifer Kales presents Being a Peanut Allergy Mom Is Like Being a Goalie for the Blackhawks posted at The Nut-Free Mom, saying, “No matter the outcome of the Stanley Cup finals, I think we’ve all felt a little bit like I describe in this post!”

• Alison at Sure Foods Living presents Gluten-free grains may be contaminated with wheat posted at Sure Foods Living.

That concludes this edition! Thank you to everyone who submitted their articles! Submit your blog article to the next edition of living with food allergies carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

It is common knowledge now in the gluten-free community that most oats are contaminated with wheat. For this reason, certified gluten-free oats have become available and are increasingly being used in cereals, bars and cookies. I have wondered about other grains — why would oats be the only ones when surely other grains are grown near, processed, stored, and transported with wheat? Though I wondered about it, I didn’t pursue it, probably because I never really wanted to know the answer!

The answer is here, and it’s not good news. In a study conducted by registered dietitian Tricia Thompson, Anne Lee of Schar, and Thomas Grace of Bia Diagnostics, 7 of  22 (32%) samples of naturally gluten-free grains, seeds and flours tested contained mean gluten levels above 20 ppm with amounts ranging from 25 to 2,925 ppm. What does this mean? Some foods we think of as being naturally gluten-free actually contain higher than the proposed FDA amount of allowable gluten (20 parts per million or ppm).

This poses a problem for the FDA’s proposal regarding gluten-free claims on food. Under the proposed FDA rule, gluten-free oats can have a gluten-free claim on them because some oats are contaminated with wheat and are not gluten-free. An “inherently gluten-free” food, on the other hand, such as apples, would not be allowed to have a gluten-free claim on them unless it was stated that “all apples are gluten-free” or something to that effect. Apples are obviously gluten-free so putting a gluten-free claim is considered misbranding of those particular apples. But what about these other grains?

Gluten-free grains, seeds and flours that many of us eat every day were found to be contaminated with wheat. The most contaminated samples in this study were soy flour, millet flour and sorghum flour. Thompson notes on her blog entry about the study that “sampling was not large enough to make any assessment on the overall percentage of contaminated product. Sampling also was not large enough to make any inferences on the specific grains, flours, and seeds more or less likely to be contaminated.”

This study might open a can of worms for the FDA, which must decide what a gluten-free label claim means. It also opens a can of worms for the gluten-free community… what are we to do now? Trace every grain, seed and flour, including those used as ingredients in gluten-free products, back to its origin to ensure that it has not been contaminated with wheat? Let’s hope that testing continues and that more information becomes available regarding this issue.

Read more about the study:
Abstract from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association
Contamination of Naturally Gluten-Free Grains