Tips and Tricks to Lessen an Adverse Gluten Reaction, with Some Hidden Sources

Gluten, it's a generally harmless protein found in wheat, barley and rye. To most people it is an essential part of their daily lives, whether or not they even realize it. To others, well, it simply means pain, fatigue, headaches, joint aches and other mostly digestive issues that I won't go into detail with here.

Much of the following post is anecdotal, but if I can prevent another human being any of the pain that comes from getting "glutened" then it's all worth it.

As an individual with celiac disease I encounter the gluten protein in many forms, some not as obvious as others. The hair salon is apparently a very dangerous place for a celiac. Many of the peroxide based bleaches contain wheat germ oil, many of the products contain hidden gluten ingredients. Nothing is safe, bleaches, dyes, shampoos, conditioners, or even the products used such as hairspray and serums.

I have stepped foot in a salon three times in the last five years, twice to donate my hair. This time I figured I would do something for me and be selfish, what I got was an awesome head of berry hair, and horribly glutened four days before my wedding anniversary. I guess that's what I get, huh?

So, today I am here playing human guinea pig to shorten the duration and severity of the illness. When the gluten protein, in any form or trace amount, enters the celiac body an entire chain of reactions occurs. There are methods that can help with the pain and discomfort of the inevitable. My very first line of defense is activated charcoal. It will absorb and help to expel the gluten from the system. I personally get heartburn, like a donkey kicked my chest heartburn, half an hour after ingesting the protein. This makes it easier to pinpoint the cause. Then I take an enzyme called Gluten Ease, this helps to actually digest the protein for me.

Here is also a list of other things that can possibly help:

Bone Broth- super rich in collagen and very nutrient dense, the collagen helps to heal the fissures in the intestines

Herbal teas for detox- green tea, clover, ginger, mint, chamomile, dandelion, anything soothing and detoxing with lots of honey

Turmeric- anti-inflammatory spice, I put it in my broth, my drinks and I take a supplement from my doc

Ginger- fresh and added in anywhere possible

Chia seeds- when soaked they produce a mucilagenic substance that helps to coat the intestinal walls, protecting them from future damage

Apple Cider Vinegar- is a great belly healer, has good cultures and kills heartburn pain

Good quality probiotics- just to repopulate a demolished belly with the good guys

Long hot baths- soak in a detox bath with epsom salts and bentonite clay to draw the toxins out of the system

There are many other feel better fixes for being glutened out there, these are my fallbacks to try and live a normal life instead of being bed ridden and demolished for two weeks over a silly mistake.


I also want to bring everybody's attention to the very hidden sources of gluten. I was actually nailed by a hair serum to smooth my recently distressed hair. I used the product for two days before having an acute reaction. The acute reaction could only come from the ingestion of the protein. However, it has now brought to my attention the topical sources of gluten I am still using. I have been using the same hair and body products for years. I made the erroneous assumption that since I didn't react that they were ok. I have still fought the constant low grade, some times bad, fatigue, anxiety, depression and other low level symptoms that could really be anything. I have been wracking my brain and spending my free time constantly steam cleaning carpets and furniture thinking there were trace dog proteins in my house. Only to discover through research and reasoning that it's my shampoo and conditioner causing even my respiratory symptoms and brain fog.


www.glutenfreesociety.org...

www.csaceliacs.org...

prettylittleceliac.com...

Hopefully nobody else out there will ever need this info. I simply wanted to share, just in case.
Who would have ever guessed a trip the salon and a severe gluten reaction could help answer so many other questions ?

a reply to: woodsmom
Thanks for posting this. I myself don't have a problem with gluten but I know that quite a few members here do. I know that it will help them. Odd, I never thought that shampoo or hair products would have an effect on the body.

a reply to: woodsmom

Thanks for sharing that.

I am only gluten intolerant...but I have heard that people have to avoid beauty products, makeup etc.
I didn't know what harm it would do...but that sounds really very unpleasant.....not just something you can rinse off.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I have been living the last three years under the assumption that I just didn't have topical reactions. I have been, which is very obvious now, just with atypical symptoms.

I'm a baker who works exclusively with with a wild yeast culture.

A close friend of mine's wife is gluten adverse because of her Crohn's disease and can't eat conventional bread because of the fast acting, single strain commercial yeast, which does nothing for the human body . After multiple attempts to get her to try a naturally leavened loaf she finally conceded, thinking she was going to be in for a world of hurt. To her surprise she not only could eat the bread(because of the pro-biotic nature of wild capture yeast) but she found it to be easily digestible, complex in flavors and delicious. She could eat bread again. The long ferment times required with wild yeast allows the uncountable number of strains of good bacteria to process the gluten and inherent sugars in the grain turning it into a healthy, gut helping, pro-biotic, loaf.

Start your own culture...heal your gut...eat good bread.

a reply to: slowisfast

Good natural cultures are an amazing healer.
That's great that the change in the yeast helped. It sounds wonderful too.
Unfortunately, celiac disease means that I can't even stand in your beautiful bakery and enjoy the smells. I have been made very ill from breathing in flour at my little sister's pizza making rehearsal dinner, even while seeming unsocial, i still got sick.

I really do miss bread. I even gave up on cookies due to the combination of my celiac and my son's food allergies. That explanation is in a Christmas cookie thread around here.

a reply to: woodsmom

I'm truly sorry for that.

As a chef/baker I'm very aware of taking proper precautions for the needs of a guest but will quickly claim ignorance of reality of having to live with Celiac.

Is this a relatively new phenomenon that is now getting widespread attention or something that has been around for multiple generations without ever being properly diagnosed?

Has it been an issue your entire life or something that came about at a point in time later?

a reply to: slowisfast

It's a genetic disorder. Not everybody manifests it though. I believe it's something that has been around for awhile, simply not as reactive though due to the difference in the way we eat versus the diet of even 100 years ago.

I have fought with this my whole life. I have always been anemic and had other health issues that I would have never pegged as food issues before I was diagnosed. My symptoms overtook me after a period of insane trauma and stress. I was packing up my parents in law's home a week and half after I gave birth. They were killed when they were here visiting my newborn son.

After that my entire system crashed and I was physically unable to do any healing at all. I'm deeply indebted to my Naturopath. He pegged it within minutes of a conversation. I had given up on any other conventional doctors, they were too busy arguing with me about why I was there if I didn't need antibiotics. I'm not joking in the slightest either.

So here I am five years after my body gave up on me and three years after my celiac diagnosis, finally finding that final missing link to my optimum health. I'm honestly even healthier than I was as a very active child, as long as I don't ingest gluten. As autoimmune diseases go, things really could be worse. This forces me to eat healthier and take better care of myself all the way around.

As a baker, please, cut those with celiac some slack. we really don't have a choice. I'm not capable of saying I'm gluten free and turning around and ordering a pizza and having a beer like a friend of mine. It causes me intense pain and many other very damaging symptoms.

Thanks for your questions!

I too get reactions from shampoo and conditioners that contain wheat products. I have not been officially diagnosed as celiac as I don't want to go through the invasive and expensive procedure. I do know that before I went gluten free I was survely malnourished and dangerously low in iron which gave me depression that the doctor tried to put me on antidepressants for without checking for other reasons. I do know that even the tiniest bit of gluten gives me thrush, headaches that last for a week, swollen and aching joints eczema only on my head and face, bloating and diarrhea and more. Gluten is hidden in many products including rice vinegar used in commercial sushi. Glucose sugar which I discovered when asked to take a glucose test while pregnant. I could rant on forever on this subject bit won't. I'm sorry for all those suffering. I heard recently and no way to back it up that there could be a surge in reactions due to round up pesticide used to grow wheat which is used in usa and nz but not in Europe and that is why people from Europe can eat wheat over there but have problems when in our parts of the world. Anyways next persons turn to talk.

a reply to: Cloudbuster

I'm so sorry! It's really no fun, and incredible the amount of damage that can be done so fast.
Maybe some of these little remedies can give you some relief too!

So much of the research is fairly new involving Celiac disease and Gluten Intolerance. There is evidence pointing to the fact that many celiac's aren't ever properly diagnosed. Probably for reasons like you outlined. It is also ridiculously expensive to get tested. We pay way too much for health insurance that doesn't even pay for the lab work. It makes it difficult at times, but every penny has been worth finding out what has been causing these issues for so many years.

One perfect example of a problem manifesting itself as something different, I could not breathe when I first saw my naturopath. I assumed it was from smoking and had already quit at that point. It wasn't, I couldn't breathe because there was not enough iron in my blood to carry the oxygen through my bloodstream.

The human body is an amazing thing. This little genetic tweak called celiac throws it all for a loop and presents in a fairly healthy looking package. As I said before I'm healthier than ever on a general basis. It's very hard for people to understand how an otherwise healthy person can get so seriously ill from such a simple thing.

I hope you feel better! If you have any questions ever, feel free to ask. I'm only a pm away.

a reply to: woodsmom

Celiac disease is a digestive disorder. The small intestine is the culprit...not an airborne allergen to wheat. Unless you're standing there pouring hundreds of bottles of shampoo down your throat and ingesting it (because that's what it would take to get enough wheat germ oil out of a salon preparation to even cause a reaction), your ailment has nothing to do with Celiac disease. If salon products are affecting you that strongly, it would probably be a good idea to go see an allergist, because that is far more likely what is causing you to feel "glutened". Unless you're eating/drinking wheat, it is not Celiac disease.

a reply to: woodsmom

With my eczema on my face symptom it will take over a month to clear up unless I take evening primrose oil which the bottle recommends taking 3 a day but when I accidently consume gluten I will swallow 8 pills two times a day and this helps my eczema disappear in about 2 weeks. I happen to have eczema on face now from eating one jet plane lolly which must of had wheat glucose sugar in it.
I too can give advice to you or anyone who needs it. Best of health to all.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

a reply to: woodsmom

Thanks for sharing that.

I am only gluten intolerant...but I have heard that people have to avoid beauty products, makeup etc.
I didn't know what harm it would do...but that sounds really very unpleasant.....not just something you can rinse off.

True Celiac reactions are only going to come from ingesting glutens derived from wheat. Topical treatments have no effect on the small intestine, which is where the sensitivity lies. Neither do airborne particles, unless they are actually swallowed and somehow make it all the way down into the small intestine in high enough concentration (such as breaking a bag of wheat flour accidentally and getting a face and throat full of it). If people are having issues with makeup, etc., that is indicative of an allergy, which is a completely different thing altogether, and can be life-threatening.

I just realized it might be helpful to share some of the other random gluten sources i have been unlucky enough to stumble upon.

Glues are often made from wheat since it is a food safe product. I even got sick once from a labeled gluten free tea bag, that apparently had wheat glue holding it together. Envelopes and cigarette papers are also sneaky culprits. Raw hemp papers are safe, and I will never again have to lick an envelope. (There's got to be the occasional perk, right?)

Commercially grown strawberries are often grown on wheat straw to keep the fruit off the ground and clean. Since washing berries too much destroys them, be sure there is still gluten protein on the berries. That one still bothers me, but I appreciate the fruit from my garden that much more.

Generic acetaminophen got me the morning after a bachelorette party I had planned, should have lived with the hangover. Other medicines are also suspect, always look for a gluten free label. Kroger's generics are now labeled gluten free, so I have OTC pain killers again.

Lip balms in particular are also troublesome, for obvious reasons.

If anyone has anymore, please feel free to share!

a reply to: tigertatzen

Actually Celiac is an auto immune disorder and your skin is an organ which breathes and injests what ever you put on it I believe woodsmom with her problem as I too suffer the same. Unless you suffer too you don't know what we go through. So there.

a reply to: tigertatzen

The flour scenario essentially describes that kitchen....
I 'm sure that I also ended up with hair in my mouth somehow while it had the product on it to cause my typical gluten reaction. Otherwise I would have never put the two things together. I was searching everywhere yesterday for recalls on foods that I had consumed. I do also have an allergy to wheat, maybe that is the cause for the topical reactions. It is just interesting it's the celiac reactions that are exhibiting themselves. The respiratory issues may just be from the allergy?
Good things to bring up to my doc. Thanks, for another perspective.

ETA: It really is a celiac reaction. I'm that sensitive. I get sick from people touching my food with contaminated hands. I had an official diagnosis three years ago. The symptoms are varied for celiac, and apparently I'm reacting differently to the absorbtion than digestion. My body attacks the protein as if it were a virus. It is an immune issue that manifests primarily in the gut. The intestine is the organ that shows the massive amounts of damage due to the constant struggle to absorb nutrients.

Yes I have heard again no proof but the stickers that they put on fruit and veges gods knows why is wheat glue. Dam ciggies papers I will have to try and source some hemp ones and some high thc hemp. Keep the info flowing.

a reply to: slowisfast

Wonderful - can you give us some reference material. I too have had to cut out gluten for, shall we say, comfort issues and miss bread mightily.

What you say about 'single source yeast' makes good sense to me (perhaps the reason for so many 'yeast' infections) and I've heard of 'harvesting' yeast but have never talk with any one who did it.

Thanks for sharing.

There is a lot more wrong with bread than just gluten. The opioid peptides in wheat can cause problems, one of them is part of wheat gluten. Also wheat, like milk, has an albumin that causes the gut to allow not completely digested proteins into the body which can cause inflammation. Also, the enrichment uses cyanocobalamin and folic acid which are not natural. Long term consumption of wheat and milk products can hurt a lot of people.

But the other half can eat it and only get high from the opioids and be happy and ignorant of what is really going on in the world.

I can get rid of some of the bad properties of the flours but not all of them. Eliminating wheat is what needs to be done, if you do not have full blown celiac already. Rye and barley do not have nearly as much problems as wheat.

I did read it woodsmom, I may have a problem with celiac someday because right now I have a problem with most breads. I can only eat certain breads.

a reply to: woodsmom

How long ago did you wind up being intolerant to gluten and get celiac disease?