More Hidden Gluten and Fun facts about tax

Hello fellow gluten free friends!

I want to make a quick note today on hidden gluten.... yes, gluten can hide in anything from shampoo to miracle whip.

I will make this short and sweet and put the offer/challenge out to others who find hidden gluten in their products to list it here as a comment.

A few things that are important to look for are hair products, make-up and toothpaste, because all of these go directly on your skin and close to your mouth. It is also very very very (can't stress this enough), important for people who have a skin reaction to gluten : dermatitis herpetiformis. This skin disease can feel itchy, look red and look,feel, seem like an allergic reaction.

I recently noticed that some products from Aveda have wheat protein listed on their ingredients, as well as the Aveeno products, which, almost all, contain a small amount of oats (most likely not the organic GF ones). It would be easy for you if I listed all the names of products that contain gluten, but that list my friends, would be much too long for one wall post. I suggest instead, that you make sure to read all labels before buying your new shampoo or gel, etc.
The reason that hair, body, and face products can cause harm is because of accidental indigestion. In reality, a product containing gluten has had no evidence of making a Celiac person sick, but I can tell you from experience that, that is not always the case.

I used some curl cream the other day with wheat protein, and sure enough I felt a little under the weather for the next few hours. Now usually my reactions happen between 1-3 hours after contamination and I get sick to the point of passing out/having to take gravol to stop from throwing up (I know I'm not painting you a pretty picture right now). Followed by my being sick for a day or two afterwards..... This did not happen when I used the hair product, I simply felt a little ill and had to lie down. Needless to say, if you can, stay away from products containing gluten.

A big fear with face or lip products, is that the gluten will get into your mouth, get absorbed and then make you sick...... now ask yourself, where those pretty pink lips really worth the hours of pain? I think not!

Now I'm sure this all seems a little much, which is why I have provided you with a link to a website that sells GF products, yay!! Not only are Green Beaver products earth friendly, but they are also made in Canada: http://www.greenbeaver.com/
There are many other companies out there, but I have found Green Beaver to be everything I need!

Secondly, hidden glutens in medication! This one can be tricky because not all medications will indicate what allergens are contained in their products. An easy way to bypass this problem is to talk to your local pharmacist. They usually have a book or some resource to find out the answer for you. This is very important, because some brands can coat their medicine with gluten containing ingredients... I have no idea what they would think this was a good idea!!!

Lastly, as promised above, I had to let you all know that you can claim celiac disease/buying gluten free items on your taxes. So make sure to check that out!! If your going to spend up to 5x more money than your neighbour on food, you might as well get something back for it right!!!

Hope that helps. Happy Gluten Free shopping.


Cheers,

Ally :)


"Our greatest fear is not in our lack of experience or knowledge, but in our hidden potential"