Something to watch out for...DUH!

groundhogg · **Posted:** Tue Dec 12, 2006 8:02 am

I went to the health food store to pick up more nutritional yeast the other day...I don't know why this is one thing sold in bins instead of packages...anyway, as we were getting it out of the bin and loading up our bag, it suddenly hit me that the next bin was whole wheat pastry flour...and the bins were all pretty dusty-looking with flours of all sorts.

I went home and looked it up on the net and saw that celiacs are cautioned against buying things out of open bins for this very reason...real possiblity of cross-contamination.

So...now I'm scared to eat that yeast (will cook things with it for groundhubbie and others), and I'm thinking of searching for how I can just buy it directly from the source online.

Just another thing to be cautious (paranoid is probably the better term!) about! :eek:

veggiecat · **Posted:** Wed Dec 13, 2006 6:05 am

I don't know a good price; haven't bought the stuff in 30 years.It was nasty stuff,real brewers' yeast,recommended by people like Adelle Davis.[Remember her?]

groundhogg · **Posted:** Wed Dec 13, 2006 6:12 am

Yeah, but brewer's yeast is off limits for people gluten intolerant...it has to be nutritional yeast only.

I've had brewer's yeast in the past...I agree...Adelle Davis believed in and preached all the nasty, nasty stuff for health...YICK! I tried some of her advice back in the 70's and never could handle it...

.

I think, though, it is Red Star that also makes most of the nutritional yeast they sell in the health food store bins...I just don't know if I can find a small enough amount on the net...the last time I looked (about 8 years ago, maybe?), all we could find were like 50 lb. buckets or something.

As much as I like the stuff, not sure if I really want to attempt to store and keep that much fresh...

....havn'et had the time to look it up and see if I can order less online...life's been kinda crazy here recently! In the meantime...whenever I make our rice macaroni and Cheeze or other yummies with our bin-bought yeast...I'll just have to watch everybody else eat it.

Sandie · **Posted:** Wed Dec 13, 2006 7:23 am

groundhogg wrote:

...I'm thinking of searching for how I can just buy it directly from the source online.

Groundhog(g), just be careful purchasing online as I recently purchased a jar of Red Star nutritional yeast and when it arrived I found this disclaimer on the side of the jar: "Produced in a facility that processes soy, wheat, milk and eggs."

I don't know if anyone makes it in a facility that doesn't process other things that could possibly be a cross-contaminate. So, be careful ~ we don't want to see our favorite furry friend sick! :eek:

groundhogg · **Posted:** Wed Dec 13, 2006 9:00 am

Hmmm...thanks!

These are tough to interpret...sometimes it says "manufactured on equipment used to process wheat, nuts, dairy" and other times it just specifies in a facility...now, the equipment sounds scarier...although one would think they MUST wash it down pretty thoroughly just to ensure the quality of the product, between making one thing and the next...still, it is reasonable that IF the machinery has little crevices, etc., that wouldn't be reached easily by whatever washing methods they use...it is entirely conceivable that there would be some slight risk of cross-contamination.

When they just list that it's processed in a FACILITY that processes wheat, etc., well, that might not be as scary, although unless one SEES that facility...i.e., are there people running around dusted with flour...are there clouds of flour in the air...etc., or is it just that something like a cracker is added to something else way across the building????? :-(

It's hard to know what to make of these disclaimers...often one has to call the place and ask a bunch of questions.

To me, right now, the easiest thing is to avoid whatever I can...so I think for now I might just try to get along wihtout the yeast...and if that makes me go nuts, I might call the company and ask them exactly what that means.

I do buy a big bag of mixed veggies from Costco that has the alarming disclaimer-"Processed on shared equipment that processes wheat, nuts, and dairy." These veggies are not exactly PROCESSED...other than having been chopped down to size...I buy them for now...but I cringe whenever I do, wondering how much chance (one in a million, one in a thousand, one in a hundred??????) there would be of any cross-cotamination here...plus, though, I feel a little better that I can throw these frozen veggies into a colander and rinse them off pretty well before cooking them. The yeast...well, ya can't rinse that off :lol:

--so maybe I'll just try for a while without and see if I miss it that much.

Oh...I seem to be rambling...thanks, though, for that info.

Lin · **Posted:** Wed Dec 13, 2006 10:33 am

Groundhogg,
If you're interested, check out Bob's Red Mill website. It says that they process all of their gluten free foods in a separate facility. They have nutritional yeast flakes in sizes from 8 oz. to 25 lbs.

I've never tried theirs. I always buy Red Star out of the bin at the health food store like most people do because I've always heard that theirs is the best. I've never seen the Bob's Red Mill nutritional yeast flakes in the health food store either, but of course I've never looked for it and wasn't even aware that they had it until I saw it online.

I'm still very interested in all of your gluten free info and musings and whatever.

I'm allergic to a lot of foods and I've never been tested for any gluten sensitivity, but it does seem odd to me that I'm slightly allergic to wheat, rye and barley which are the grains with the most gluten. Of course I'm also slightly allergic to other grains too.
All of this really is a puzzle isn't it??

groundhogg · **Posted:** Wed Dec 13, 2006 10:41 am

Yes, allergies, intolerances do seem to be big puzzles.

What gets me is that apparently all of these things used to be quite rare...now, so many people are allergic to peanuts, shellfish (doesn't bother mcDougallers, still...why so many these days???)...so many people are celiac or gluten intolerant now...and it used to present as different symptoms, at earlier stages of life...so doctors don't even look for it...so many people have so many problems these days...and there's been no good explanation. I've heard everything from GMO's to breastfeeding, being vaccinated, etc., but none of it seems to really hold up in the long term as THE asnwer, really.

Regardless of the puzzle...we have to live with how are bodies behave NOW...whether the cause makes any sense or not...but...thank you for that info...I didn't realize Bob's Red Mill made nutritional yeast -- I've bought some of their other products just in the store, but didn't know about the yeast. I'll definitely get onto their webstie and have a look!

By the way...I LOVE your avatar...so...you play guitar????? I have six...um, or maybe seven...that's a lot for me. I have 3 banjos too, a few other things...but guitar remains my favorite!

Lin · **Posted:** Thu Dec 14, 2006 8:59 am

My allergies and intolerences have been quite a challenge for me for a long time and I don't know if I'll ever figure out what I should and shouldn't do!! :confused:

I do know that McDougalling for the past 4 years has lessened the severity of my food allergy reactions. I'm certain that the SAD had a lot to do with it, but there's no way I can prove it!
My body mainly reacts by breaking out in hives or sinus congestion. Sometimes it's foods, sometimes it environmental and sometimes I have no idea why (stress maybe?). I was allergy tested in 2000 and after 170 some sticks, I looked like a big red pin cushion. I don't even know how they could tell about some of the reactions and I was even told, that when a person has sensitive skin and lots of hives, that it's hard to tell about the reactions. They finally decided that I was allergic to 20 some foods and about 14 environmental ones. I've been weening off of allergy shots for the environmental ones. I took my last shot at the end of November and now I'm not taking any meds other than an occasional antihistamine if the hives get unbearable. So far, so good. Of course, I usually have the most problems in Jan. & Feb., so we'll see. If I can make it through the Winter, I don't have to go back to the allergist, and I'm really hoping I can do this.

So,... I just look at all of this as experimental. None of my allergies are in the life threatening category. My allergist uses a scale from 0-5, 0 being not allergic and 5 being life threatening. Most of my allergies are in the 1 category. This makes no sense to me because I react just as much to some of the category 1's as I do one of the category 3's. For example, I'm a category 3 for peanuts and a 1 for wheat. I break out in hives more for the wheat than I do for the peanuts. I would have to eat a lot of peanuts to get any reaction. Of course I don't eat peanuts except on very rare occasions because of the fat content. But I can eat wheat a couple of days in a row and I immediately start to feel itchy. On the other hand, I'm a category 3 for oranges, and within minutes of eating one, I'm covered in hives and miserable. Oranges are definately my most allergic food.
See how inexact a science this is?? It can really make your head spin after awhile!!!

It gets even more confusing when you try to deal with food combinations too. I won't even go there! :confused:

I hope you can find some nutritional yeast that you won't be afraid to eat! I've used quite a few of Bob's Red Mill products and like them very much, but I don't know if their nutritional yeast will taste as good as Red Star or not. My 2 teens like the Bob's GF pancake mix. My son can't eat a lot of wheat either, so I often make things with other flours. The kids just have to have some good old pancakes with maple syrup once in awhile!! :lol:

Like you I love guitars. I have 2 electric guitars and a regular acoustic and a classical acoustic. My favorite is my red Fender American Deluxe Fat Strat!! The avatar is the closest one I could find that looks like my strat. My strat has a maple fretboard and the one in the avatar is rosewood. Oh well, you can't have everything!! :lol:

I've been playing since I was 13. I'm not that great, but I enjoy it a lot. I play mostly rhythm guitar (by chord). At the present time most of my playing consists of playing with a little group at my Sunday School once a month. We practice together once a week. I also have a keyboard and a Special 20 harmonica but they rarely get played anymore!! I love music, ... all kinds.

groundhogg · **Posted:** Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:09 am

Sorry you've had to put up with so many allergies...glad they are not severe and glad too that McDougalling and knowledge of which things to avoid is helping you.

I have a friend who gets nasal congestion after eating wheat, at least...don't know if it's the gluten or the actual wheat...I've seen him eat vegan cookies and then within the hour start sneezing and then get completely clogged up. Also, he tells me his ankles swell up at night whenever he's eaten wheat.

Keep on playin' them guitars!!!

Music is good medicine for everybody...the people playing and the people listening!

Lin · **Posted:** Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:42 am

Yep, music is good for the soul!
:-P

yamster · **Joined:** Fri Oct 20, 2006 7:59 am **Posts:** 132

I cannot eat anything with gluten, and I have many food allergies. Corn used to be something I could eat without reacting, but about a year ago I began to get bad headaches after eating it. Just wondering if any of you with allergies to wheat, or with gluten-intolerance, have any problems when eating corn. Thanks!

Lin · **Posted:** Mon Dec 18, 2006 8:43 am

Yamster,
Back 6 years ago when I was allergy tested, I was told that I might have a slight corn allergy. I was so red and broken out in hives after all of that testing, that they couldn't tell. There was no immediate reaction to it from the needle stick and I've never experienced any side effects that I can tell when I eat corn. I just treat it like my other category 1 allergies. I don't eat it every day. I eat a little corn every few days. It works for me, but if you have reactions to it, then that's another story! :eek:

I don't have any of the classic side effects of gluten intolerence either and have never been tested for it, so I don't know if I have a problem with gluten. However, I do limit my intake of gluten just because I lose weight better when I'm not eating many grains. That goes for any grains. In fact, grains tend to make me gain weight because I'm a volume eater and don't know when to stop!! :oops:

I do better with sweet potatoes and white potatoes. Sweet potatoes are my preference these days. The only grain that I eat on a regular basis is oats. I like oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast.

Chrmann · **Posted:** Sun Jan 07, 2007 5:44 pm

I'm 56 years old and have always been allergic to corn. My Dad had me tested when I was very young. He told me I was allergic to everything but corn was my worse allergen. He gave up and just let me eat whatever and I suffered. I don't remember my Dad telling me what else I was allergic to. About 2 years ago, I had some more tests done. I'm allergic to dairy, eggs, onions, sulphur, corn, yeast, molds, tomatoes, fresh pineapple, cheese, penicillin, vinegar and the list goes on. I also have gluten problems. I do better eating the McDougall diet for health reasons.

Discussion Board

Something to watch out for...DUH!

Who is online