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sa2asl Joined: 10 Feb 2008 Posts: 21 Location: Wisconsin	Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 11:03 pm    Post subject: Visit to the Dietitian... After obsessing over food and talking about gluten free non-stop for 2 weeks, I finally saw the dietitian today. I had my question list ready... what's up with natural/art. flavorings, caramel color, annatto, etc... but she couldn't really answering any of those for me. She said it depends on the company and often we have to call/email to find out. I had figured as much, but hoped for a little more. Don't get me wrong, very nice lady, but I guess I wanted her to be a little more upbeat, enthusiastic, helpful, etc. I know, I know, I want it all. smile. I have researched so much online and in books already (and this site is amazing!) so I felt like I was telling her things. sigh. I have considered getting my master's degree in something nutrition related, maybe now is the time?!?! I feel like some of the info online is conflicting. For example, I found a thread on here that said starbucks has gluten free syrup, but it has caramel coloring and she had that on the "foods to avoid" list. Do you guys call every company and find out? It's just a little overwhelming I guess. Then she had listed Teff as an "avoid" on one page for breakfast then "allowed" on the next for a grain. I told her I heard it was safe... just things like that. Also I read that M&M's are ok (except the krispie ones) but she said maybe not because of cross contamination. ( I could go on and on with conflicting examples) Not sure what to make of all of that. Sorry this is so long, guess I just needed to vent. I do LOVE reading the discussions on here though, it's been a life saver so far. I'll keep reading, and forgive me if I ask question after question... I'm a curious one. Tomorrow night is bowling.. without beer and pizza. Maybe those extra pounds will finally shed themselves off??? Good night!
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aklap Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 8506 Location: WI, USA	Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 11:52 pm    Post subject: Ahhh yes...This is the Land of Confusion... Some of her info may be a tad bit out of date. Caramel Coloring Not all Caramel coloring is off limits. In fact, it's generally safe. Should you call the mfg and ask? YES, YES and YES. It's the best way to verify the status. It's not wise to blindly trust lists of GF foods you see here or anywhere else. Foods that are GF today, may not be GF tomorrow. Product formulations change - often without notice. This is why label reading [and calling mfg] skills are so important! Those lists can be used as a guide. If you know that it WAS GF, it can help you narrow down your selection [and hopefully save you time of verifying statuses]. "Give a wo[man] a fish - they'll eat for a day. Teach a wo[man] how to fish, they'll eat for a lifetime! Much of figuring out what's OK and what's not is knowing the mfg. Sticking with mfgs that have exceptional labeling practices help A LOT! Kraft, Unilever, ConAgra, Hormel [and a host of others] - will not hide gluten. They will disclose wheat, barley, rye and oats on their labels. Why is this important to know? Currently, by law only WHEAT must be disclosed. Barley, rye and oats can fly under the labeling radar. If you don't know the mfgs labeling practices, you then must call the mfg to find out about questionable things. http://glutenfreeliving.com/ingredients.html Quote: Caramel color According to the FDA Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), caramel color can be made from barley malt. But US companies use corn because it makes a better product. http://www.celiac.com/articles/182/1/Unsafe-Gluten-Free-Food-List-Unsafe-Ingredients/Page1.html Celiac.com Unsafe Ingredients List wrote: Caramel Color 1, 3 1) If this ingredient is made in North America it is likely to be gluten-free. 3) The problem with caramel color is it may or may not contain gluten depending on how it is manufactured. In the USA caramel color must conform with the FDA standard of identity from 21CFR CH.1. This statute says: the color additive caramel is the dark-brown liquid or solid material resulting from the carefully controlled heat treatment of the following food-grade carbohydrates: Dextrose (corn sugar), invert sugar, lactose (milk sugar), malt syrup (usually from barley malt), molasses (from cane), starch hydrolysates and fractions thereof (can include wheat), sucrose (cane or beet). Also, acids, alkalis and salts are listed as additives which may be employed to assist the caramelization process. Tef http://www.csaceliacs.org/gluten_grains.php CSA's List of Grains & Flours wrote: Tef [Eragrostis tef] (tef grass or teff) Very small black ancient grain of the millet family. Principal grain in Ethiopian bread (Injera), which is described as a soft, porous, thin pancake. Tef Wiki M&M's Yes they are classified as GF. Could they be CC'ed? It maybe possible if they are not run on a dedicated line or in a dedicated GF facility. This can be said about any product that is not made in a dedicated facility. Why she singled out M&M's, I can't say. Sometimes there is no magic answer. Sometimes you just have to take the information you have and make your best judgement. Me - I eat plain and peanut M&M's. I prefer peanut. You want chocolate covered pretzel? Get your self a bag of your fave M&M's and a bag of your fave GF pretzels. Grab a couple M&M's and a pretzel - POOF - chocolate covered pretzels! Beer I would venture to guess, that if you ask your friendly PinMonger, they'd probably stock Redbridge for ya! It's made by ANHEUSER-BUSCH. GF Pizza, that's gonna be a bit tougher. Have you thought about sneaking your own in? Many times in our league we have teams that bring in their own snacks. Personally, I don't think I'd be so open about it as one particular team is [sometimes they have a full buffet laid out]...but I'd probably sneak in a slice or two of my homemade Chebe 'Za Being the President of the Chebe 'Za Whore's Club of America must have some perks! Sprecher's have 2 GF beers that they might stock for you! I have not tried any of the Sprecher's yet. Please, keep the questions coming! How are you going to learn if you don't ask questions? _________________ Al “We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa
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windinthetrees Joined: 28 Jul 2008 Posts: 72	Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 4:38 pm    Post subject: How 'bout this one? Meet with my dietician last week, nice, knowledgable, up beat, SMOKER! I was shocked. Smelled it on her breath, last thing I expected. She did not know about make-up skin care products and gluten nor did she really define the dextrins. But otherwise she was helpful.
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