- On silverware & cooking tools that has come in contact with gluten.
- In plastic cutting boards & plastic/porous material.
- Surfaces like tables, counters, stoves.
- Kitchen drawer handles, stove handles, Dish washer handles, sink handles, door handles.
- The carpet can harbor a lot of crumbs and gluten.
- Chairs, couches & even beds can have gluten crumbs and flour on it.
- It can be present in the air when doing any sort of baking.
- It can get in or on your gluten free food just by sitting next to, or from getting mixed in with the gluten food.
- In products that are produced in the same area and on the same equipment as wheat or gluten.
Gluten is everywhere because a lot of us do not have to worry about it, including restaurants.
That is why we must ALWAYS be our own advocates and ask to make sure food items are prepared in a safe environment and contain safe ingredients.
If you've had celiacs for more than a year, there is a good chance you've learned about cross contamination and how scary it can be. When we become diagnosed with celiac disease, unfortunately, we are almost forced (naturally) to be more aware, cautious and nervous about how our food is handled, in order to make sure we continue to heal.
That is why I become so distraught over a post that was published 8/22/2016 by Dimitrios Douros entitled The Cross Contamination Myth-Buster This article is packed full of wrong and very dangerous information. Dimitrios is not a Dr. and he is not a scientist, but his claims are outlandish and goes against every GI doctor around the world, undermining their instructions. Quite frankly, his statements are dangerous to the celiac community!
*I have used the word DANGEROUS a lot in this post because I cannot stress enough how much it is.*
Using some basic first grade math and the FDA's regulation for 20ppm, he has attempted to try and figure out exactly how much gluten we are ingesting through cross contamination.
An attempt he clearly failed at because there is absolutely no way of measuring every source of cross contamination, specially gluten in the air.
However, he seems to think it is possible and has even made the claim that gluten is equivalent to E.Coli. It's properties are not at all the same and while sterilizing equipment through the use of boiling water may get rid of E.Coli, it cannot get rid of gluten.
"If you are really concerned, take all your utensils, put them in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes and you're done! After all, that's how hospitals used to sterilize syringes before throw-away ones became the norm." -Dimitrios D.
He goes on to say that gluten can be dissolved in water. Okay, this is the most ridiculous statement I have ever heard. Everyone knows that gluten is sticky and is very hard to get off surfaces with just water alone. You need soap and water to fully eliminate gluten.
Porous material like wooden spoons collect gluten inside of it. No matter how good you are at cleaning your dishes, you will not be able to completely clean that wooden spoon of gluten. AND THAT IS WITH SOAP AND WATER, can you now imagine, how very little gluten you are removing just by boiling it?. Take a counter full of flour for example. You've just got done making your favorite cookies and the counter is just covered. You reach for a rag that only has water on it and proceed to wash the surface off. What happens?
The flour is spread everywhere and becomes very sticky. The only way to properly remove the flour is to use soap and water.
Why is this?
Because flour contains gluten and gluten is sticky, that is actually how they came up with the name "Gluten", it's very similar to glue.
So to claim that gluten can be dissolved in water is the most ridiculous claim I have ever heard.
Of course he then has to drive into another very important issue us celiacs have to deal with, which is cross contamination when the product is being manufactured.
"I note the label, keep it in mind, but operate on the basis that the company does have a standard process for cleaning their equipment between product runs. With that assumption, the only chance of cross-contamination is in the first few batches of the product to go through the line, batches that most, if not all, manufacturers test and discard if found to be cross-contaminated." Dimitrios D.
This is pathetic. Not every manufacture that makes a "Gluten free" product washes in between every transition from a gluten product to a gluten free and it is ridiculous to think that they will discard the fist batch just to make sure it is safe. Since when will manufactures go to all that trouble when they clearly state on their box (as a warning to us) that, cross contamination can (and probably is) occurring. Unless they have a "Certified gluten free" stamp on their product and strictly following the FDA regulations, they can be as careless or as strict as they want and no one knows unless they call them up personally. To trust that they are following the guidelines and cleaning everything for you despite their statement on the box stating that it is risky, is just plain dangerous.
He goes on to say that when it comes to Sushi and deli meat, that all the gluten that is present on the slicer will stick on the first few slices of meat. Are you kidding me?. How many small areas, cracks, holes, chips & small areas can gluten get in and on an equipment?- A LOT!
So claiming that gluten is removed on the first few slices is an uneducated guess. Something I think ALL celiacs should avoid doing. After all, you are playing with your own health here.
After saying that gluten is not sticky, he changes his mind and decides that gluten is all of a sudden sticky and binds inside of pita & other gluten products.
He tells us that the crumbs do not contain gluten, which is a bunch of bull crap.
He will pick off the pita wedge/ and or crumbs and eat the salad anyways, despite the huge amount of gluten on his salad.
Guys, this article is very dangerous and DO NOT follow his suggestions.
let me remind you again that this guy is not a medical professional by any means & not a scientist, but just an ordinary guys who does not have severe symptoms of celiacs and does not have severe reactions to cross contamination. Everyone is different in the way of reacting to celiacs. Some will experience bowel issues immediately after consuming a small amount (UNDER 20 PPM of gluten) and others will get migraines, stomach aches & it may cause intestinal damage. You do not have to have symptoms to have internal damage, this is something I wish everyone could understand.
When I went on a gluten challenge for six weeks, (Putting gluten back into my diet temporarily before my upper endoscopy & blood tests), the only real symptom I had was mouth sores. After my blood work and scope, I realized, you do not have to have very many symptoms to have SERIOUS DAMAGE.
During those six weeks, my blood antibodies tripled in the severe range and I had total and complete scalping and damage to my intestines. Dimitrios may say he is not having any problems, but I didn't read anything about him having repeat upper endoscopies & blood work done to prove this theory.
The point of his article is to encourage celiacs to stop worry & fearing so much, but honestly, it's natural for us to do so. After all, we are constantly faced with fear of cross contamination, may it be at home or while traveling. Not everyone has to be as careful as we do & because of that, we have to be extra careful. Even when we are careful, we may still be getting glutened and not even know it, by the simplest of things. Let me give you an example:
"Oh I am doing great on my gluten free diet, but I cannot figure out why I am still sick?. Well, I guess it may be because my kids are not gluten free and they enjoy their gluten. They touch every surface and every knob in my home and I have a terrible habit of chewing my nails."
You can eliminate gluten from your diet, but ingest a little each day by touching surfaces in your home that have come into contact with gluten and putting your fingers in your mouth.
See how easy that is?. Unless your house is scrubbed with soap and water from the ceiling to the floor, you can experience cross contamination.
Mocking us and telling us that we worry to much is rude. Don't accuse us of doing this on purpose and telling us to not be so up tight and picky/strict. It's what us celiacs do, it's ingrained in us to be this way.
It is like asking someone with the cold to stop sneezing because they are sneezing to much, or asking a diabetic to stop worry about their sugar because they are worrying about it to much, causing them to become sicker & potentially die. You can't always help things, so don't label us as worry worts & fearful people, and instead label us as great health advocates & overcomers!
I felt the need to post this, because I need to get the word out to celiacs, that this article is full of terrible information.
To a newly diagnosed celiacs, this article could be very confusing. Stick with reliable sources like MayoClinic.org or even Celiacsdisease.org for safe celiac information.
Conclusion:
Again I say, do not listen to what this guy says, because clearly he has no clue about what he is saying and what is safe for us. Be careful, if that means go and get separate utensils then so be it.
It is better to be cautious & safe than lazy & sick!
-Be careful what you read out there guys, some of these articles can confuse & cause harm.
Stay strict & enjoy good health.
-The Gluten Free Momma
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