Why Some People React to Gluten-Free Foods

You’ve gone gluten-free, but something still isn’t right. You’re doing everything ‘by the book,’ avoiding gluten completely — and yet, you’re still bloated, tired, or having reactions. 

So what’s going on? 

In today’s episode, we’re diving into why some people react to gluten-free foods — even when they’re technically safe. I’ll break down common triggers, what to look out for on ingredient labels, and how to start figuring out what your body’s really trying to tell you. 

And stick with me until the end, because I’ll share the one surprising food that caused me major symptoms even though it was totally gluten-free.

Come join us in our free Facebook Community, The Gluten Free Engineer. 

It’s a space where you can connect with others living gluten-free, ask questions, swap tips and recipes, and get support from people who truly get it. Whether you’re newly diagnosed or a seasoned gluten-free pro, you’ll feel right at home.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Safety Disclaimer
• 0:41 Why Gluten-Free Doesn’t Mean Symptom-Free
• 2:21 Cross-Contamination Risks And Oats
• 3:10 Cross-Reactive Foods That Mimic Gluten
• 5:00 Personal Triggers: Corn, Oats, Dairy, Rice
• 6:31 Low FODMAP Strategy And Common Culprits
• 7:01 Gums, Fillers, And Texture Additives
• 10:10 Food Journaling And Elimination Methods
• 11:12 Gut Healing Basics And Fiber Tolerance
• 12:41 The Surprising Trigger Reveal: Tomatoes
• 13:31 Resources, Newsletter, And Closing

Transcript

Carrie Saunders: 0:00

Quick reminder before we get started on this episode. This podcast is based on my personal experiences and isn't medical advice. You've gone gluten-free, but something isn't right still. You're doing everything by the book, avoiding gluten completely, and yet you're still bloated, tired, or having reactions. So what's going on? In today's episode, we're diving into why some people react to gluten-free foods even when they're technically safe. I'll break down common triggers, what to look for on ingredient labels, and how to start figuring out what your body's really trying to tell you. And stick with me to the end because I'll share one of the surprising foods that caused me major symptoms, even though it was technically gluten-free. Let's dive in. Welcome to the Gluten Free Engineer Podcast. I'm your host, Carrie Saunders. In 2011, I was diagnosed with celiac disease, a moment that changed everything. But I was determined not to let it hold me back. With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer the gluten-free lifestyle, breaking down recipes, safety tips, travel hacks, and everything in between to rebuild a life I love. Whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance, or simply choose to live gluten-free, this podcast is for you. Join me each week as we simplify the gluten-free lifestyle, make it fun, and prove that you don't have to miss out on anything. Welcome back to the show. So today we're talking about non-gluten triggers that can mimic gluten symptoms. So there is some really confusing things going on here. And I found this myself, is you remove gluten, but you're still reacting sometimes. It's so frustrating and confusing. There were so many years I thought I got, you know, cross-contaminated or something like that, and it wasn't gluten cross-contamination. I later find out. You aren't imagining it. It's something that can happen to many people. There are gluten-free foods that can cross-react with that act like gluten foods to bodies that are very sensitive. And gluten-free doesn't always mean symptom-free. So we need to figure out now that you've removed the most irritant likely to your body, which is likely the gluten, because that's most usually most people's highest irritant, you might start finding some other foods you're incompatible with. So if your celiac, even though a product should be gluten-free, it doesn't always mean that it's been made in a dedicated facility. A good example of this is oats. If you're not buying certified gluten-free oats and you're celiac or you're highly gluten-sensitive, then you're likely to get issues from cross-contamination on those oats because oats are generally grown side by side with wheat, and then in the processing, things can get mixed somewhat, and then you can get some gluten in the oats. Also, shared equipment can lead to trace contamination. So you want to watch for the maiden facility that processes wheat labels if you are very sensitive or celiac. Now, there's also foods that I alluded to a little bit earlier that there's other foods that are actually gluten-free that can cause cross-reactive ingredients. So some gluten-free foods that could cause your body and think it's gluten could be things like corn, oats, even if they're dedicated gluten-free or certified gluten-free, a dairy or certain types of dairy, yeast or certain grains like millet or sorghum. So your immune system may cross-react, which means it's causing inflammation or symptoms similar to gluten exposure whenever you eat these. For myself, I personally cannot eat corn. It um, unless it's the vegetable version, I can't eat the grain version of corn. It really just makes me feel pretty terrible. I get slowed down, my digestive system actually slows instead of having diarrhea. Mine slows and stops working at all. And it's just really, really uncomfortable. I can eat corn occasionally, like a corn chips or something like that, but I try not to do it very often because I really don't feel good afterwards. Now, oats are a thing that I found that well, I can tolerate them stomach-wise. I just generally have a higher inflammation in my body whenever I eat oats. So now I avoid oats as well. And then dairy. Dairy is an interesting subject here because you can read lots of books about this. And they say a lot of a lot of the modern books say that grass-fed dairy many times is fine for most humans, whereas the non-grass-fed dairy is a lot harder on our systems. Also, they say the A2 cow's milk is much easier on our digestive system than the A1 cows. So if you're one who thinks you can kind of tolerate dairy, but sometimes it bothers you, you might want to consider switching to grass-fed dairy or and or the A2 cows' dairy because the components in the milk that comes out is different whenever they're grass-fed and also the the breed that that is the A2 cows. So it's something to look for if you miss dairy, but it doesn't bother you like terribly, but you want to try it again, that might be something you want to try. And then for me, I actually also cannot tolerate brown rice. Brown rice has the hull still on the outside of it, and that's where a lot of the lectins are. So if you ever want to look up much about lectins, you can look up the Plant Paradox book. It's a very um interesting, informative book by Dr. Gundry about how lectins can wreak havoc on our body, and that some people who are gluten sensitive actually are lectin sensitive. And we're not talking about celiacs here, we're talking about those aren't just sensitive, and that it may be the lectins in the gluten that they're reacting to, which also is going to be in things like oats and brown rice. White rice is a bit better, it has some of those lectins stripped off. Now let's go back to some other things that can be cross-reactive, and that could be gums and fillers. So gluten-free baked goods often use xanthem gum, guar gum, or tapioca starch to mimic texture. And some of these can cause digestive issues, gas or bloating, and sensitive individuals. Thankfully, they are not ones that bother me. I'm very thankful of that because it helps me make my gluten-free baking so yummy and texture-wise so good. But they can cause some people issues. So please be aware of that in case you're really confused and not sure what's bothering you, what's still causing you trouble. Now, one thing that my doctor has put me on before is the FODMAP diet. So if you haven't heard of that, that is getting rid of fermentables basically. And some gluten-free products are high in FODMAPs, like chickpeas, lentils, and inolin-based flours. So if your gut is still healing, these can cause bloating or discomfort, even though they're gluten-free. So I went um on a low FODMAP diet for a few weeks. This is a temporary diet. This is to figure out what bothers you. And it's a really good idea if you're still having trouble and you're not sure uh what is going on. Obviously, talk with your doctor about it, but it's a great way to figure out what might be bothering you. Some other FOD high FODMAP, if if my memory serves me right, are like garlic and onions. Um, I know beans are in there. Obviously, I said lentils, so beans are in there. Um, so we want to be eliminating those things. I think apples is in there too. So it's also the fruits that are easy to ferment. So apples were in there. And I found that if I have too many raw apples, it gives me stomach problems. Um, and not really digestive problems per se, but stomach problems. My stomach will kind of hurt and bloat and stuff like that. So I know I need to limit my raw apple consumption. Now, apple pie, that's game on. I can do cooked apples, but I need them broken down some for me, which is why that works a little better. And raw apples, so I have to be careful of. So it's just really good uh to know what bothers you. So don't feel like this is overwhelming to figure out what else is bothering me. Think of it as a way to have a better way of life. You know, you know you can take, you know, take that choice and eat. Let's say you go to a Mexican restaurant and you eat those corn chips. I did that, you know, a few months ago. I went to a Mexican restaurant, I chose to eat the corn chips. I didn't feel great, but I knew that I was going to have that, you know, sort of reaction. And so I could plan ahead and I could plan that it's okay if I don't feel great that next day because I don't have something important going on. So that's one of the reasons why we want to figure out what else is bothering us besides gluten. Now, you also could have food sensitivities or allergies to other foods as well. Soy, eggs, or nightshades like tomatoes, potatoes, peppers can be hidden triggers. And sometimes going gluten-free reveals other sensitivities that you didn't notice before. I, for example, cannot tolerate soy at all. And I used to be able to tolerate really high-quality um farm-raised eggs that weren't fed soy or gluten, but I am even having trouble with that now unless it's like in a baked good, because there's different levels of um cooking levels for eggs. And if you look this up, there are different, some people react at different levels of the um egg being cooked. So for me, I can take the most cooked egg, you know, which is in a cake, versus like cookies is kind of in between. They're not quite as cooked as they are in a baked cake. So for me, I know I have to be careful how much eggs I eat, especially if I eat cookies. You know, I know I only can only have one or two because I know the eggs in them is going to bother me, but now a piece of cake I'm doing much better with. So knowing these things can really help you, like I said, plan ahead and know what to expect with your body. And then a lot of people have trouble with nightshades. Um, it's just a pretty common thing that people don't even realize. And that's part of the reason is it's because those vegetables and fruits have lots of lectins in them. So it's kind of coming back to that lectin thing uh there. And a lot of people don't realize that. So, how do we figure out what is causing these other symptoms? So, what you can do is keep keep a simple food and symptom journal for two to three weeks, keeping in mind that you may not react within hours or even a day. It could be a day or two, but you're gonna start to notice patterns if you're doing this for several weeks. Note which brands you're eating, the ingredients are in them, and any patterns you're seeing as you know figure out your symptoms. So you can come about this two ways. You can try to eliminate one potential trigger at a time, or you can do like I've done before, and I've eliminated all the FODMAP foods all at once, and then added in my favorite ones first. For me, that was easier than eliminating one at a time because I feel like it's a little bit more deterministic because you've taken out all potentials and then you put in one, you know, at a time, and you wait, you know, like at least five to five to seven days in between adding one in, so you can tell which one's actually causing issues. And if needed, work with a dietitian or doctor who understands food sensitivities. And I find this can sometimes be hard to find, but many really good dietitians can be really great at this. So then how do we support your healing gut? Because many of us are healing or still healing. I feel like after like over 12 years or so, 13, I've lost track at this point. My gut is still healing. So we want to focus on whole, naturally gluten-free foods for several weeks. We want to limit those processed gluten-free replacements while you reset your gut. And you want to be hydrating enough and you want to get, if you tolerate it, enough fiber from fruits, vegetables, and safe grains like quinoa or rice. But I will say that some people do have trouble with quinoa and especially brown rice, they can have trouble with it. And then when I stake as much as you can tolerate on fiber, for my body, I don't tolerate certain forms of fiber. So note that. So I tolerate, for example, fiber from vegetables much better than fiber from lentils or grains, even if they're gluten-free grains. And then when you're reintroducing foods one at a time to identify your true tickers, you know, keep a journal of what's going on, your symptoms, and how you feel and how long it takes for you to react is kind of a good idea to have. And if you love tips like this that you've heard on this podcast, I'd love to have you in our newsletter. Just go ahead on over to the glutenfreeengineer.com and you'll see a link to sign up for our newsletter as well as lots of recipes. I keep adding more and more each month. Um, and I try to add at least one a week. So then I want to talk to you about that final tip of the gluten-free food that surprised me the most, that really bothers me, which is tomatoes. They are completely and naturally gluten-free. But for me, they cause headaches, they cause congestion, they cause major digestive distress the next day. And once I took them out, my symptoms improved dramatically. Even my um underlying allergy symptoms improved dramatically. It was a huge reminder that gluten ends isn't always the only thing that can make us sick, and that we need to work with our bodies to figure out what is our optimal fuel for us, because we're each different, and different foods are going to react differently to us. So here's the figuring out what else might be bothering you so you can feel great again. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Gluten Free Engineer. If you found value in this story, please share it with someone who might need encouragement on their own gluten-free journey. For more tips, recipes, resources, and even links to my YouTube channel, head on over to theglutenfreeengineer.com. It's your one-stop hub to make gluten-free living simple, fun, and full of flavor. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss out on an episode. And we will see you next week. The Gluten Free Engineer Podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I share my personal experiences and stories about living with celiac disease and navigating a gluten free lifestyle. This podcast does not provide a medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional for medical questions, concerns, or advice specific to your health.