<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply!

I got a WIDE variety of answers, but agreement is I'm not imaginging this,
though it is not guaranteed to be a gluten reaction.

First, several people said some Celiac have problems with beef while
healing, 1 even said it may be hard to add beef back in.
1 person asked if I was casein free also (I am) and said some people with
casein problems have beef problems... that the proteins in the meat are
similar enough to the proteins in the dairy to cause a problem.  (I've heard
this about beans before, so am inclined to see a lot of logic there.)

I was also told that it may be a problem to digest because of the fat
content.  Again that may or may not improve as the body heals.


Then came the ways gluten can "hide" in ground beef!  I had NO IDEA!

Ways in which gluten wouldn't make it on a list of ingredients:
put on the wrapping so the meat won't stick
sprayed onto the meat once it is placed on the packing material so it will
retain it's red color, or moisture.
and gluten used to add flavoring back into low fat meats, or flavoring added
to compensate for flavor loss in the freezing process.

A lot of people also said cereal and other forms of gluten are used as
extenders and fillers, and also to help retain moisture etc.

A few people said that the grinders are sometimes used for other products
which can involve gluten, and that some stores clean the grinders with
products that contain gluten.  (A prime example of products that include
gluten was sausage.)

Several people said look for "natural" meats as they don't have things added
to them.

A few people asked if I thought I could be reacting to something the cows
were fed... or antibiotics, which is very interesting since I am allergic to
several antibiotics... another point I hadn't considered.

As a final note, several people mentioned there can be a higher bacertia
count on the ground beef because of increased surface area and that may be
the problem my body is dealing with.


Two locals told me where they buy gf ground beef that they have had no
problems with, so I plan to try those, if I have a reaction then I'll know
it shouldn't be a gluten problem and may have to take ground beef out of my
diet for a while.


Several people asked if it is only happening with ground beef -- which made
me think about it.  I have had beef in two other forms since I sent the post
to try and figure it out, and have had minor reactions each time!  :(

I think that pretty well sums up all the wonderful helpful replies I
received!  THANKS to everyone!


kathleen

Until you walk a mile in another man's shoes... you don't know why he has
blisters.
~Kay Kellam

* Please remember some posters may be WHEAT-FREE, but not GLUTEN-FREE *