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Hi Everyone,

Thank you for reponding to my question about apricots causing gluten type
reactions.  As it turns out, the reasons for such reactions are varied:

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I don't know, but I wonder if they might add citric acid? I read on the list
that citric acid sometimes has gluten in it, seomthing to do with the
manufacturing process.

When my son was little, he couldn't tolerate the baby food that had citric
acid added. (His brother is the celiac in the family, although I am having
them all tested.) He loved those baby fruits in the jar, especially apricots
and plums. But, whenever he had any with citric acid, his stool was loose and
burned his bottom almost to blisters, no matter how quickly I cleaned him up.
It took days for his skin to recover.

So, perhaps he has allergies, but perhaps they also add citric acid to
apricots to preserve color, and the citric acid might have guten. It's a long
answer, but sometimes background helps in weighing the merits of the bit of
info.
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Eating a decent quantity of any dried fruit produces the reactions you got (as
my partner ruefully found out one day!). Once the stuff gets into your stomach
it re-constitutes. Remember how many fresh apricots it takes to produce a bag
of dried ones.

So, this is not a celiac reaction, just a normal reaction to too much dried
fruit.
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How much did you eat? Could be it was just too much fruit! Also, dried
fruits are higher in sugar and maybe you were reacting to that. Happens to
me sometimes, and I am not celiac!
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Apricots are dried with the peels intact; your gut probably reacted
to the peel, which is hard for an already sensitive gut to break down.
I get the same reaction to all peels. I now peel all my fruits and veggies
(and I avoid dried fruits and nuts) and the celiac-like reactions go away.
Diverticulosis is part of the problem in my case.
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If the apricots were dried, they were probably treated with sulfur. It
keeps them from turning dark. You may be sensitive to it.
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The apricots could have been dusted with wheat flour somewhere along the way;
or they could have had sulfites on them. Or you might be intolerant of
apricots and not have known it before....
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it may be that there was added sulfites. Its in alot of dried
fruit products. -Laurie
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How many did you eat? If I eat too many (over 6) I get that sort of
reaction too because they are full of fibre! I'm not the celiac, by the
way, it is my dh. My daughter Kathryn used to get diarrhea after eating
them as well. You might just be sensitive to them.
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I don't know what it is about dried apricots but by non GF mother
sister and aunt all have severe reactions to them. My aunt has
constipation problems and uses them to help her go.
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Nearly all dried fruits are preserved with sulphur or sulfites --
even the ones in health food stores -- unless they're specifically
labeled "unsulphured." I am an undiagnosed celiac with dramatic sensitivities
to a few other things, the worst of which is sulfites.

Also watch out for canned coconut milk, lettuce that comes
pre-shredded in bags (used by some restaurants) and, of course,
wines.

I also react to MSG, but the effects are only mildly unpleasant.
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I've been trying for about 2 months now
to be GF. Except for occasional mistakes,
I think I've accomplished it. However,
I've discovered a host of GF foods that give
me symptoms (primarily unformed stools).
Figs and dried apricots are among the foods
that still cause problems. Early on I
was lactose-intolerant. Pineapple also had
a terrible effect, all the symptoms you
mentioned. However, my stomach seems to
have healed somewhat. I consume diary
sparingly without problems and pineapple
now has the same effect as dried fruit
(i.e. no gas or bloating). So I am assuming
that as things heal more, problems with
supposedly GF foods will gradually disappear.
Since these foods should be GF, I've
continued to eat them since I have to have
some variety in my diet.
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The problem may not necessarily be with the apricots but rather with molds
that grow on the fruit. I am mold sensitive and seem to have problems with
foods more likely to harbor mold growth.
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I do not eat apricots, but I have reactions to raisins ... I get very similar
symptoms that you describe in this email.
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You can buy dried fruit in one of two forms; treated with nitrates or
without...even at a health food store. If the apricots are bright in
colour (orange rather than brown/orange) then they have been treated
with nitrates. I have a severe reaction to this "preservative" and this
could be what caused your problem.
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I have had a lot of trouble with contamination from things purchased
from bins in the health food store. I only buy unpackaged things that I
can wash before eating them: nuts,dates, etc. Sounds nuts, but its not
nuts! :)
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The sulfite in apricots are always a killer for me. Even the ones at the
health food store usually have sulfites. If they have a very pretty color
to them they probably have sulfite.
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I had a reaction to some dried products. I found the were 'dusted' with
wheat or oats to keep them from sticking.
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Possibly the apricots were processed with wheat flour on the conveyer belts
prior to packaging. The manufacturer is not required to reveal this as an
ingredient.
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I once had a reaction to dried apricots similar to your experience.
My question would be . . . how many did you eat? Dried fruits will cause
gas and discomfort if you eat a quantity of them. As I recall, I ate
between 8 and 10 halves to cause this reaction. I now am more prudent in
my consumption of the delicacy. :-D BTW, I can eat four or five fresh
apricots (eqivelent to above) and have no reaction whatever. Perhaps it is
the sulpher in the drying process???

Also, check with the store and/or the manufacture to be assured
that the product has no chemicals. Our biggest natural foods/health foods
store in our area does sell sulphured and unsulphered dried fruits.

Perhaps yours does too?
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I am not a celiac and the smae thing has happened to me before, I
believe it was because I ate too many apricots in one sitting, but it
was a liberating experience.
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I have been eating dried apricots fairly regularly for the last
month or so, purchased in a health food store, and have not had a
problem. Could it be either an actual allergy to apricots, aside from
your gluten intolerance? Or could there have been some kind of
cross-contamination?
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I have had the same reation to dried apricots.. I assume that someone is coating
them to keep them from sticking...

Of course I made about 6 loaves of apricot bread when this happened...
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I have a friend who runs a Health Food shop and have often
seen how various item are repackaged from bulk to smaller
units. Although this is done in a clean way (ie low bug
risk) the potential for cross contamination with non-GF is
very high, as the operation may be done under high pressure
while leaping in and out of the shop to serve (and weigh
out!) the very varied stock which he sells.
My first suspicion would be contamination during
repackaging. I would be surprised if health food dried
apricots were contaminated at original packaging (only big
companies seem to believe that people are incapable of
eating stuck together dried fruit). We tend to buy in bulk
and have had no CS problems (they do give you the runs if
you pig too many as I - the non-coeliac of the team can
testify - oink! :-)
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I think just about everyone on the planet gets the same reaction from
too many dried apricots, I certainly do. But I don't think that it's a
reaction to gluten. I just avoid dried fruit for that very reason
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Thank you all again!
Susan