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Hi Listmates,
I have enough information to post a summary on my pitachio nut
experience which gave me a pain in the gut for a few hours, left me
feeling confused & irritable for 24 hours and tired & sensitive in the
belly for three more days.
Quite a few people said roasted nuts are likely to be
contaminated with gluten and that was most likely the cause of my upset.
4 people said that pitachio nuts are known to be contaminated with molds
& yeasts and that molds are notorious for causing bad reactions. Many
people replied & said that they also have similar reactions from eating
Pitachios & other nuts. Other responses addressed their particular
reactions to eating wheat such a mood swings & irritability, etc. Two
people said I'm probably allergic to pitachios which is common for
celiacs due to our leaky guts. Interestingly, two people said they can
tolerate raw nuts but not roasted ones. Two lucky people told me they
eat the "li'l darlin's" all the time with no reaction. I envy you!
I did a little reading on my own & found that Dr. Peter D'Adamo tells
people of my blood type (A) to avoid pitachios. He's been right about
everything else I shouldn't eat so I think he's right on with the
pitachio thing!
I also found from reading that pitachio nuts are in the same family as
mangos & cashews. I'm seriously allergic to mangos so it's very possible
that I have cross reactivity to pitachios. So it looks like I may have
had a quardruple whammy from those darn roasted nuts -- gluten reaction,
an allergic reaction, exposure to noxious molds as well as a basic
incompatibility with my blood type. Pitachios are now a definite NO-NO!
Here are excerpts from the various responses I received:
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I used to consult(for quality assurance) local organic food manufacturers
so I know some food production procedures... During nut roasting -in
order to hold salt stick on the nuts- sometimes they make a solution of
water, salt and flour, mix with nuts and then roast all together...So
never buy bulk products if you are not sure of the ingredients. This goes
for all nuts for me except for almonds which I am allergic to.
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I get a ton of gastric problems when eating any roasted and salted
pistachios now. Rats! I can only assume they are dusted with flour
either before roasting or after for packaging. When I eat them raw, I do
not suffer any ill effects.
-------------
..sometimes my husband has trouble with any kind of nuts and he does not
have cd.
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I don't know about their GF status but it was reassuring to hear that
someone else has the same reaction to gluten that I do.....depression.
------------
You may have developed an allergy to nuts, but Dr. Fine has told me that
many celiacs will have problems digesting proteins, which nuts are (along
with the fat, which can bother celiacs also for a while after first going
gluten-free.
---------
I think nuts are just hard to digest. Sometimes, but not always, the
same thing happens to me.
---------------
Pistachio nuts contain the highest recorded levels of moulds and mildews!
My CFGF daughter has the exact same reaction you did to them and she has
allergist documented molds and mildews allergies.
-------------
I've also felt "funny' after eating them,but do love them.
------------
Some nuts do have hydrolyzed vegetable protein, which could be from
gluten. But even not from gluten HVP will have MSG. The most likely nuts
with this are the dry roasted ones in glass jars. I'd think more likely
some poisoning from some mold. Peanuts can have this problem. Maybe some
other nuts?
------------
Certainly sounds like the nuts to me. I have the same problem with
roasted peanuts, etc. Solution - buy raw nuts and roast them yourself.
----------------
Was in Albertson's the other day and noticed a large table of net bags of
the li'l darlin's. I bought four bags as I owed a friend a considerable
quantity from eating freely of his "guest's jar." I did save one bag for
myself and can testify that I have had no reaction to them -- and I had a
good fistful (I have large fists!). These were the plain kind that you
described. Find something else to blame!!! Don't find our pistachio's
guilty!
--------------
I am the same way. My reaction to gluten is depression, fatigue and
fogginess. I don't have stomach distress unless I add milk to the
equation. I ate pitaschios the other day for the 1st time since going gf
(it's only been 1 month for me). I too got to feeling bad and it has
carried over for 2 days now. YUK.
----------------
Could it be the sulfites in the pistachios. I now for myself, I react
very badly to sulfites and it is widely used as a preservative for wine
dried and fresh fruit and vegetable. I would'nt be surprise it is used
in pistachio. Unfortunately often celiacs react to more than just the
gluten. But hey, the good side, don't we feel better on a GF diet. I
am not depressed anymore and I feel far more affirmative than ever
before. I have been GF for 2 years now, and I am so much happier....
-----------------
Pistachio nuts are gluten free, but they may have dusted the conveyor
belts with flour. Another more probable possibility........ there are
mycotoxins found on peanuts,pistachios & other nuts. This fungus can
cause many different symptoms. I have not had any reactions to nuts, but
there may be a fungal connection. I hope this helps.
----------------
Your reactions could change after going gf and then having an accident.
I never had the steattorhea (sp?) or mucus in my diarhhea until after I
went gf. Our bodies seem to change and become even more sensitive to
small contaminations.
----------------
This is what I can tell you about my husband's food allergies. He has
the Celiac "dis-ease", but also he has many other food allergies. This
is due to the fact that he went so many years without knowing about his
problems with gluten and, during the undiagnosed years, his gut leaked
all kinds of macro-molecules into his system. He has a multiple-allergy
problem, because once these macro-molecules entered his blood stream
(via leaky gut), they were recognized by the body as foreign, (not
suppose to be there) and his body went on attack. Once a foreign "body"
is seen by the immune system, among many things, it forms antibodies
that remember and will attack the foreign material anytime it appears
anywhere in the system. Celiac condition even harder, is all of the
many other food allergens that must be discovered after the gluten is
removed from the diet. It really is a tough "row to hoe", because to
eliminate the gluten drastically shortens the list of safe consumable
foods. As if the removal of gluten isn't hard enough, now there is a
plethora of other allergens that must be learned. It feels like insult
is added to the injury. The good side is that, once the gluten is
removed and the body has time to heal, the learning of other allergens
is made possible. Health, at this point, is now a "stone-throw away".
My mother-in-law has always told my husband that he is a barometer...
what's bad for people is terrible for him and we've all cleaned-up our
diets based on his condition and the things we've learned in the
process. So, my answer to your question...could it be a gluten
contaminant in, or on the Pistachios...possibly not. It may be another
allergen that triggers your immuno-response, as a result of antibodies
formed particular to your immune system.
---------------
Never eat roasted nuts, they are often rolled in flour. Eat only the
natural ones, like almonds, but never roasted.
---------------
I cant help you with the nuts, but just thought I would let you know that
if I have even a tiny amount of gluten contamination, it can make PMS
look very mild. I become very grouchy, even before getting sick.
---------------
I eat them without any problem. [I'm jealous.]
--------------
Possible allergie to yeasts growing on the nuts.
--------------
I too get very irritable/depressed when I eat gluten.
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A couple of fistfuls of nuts is an *awful lot* of fiber! Gluten or no
gluten, I couldn't eat that much fiber without my belly objecting
big-time.
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I was told to avoid roasted nuts. I have been OK with raw pistachio nuts.
-------------
I think that you might be allergic to the nuts.
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I would suggest it's not the gf status of the nuts that caused your
irritability, but something in the nuts was working against your
neurotransmitters. Do you take glutamine? not only is it good for your
gut, it is also a pre-cursor to a helpfull neurotransmitter.
--------------
They have gluten flour on them
--------------
We were told by a celiac nutritionist to be wary of roasted nuts, as the
manufacturing lines are often dusted with wheat flour.
-------------
...I do have 40+ food allergies. I can usually guess what I have eaten
by the reaction that I get - each one is a bit different. I get
irrationally angry after eating potatoes - especially potato chips (vs
mashed potatoes). My advice is to listen to your body - seems like the
pistachios don't agree for whatever reason - could be gluten
contamination.
-----------------
Perhaps you simply had a hard time digesting the nuts or even an allergy
to them. But it is possible that the medicine [Alka Seltzer Gold] made
the reaction a gluten one and therefore worse? It could also be that the
nuts were coated in flour to keep them separated.
----------------
I can't eat any nuts without serious heartburn. I become irritable and
depressed when I get artificial food color or MSG.
----------------
I wanted to inform you that 'Gold' Alka Seltzer has corn in it, that was
a few years ago, I quit taking it for that reason. I got rid of one
symtom just to get another.
---------------
Special thanks to all who offered help & advise.
Sincerely, Valerie in Tacoma,WA
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