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Hi all,
I'd like to thank everyone for their replies to my questions regarding
sensitivities to molds, yeasts, xanthan gum, etc. Although I didn't get
quite as many responses as I had hoped for, the responses I did receive
were very helpful! A number of people asked me to summarize, so here
goes:
~~~~~
Celiac sensitivity usually brings yeast sensitivity. Neither ever goes
away. This means sensitivity to bakers yeast and brewers yeast.
I am allergic to mold and xanthan gum bothers me. I use guar gum
instead.
(Note: I found this response very interesting, so I followed up with
additional questions regarding the use of guar gum and the "laxative
effects" that I had read about. This is the additional reply, which
again I found very helpful.)
I have absolutely not problems with guar gum and use it the same as
xanthan gum, 1 tspn to a cup of flour.
I don't know if you know it but xanthan gum is made from the corn mold
aspergillis. If you are allergic to molds, corn and fermented food, it
will bother you. For that reason, I can't have salad dressing because of
the vinegar. I tried it and everytime, got a stomach ache.
~~~~~
I have trouble with yeast, corn syrup (fermented product) and seem
unable to tolerate gluten free items and wondered about the gum too.
~~~~~
Read Dr. D'Adamo's book: Live Right for Your Blood Type...Are you blood
type O? If yes, then he says you will always have problems with mold. I
am type O and have mold allergies...no problems in Arizona in the
summertime but I do have some problems in the winter...mostly with mold
on veggies. I have my house mold free...the strip down house for people
with allergies. Type O also has a problem with bacteria. Dr. D
recommends thyme, rosemary, oregano and probiotics [I can't tolerate his
probiotic for type O because it contains kelp] to help fight the
bacteria. I have h. pylori (a bad bacteria) so I use a spice bottle of
oregano each week . I put it on my food every day. I have also been
buying fresh oregano at the Farmer's Market. I do not tolerate thyme
very well because it is drying to my digestive tract (it is already bone
dry!) and rosemary causes the liver to release more bile and that
doesn't work for me. I use estrogen cream which causes a reduction in
bile production and when I take herbs that cause the bile to release
there isn't much left for the food and my skin dries up...really
weird..Dr. D also says that type O has an allergy to yeast. I can't
tolerate yeast. If I eat bread, I toast it until it is golden brown to
kill as much yeast as possible. I am better off without yeast breads. No
one should eat freshly baked bread because the yeast is too active. Eat
the bread the next day when the yeast has calmed down. I can't tolerate
nutritional yeast either. Go to www.dadamo.com to read about yeast,
mold, etc. go to the archives and do a search by topic. Pick up his
books at the bookstore...scan the index for yeast, mold, candida, etc.
and read what he has to say. By the way, a doctor told me that if the
mold is in your environment it is just as detrimental to your health as
mold in your food. If I breathe in mold, it literally knocks me out,
extreme fatigue and I get disoriented.
~~~~~
Just 3 weeks or so ago, I was given the results of some allergy tests
done from a blood draw. I was told that I had large amounts of
antibodies for a specific food mold, aspergillus (sp?), which is present
in "bruised" fruits - which are used by commercial companies to make
fruit juices - dried fruits, and some products that are produced by a
fermentation process (soy sauce, chocolate, citric acid were mentioned).
Also present in mushrooms. Another mold that I was sensitive to was
found in poorly ventilated bathrooms and in air-conditioning systems. At
this time, I feel that I have seen some improvement in some of the
symptoms that I was experiencing - I no longer have constant allergy
symptoms: sore throat, runny nose, hoarseness and a cough. My tummy
problems worsened for a while, but they too are on the wane. I am told
that I should stay away from specific foods, as I had a great many
antibodies for such things as almonds, peanuts, eggs and milk. My doctor
thinks that afer two or three months I may be able to reintroduce some
of the foods and "rotate" them.
~~~~~
I have a yeast sensitivity. I can't even use cosmetics with yeast in
them. It seems to be permanent as it started the same time as a virus
(mononeucleosis) triggered my celiac problem. I don't know about xanthum
gum, but I can eat mushrooms ok.
~~~~~
I suffered massive yeast problems prior to going GF because my system
was thoroughly depleted from years of malabsorption. I also had mold and
other allergies. By staying GF and rebuilding my body through
supplements, herbs, whole foods, sleep, rest and exercise the yeast
problems finally cleared up; it took almost a year. I did the shots for
the mold allergies, but I can't really say that they did that much for
me. I think I could have save my money and just waited out the mold
allergies. I have been GF for almost 10 years and no longer have yeast
or mold problems. Lots of other 'problems' have disappeared as well.
~~~~~
My husband is allergic to mold and has been tested by an allergist and
is getting allergy shots. He does not like any GF bread so yeast has not
really been an issue, but he was sure xanthum gum bothered him so I no
longer use it to bake and he has been getting allergy shots for about a
year. He is doing much better and now sometimes eats salad dressings,
etc. that have xanthum gum in them, but I do not use it in baking. When
he was tested his only allergy was one type of mold.
~~~~~
I also received the following suggestion:
There is excellent site: http://forums.delphi.com/celiac/messages/ with
very caring and knowledgeable people to answer questions.
I did post my questions there as well. Unfortunately I did not receive
any responses to the questions I raised, although I did receive one
response with some helpful tips for improving search results and
searching through prior postings. I have not had the opportunity as of
yet to do a thorough search, but I do intend to follow up on those
suggestions and see what I can find out. If anyone is interested in
keeping tabs on future replies to my posting there, it is message number
10570.1.
Thanks again to everyone who took the time to respond. It's very
reassuring to receive such supportive and helpful comments!
Teresa
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