Trouble in Paradise?

Post by **tex** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 12:48 pm

Hi All,

Bad news! Some celiacs are reporting that they react to GF Rice Chex. Ain't that a bummer. I kind of doubt that it's because General Mills is mis-certifying their product. I'm more inclined to suspect that many celiacs simply can't handle the 20 ppm standard that everyone in the world seems to feel is OK. IMO, if a single helping of Rice Chex is all that is consumed in a day, then they would probably be fine. When more is eaten, though, plus other foods that might crowd the 20 ppm level, the accumulated gluten in the diet may be exceeding the tolerance thresholds of certain extra-sensitive individuals.

I've seen some speculation that it could be due to the iron in Rice Chex. Too much iron in the diet can definitely cause problems, and Rice Chex contains 50% of the RDA. I don't know about most folks, but when I eat cereal, I virtually always eat more than what they consider to be a single serving. In fact, upon measurement, I find that I usually eat about two and a half times what they consider to be a single serving. Hmmmmmmmmmm.

That means that I'm getting too much iron on that day, just from the Rice Chex alone, not even considering anything else that I might eat that day, that could be loaded with iron, (to say nothing of supplemental multivitamins). It makes you wonder why it's in there.

Of course, that's one of the big selling points for cereals - "just look at all the vitamins and minerals that are in there", as any big cereal fan can tell you. Unfortunately, most of those vitamins and minerals are not in the grain, they're added during processing. On a wholesale level, grains are rated by protein, fat, and fiber. Vitamins and minerals are strictly secondary considerations that rarely even enter the picture, until the product gets to the consumer level, where more detailed labeling is required, (and of course, manufacturers know that a long list of all that "healthy stuff" helps to sell their product.

I will have to admit that whenever I eat Rice Chex, I always feel bloated, afterwards, but I have always sort of attributed that to the fact that I usually use milk with it, (since the milk substitutes that I've tried, seem to be even worse contributors to the bloated, uncomfortable feeling). However, milk or ice cream alone, do not seem to cause bloating, so I may be wrongly accusing the milk. Therefore, I'm guessing that something in the Rice Chex is triggering a reaction of sorts, but it has never caused me to have D, (that I recall, anyway). YMMV.

Anyone else notice any symptoms after eating GF Rice Chex?

Tex

suzil · Post by **suzil** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 2:26 pm

Wow Tex!
This info may be the key to the mystery of my daughter's troubles this summer.

She has been eating Rice Chex (quite happily I might add) almost daily since returning from England. Whodathunk a GF product could be the culprit! Your theory sure makes perfectly good sense to me....maybe it was just enough to push her over the edge.
She is going to take an immediate break from it to see if she improves-

Would you please share the source of these reports-I'd really like to read them.

Still waiting on Enterolab results...

Stay safe & dry!
Sue

Post by **tex** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 3:32 pm

Hi Sue,

Well, I saw the original "rumblings", in a newsletter sent out on August 15th, by this commercial GF products site, (they send one out every Saturday, if you register to receive it):

http://www.glutenfree.com/home.aspx

You can register there to receive the newsletter, if you're interested. I don't always agree with Beth's opinions on some products, but once in a while, I see something there worth taking note of, and checking out.

I didn't pay much attention at first, because the response by Beth seemed to make sense. I, myself, had accidentally picked up a non-GF box, (along with a GF box), in a store that obviously still had some old stock. I read the label on the good one, then grabbed another box, without looking - shame on me.

I'm not sure if it's possible to access archives of newsletters on that site or not, but just in case, here is a copy of that first e-mail from a reader, along with Beth's response:

Q3. Dear Beth, I purchased the 'gluten-free' Rice Chex and ate them for breakfast four days. Couldn't figure out why I was having such terrible stomach pains, but stopped eating the Rice Chex and the pains went away. Coincidentally, my sister who also has celiac, also purchased the Rice Chex and also became sick. So I don't know what General Mills is doing. Is there a tolerance level of gluten in the cereal. Thank you, J. Bowen

A3. Dear J Bowen, Is it possible that you picked up an older version of Rice Chex, one manufactured before the new formula was in distribution? The new packaging (gluten-free version) has three checkmarks on the front and the first says “gluten-free.” I believe many people are enjoying the new product without adverse reaction. Beth

As you can see, she blew it off, and so did I. However, this weeks newsletter contained this email:

Q3. Dear Beth, I can't tell you how happy we were to get the news on Rice Chex. I quickly ran out and bought six boxes. Unfortunately, they made me and my son sick with the same old familiar symptoms. Now I read in your newsletter that other Celiacs have had the same problem. What's going on? Who can we trust? How can we protect ourselves? Constance

I haven't been able to access any of the celiac forums all day, so I couldn't check it out any further, to see how widespread the problem might be, but I thought that it might be a good idea to post this info, in case anyone here might be having any problems with it.

Please let us know if it turns out to be the culprit causing your daughter's problems.

Tex

JLH · Post by **JLH** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 5:04 pm

Thanks, it certainly could be my problem. I just don't know.

BTW, General Mills NEVER sent any info about the test panel. I will have to give them another phone call.

Thanks for the heads up.

Post by **tex** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 6:32 pm

Joan,

Maybe they're just slow to send out info like that.

You're more than welcome,
Tex

suzil · Post by **suzil** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 6:59 am

Tex-
Thanks for providing the newsletter info. I signed up for what it's worth. This MC/GF ride has been a continual educational experience!

Sure do appreciate you reporting what you come across-can't find the time to search & read everything out there.

Still thinking this may be the ticket. As my daughter improved drastically when initially going GF, believe she will know one way or the other pretty quickly.
Sue

Post by **tex** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:36 am

Sue,

There's always the risk that bringing up something such as that on such slim evidence could be a false alarm, but when someone is sick, and can't find the problem, it's certainly worth at least considering. It's been my observation that when the most persistent reactions among members have been resolved, the culprit almost always turns out to be something that is eaten every day.

You're most welcome,
Tex

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 9:38 am

I've been eating Rice Chex pretty regularly and haven't noticed a problem. Sometimes I eat it with homemade rice milk and sometimes with RiceDream. I suspect that I can tolerate a small amount of gluten.

BTW, I've still got the flu. I couldn't sleep most of the night because the headaches were unbearable and acetaminophen did nothing. I had a peak fever of 103.6 degrees. It feels the same as when I had double pneumonia two years ago. I got the pneumonia vaccine afterward, so presumably I'm protected from getting it again. I read it protects against the 23 most common pneumonia bacteria, but there are actually 80 bacteria that cause pneumonia.

Gloria

Post by **tex** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 10:56 am

Gloria,

Sorry to hear that you've got the flu. I never check my temp, so I don't know where I was regarding temp, but your temp sounds pretty high, (though still in the typical range for the flu). I assume that you're aware that you should probably check with your doctor if it exceeds 104.

Acetaminophen is an interesting topic. Most members report that it does not provide much benefit for them. Personally, it does a great job for me. Late yesterday, for example, not long after I thought that I might be getting better, I began to develop a slight headache, and a really bad, stiff, sore neck. I knew that there was no way that I would to able to sleep that way, so I ate a little snack, (some nuked, left-over grilled pork steak), and then immediately downed a couple of Tylenol Extra Strength Rapid Release Gels, (500 mg each). I timed my response. I could feel the effects already in 15 minutes. By twenty minutes, the effect was significant. By thirty minutes, the pain was almost gone, and by 45 minutes, I was pain free. I didn't go to bed until later, of course, but I slept pretty well, except that I woke up due to a nightmare, as often happens when I have flue-like symptoms, (I assume I had fever again, because I was sweating profusely, though not as bad as the previous nights), but I remained pain-free, and I am still pain-free now, 17 hours later. If I take Tyleonol without food, though, it does nothing for me.

I hope you start feeling better soon - I'm feeling a lot better today, so maybe I'm over the hump.

Tex

Post by **tex** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 12:38 pm

Okay, I'm able to access the celiac sites today, so here are some relevant posts from diagnosed celiacs who have had problems with GF Rice Chex. The first one sort of supports my theory about total amount.

http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/index.ph ... ntry464335

Note that in a later post she mentioned that she actually had 5 cups on Sept 1, and 3 cups on Sept 3.

http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/index.ph ... ntry455603

http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/index.ph ... ntry455615

These comments are in response to a blog announcing the introduction of GF Rice Chex, (scroll up to see the announcement). Note comments number 7, 9, and 10. Comments number 9 and 10 are pretty strong indictments of the product.

http://celiacdisease.about.com/b/2008/0 ... ou.htm#gB3

To sort of balance the picture, here are some posts by celiacs, expressly supporting GF Rice Chex:

http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/index.ph ... ntry455886

http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/index.ph ... ntry455879

http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/index.ph ... ntry455908

http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/index.ph ... ntry455925

http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/index.ph ... ntry457236

http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/index.ph ... ntry459298

As usual, this just goes to prove that we are all different, (or else General Mills is letting some out-of-specs lots of product enter the market.

Tex

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 8:20 am

Tex,
Thank you for your concern. I'm feeling better this morning. My fever is down and the piercing headaches are finally gone. I'm glad to hear you're feeling better, too. Maybe there's no point in us getting the flu shot this year. I suspect I caught my flu bug on the airplane last weekend.

Gloria

Post by **tex** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 9:58 am

Gloria,

Well that's good news. I'll bet you're right about the plane. Those things have always struck me as an ideal way to spread germs to many people from distant places, in the shortest amount of time.

I'm not quite "as good as new" yet, but definitely much, much better, today.

Since I don't work in a public setting, I've never had a flu shot, but I've seen a fair number of guys working with me, (over the years), come in with a bad enough case of the flu, a day or two after getting a flu shot, that I sent them home for a day or so to recover, since they obviously were in no condition to do the work, (regardless of what the medical experts say about not being able to catch the flu from a flu shot). Maybe those were just coincidences, but I've seen a lot of coincidences. LOL. I think that many of the viruses can mutate faster than the researchers can keep up with them, and there are too many out there, these days, due to all the world travel, together with the higher population levels, of course, which lead to greater concentrations of people, and therefore, faster propagation rates for viruses.

Tex

Camryn'sMommy · Post by **Camryn'sMommy** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 2:15 pm

Tex - Glad to hear you are feeling better!

I'm so upset about the Rice Chex! I wonder if I should stop giving it to Camryn.

suzil · Post by **suzil** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 2:48 pm

Camryn's Mommy-
Another option would be Envirokids brand. They make good GF kid-style cereal & crispy rice cereal bars....corn pop style, peanut butter & chocolate flavors. My 21 year old "baby" likes it. You can probably find it in either the health food section of the supermarket or even in some regular cereal aisles. Box clearly states it is GF. It is often on sale too.

Your little cutie looks SO much like my daughter did at her age-it's amazing!

Post by **tex** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 3:33 pm

Camryn's Mommy,

Thanks. I really don't know what to say about the Rice Chex. It's quite a puzzle. I think that I'm going to experiment with it tomorrow, and see if I can force down four or five servings during the day, to see what it does to me. Let's just say that I'm very suspicious of it, based on what I've found on the net.

Tex