'May Contain Gluten' Labels: An Update Ep. 160

In this episode, we’re going to tackle the tricky terrain of ‘may contain gluten’ labels - a real headache for those of us living with celiac disease. We’re going to get real about the struggle, advocating for a no-gluten policy. I’ll share about my own dedication to health, shaped by personal journeys and a strict discipline that has kept me safe from gluten.

If you find yourself caught between the appeal of easy options and the necessity of strict dietary compliance, this conversation offers insights that could transform your approach to managing celiac disease. You’ll hear me share the hard truths and my thought process on why ‘may contain gluten’ is a label best left untouched on the supermarket shelf. With plenty of safer choices out there, opting for products with this warning feels like an unnecessary risk to our health.

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Music Credit bensound.com 

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:24

All right, so welcome back to this week's episode. Now there's been a lot of chatter about may contain statements, and why that is is because here in Australia it has always been advised that if a food that has got written on it may contain gluten, we should avoid it. Living with celiac disease and Celiac Australia used to have an article on their website, which is now gone I wish I had a copy of it, but it basically stated that with food that has got written on it may contain gluten, they found that approximately one in ten of those products in fact did contain a level of gluten that is concerning for those of us with celiac disease. So what I have always taken from that is you've got a one in 10 chance of consuming gluten. So for me, that's crazy. Why would I want to risk that? That is playing Russian roulette with my health. So I have chosen to avoid gluten, and I recommend that others also follow suit and avoid those products, because there's so many other foods that we've got to choose from. Why would we risk it? That's how I look at it. I just think it's kind of crazy. But what Celiac Australia is now saying is it should be at your discretion and basically, it's up to you to decide and it's up to the individual and to take that pressure off.

Speaker 1: 1:57

I don't know. I still don't agree with that. I still think that if there's a level of risk, then it's not worth it. You have got a one in ten chance of getting sick from packaged food. Then opt for food that doesn't have may contain written on it, or opt for food that you know is going to be safe for you. Because, let's be honest, if you were to line up 10 packets of food and one of those packets of food has got enough gluten in it to you know be a risk, then why would you take that risk? What if you laid out 10 packets of food and one of those had rat poisoning in it or arsenic in it and you just got to take that risk? You're not going to take that risk. That's just crazy. So it's exactly the same with gluten. Why would you want to? I don't know, we're all different and we've all got our own choices to make. But the people that come to me and want to work with me and want my support this is the level of seriousness that I, like my students and my clients to take is how well, do you want to be? How healthy do you want to feel? Because there's some people that are legitimately out there supporting celiacs that say it's impossible to get your levels down to zero. And I say BS. That is not true. That is absolutely false, because my levels get down to zero when I get my annual blood test. You know. It just goes to show that you can do it. It is doable. And if you want to feel your best, then that means zero gluten. That means getting zero gluten in your diet. So you know Celiac Australia.

Speaker 1: 3:49

I feel like it's a little bit backwards that they've chosen to do this. I know that in different countries everyone follows different regulations, but it's just something that I've always taught and it's because I truly believe that if there's that risk of gluten being in a packaged food, then avoid it, just don't even go near it. It's not worth it. But again, it's up to you. It's your choice. If you want to follow that risk, then you can.

Speaker 1: 4:15

There are ways of going about it that can be safer. You can choose a packaged food that says may contain gluten on it and you could contact that company. You could find out what that risk is, how high that risk is and make a choice from there. Or you could just completely go. Nah, I'm not even touching it, it's not even worth the risk to me and to my health. So I'm just going to completely say no to consuming that product and choose something else.

Speaker 1: 4:45

Because I don't know about you, but when you go into the supermarket or the grocery store, there are so many options, there are just endless amounts of options. And if you're looking for something that doesn't have a gluten-free statement on it because, let's be honest, there are lots of foods that are already gluten-free without having gluten-free written on it, but then it says a may contain statement on there may contain gluten, may contain wheat you could probably find an alternative. You could probably keep looking, keep reading labels and you'll probably find one that doesn't have that may contain gluten or may contain wheat statement on it. So you know it's up to you. It's about making these choices for yourself and knowing what works for your body.

Speaker 1: 5:37

But if you were, say, someone that's asymptomatic and you bought a product that was not ideal and there was a small amount of gluten, you may not know, you may not realize, because you're not getting those symptoms. So, again, it's working with your unique body, what feels right for you, what your choices are, but my, my two cents are that it's not the best choice, it's not the way to go and for me and what works for me and my clients, we find that avoiding those may contain statement products is the best choice and the healthiest choice. So something to think about, something to sit on, and I'd love to hear your feedback on this. And if you know, celiac Australia's change in this has made you go. I don't know about this. It still feels a bit weird to be eating these foods that may contain gluten, or maybe it's given you that freedom to feel more comfortable in doing so.

Speaker 1: 6:26

So let me know. Either write a comment below in the comments here on YouTube or, if you're listening on the podcast, you can either send me a text message now, which is a new option, so you can go to my Healthy Celiac Podcast website and you can send me a one-way text message from there, or you can just go to Instagram and send me a message and we can have a chat over on Instagram at the healthy celiac. So thank you so much for listening. If you are on a podcast app, make sure you hit that follow button so you don't miss an episode, or if you're watching on YouTube, make sure you hit that subscribe button. So thanks again for tuning in and I look forward to talking with you again on next week's show. Have a great week. Talk to you then. Bye.