Most patients recently diagnosed with celiac disease place their focus on switching to a gluten-free diet. However, diet is only part of the problem. Cross contamination and gluten hidden in personal care products also play a major role in continuing digestive problems that can interfere with healing and make the celiac feel like her gluten free diet isn’t working.
Use Gluten-free Products for Healing
Switching to a gluten-free lifestyle can be difficult and overwhelming. There is a lot to investigate and learn. Initially, the focus is first directed towards obtaining gluten-free food and minimizing cross contamination. For most, that is not enough. If a celiac continues to use nonfood items that contain gluten, the gluten in those products can find its way into the digestive system and keep the celiac feeling ill.
For complete healing, many with celiac disease find they need to do the same type of detective work with their personal care products that they did with food. That means switching to completely gluten-free products. For those who are extra sensitive to gluten, it only takes a minute amount to trigger an autoimmune reaction. For others, it can take a bit more. Either way, a patient can be strictly following her prescribed gluten-free diet, yet not get better.
Gluten in Personal Care Products Can Be Ingested
According to Dr. Peter Green in the book Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic, gluten cannot be absorbed through the skin. It can only be absorbed through the digestive track. This has led many with celiac disease to believe that using gluten-free nonfood products is a personal preference, rather than a health issue, since gluten must be ingested to cause an autoimmune reaction.
Quite a few celiacs have found that ingesting gluten is easy to do. If there is gluten in the hand cream a person with celiac disease is using, she contaminates not only herself, but everything she touches. If there is gluten in her shampoo and conditioner, it gets all over her hands every time she touches her hair. If she breathes in gluten particles from using hairspray or personal care products with fragrance, she swallows it.
Finding True Gluten-free Products is Difficult
It can be a major challenge to find true gluten-free products, especially since gluten hides behind chemical names and fragrances. Some products to watch out for are:
- over-the-counter and prescription meds
- lipstick and lip balm
- shampoo and conditioner
- body wash, facial wash, and soaps
- toothpaste and mouthwash
- facial moisturizers and hand creams
- perfumes and air fresheners
- all types of cosmetics
- cleaning supplies
- adhesives
- feminine products
- powdered disposable gloves
While reading labels is a must, checking a company’s website and calling about unknown, unrecognized ingredients before using that product is essential. Also be sure to ask about the gluten status of any fragrance used in the product, since company representatives have been known to assure callers that a particular product is gluten-free even though they cannot guarantee the fragrance used in it is.
A Completely Gluten-free Lifestyle Takes Time and Diligence
Digestive problems can continue when strictly following a gluten-free diet. Since gluten-free food is only part of a gluten-free lifestyle, switching to gluten-free personal care products is a necessity for a great many patients diagnosed with celiac disease.
Although the gluten molecule is too large to be absorbed through the skin, gluten hidden in nonfood products can easily contaminate everything a person touches, as well as find its way into the digestive tract. Any ingested gluten interferes with healing and can cause the celiac to think her diet isn’t working.
Finding true gluten-free products isn’t easy. It takes time to research product possibilities, contact the company, and ask the right questions. In addition, what is gluten-free today will not necessarily be gluten-free tomorrow since formulas and suppliers can change without notice. Becoming a constant label reader and dedicated company caller is the only way to achieve a completely gluten-free lifestyle, but healing is worth the effort.
References:
Green, Peter H. R., M.D., and Jones, Rory, Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic, Harper Collins Publishers, 2006
Tessmer, Kimberly A., RD, LD, Gluten-Free for a Healthy Life: Nutritional Advice and Recipes for Those Suffering from Celiac Disease and Other Gluten-related Disorders, New Page Books, August 2003
Lake Michigan Celiac Support, lakemichiganceliacs.com, "Hidden Gluten" (accessed June 19, 2010)
Vickie Ewell - Vickie has worked with autistic individuals for 9 years. She has celiac disease and specializes in gfcf living.
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