Once again, I’m late. This time, really late! Perhaps I should change weekly “surprise” entry to Monday, maybe even Tuesday, Surprise? I’ll do better next Sunday, I will. Really. . .
So, recently I’ve been trying to track down the sneaky source of gluten, or one of our other allergens, that has sent Little O in to a downward spiral of dermatitis of some kind and a few other of his “glutened” symptoms.
We have eaten out more than usual in the last two or three weeks, enhancing our chances of exposure to one of our problematic foods, And, I have to admit, there is something I often let myself overlook, for the convenience of getting to eat out, despite knowing better.
The oil used in deep fryers at restaurants is rarely gluten free. That means that items like fries and corn tortilla chips, which one thinks ought to be gluten free, may in fact be cross-contaminated by having co-mingled in oil that has flirted with gluten, too. (Also note, fries are sometimes coated or seasoned, which can introduce gluten aside from what might be in the frying oil.)
Honestly, when we first went gluten free, I did not believe (or, perhaps more correctly, did not want to believe) that something so seemingly minor as frying in the same oil as a gluten-containing food could cause enough “cross-contamination” to bother a gluten-intolerant person. I’d read about it in various discussion forums on the internet. I just didn’t (want to) believe it would pertain to me or my family. I thought people were being overly dramatic somehow or parents were just misinterpreting their children’s reactions. Really, how could some remnants of high temperature deep fat fried food really cause a problem for my gluten-free items fried in the same oil?
Yet, I can still vividly recall the day I realized that “glutened” deep fryer oil did, in fact, result in problems for us. We had added gluten-free to our list of eliminated foods in January 2008. In April of that year, we embarked on our first camping trip with the boys.
On the way to the campground, we stopped in at a Jack In The Box restaurant (no, I’m not proud of that) and the boys and I ordered fries to go with our home made sandwiches and the fruit we brought with us. At this point in our lives, I would have been perfectly happy to not have ordered anything for the boys and myself, but we were still transitioning and for Big O, having some fries seemed like such a big treat that it was nice to indulge him once in a while.
Well, the first night camping, Little O was a complete wreck. One might say that he was having a hard time sleeping because of the new surroundings, sleeping in a tent for the first time, the cold dampness at night, etc. However, my intuition knew better. This kid is so easy going and adapts to any new environment with ease, especially if Big O and I are there with him. No, I knew there was something going on internally, in his GI tract. Backing up my intuition were the facts that 1) Big O did not have a bowel movement the whole camping trip and was experiencing his “urgent” pee incidents and accidents, and 2) I was a bit more tired and irritable than usual.
What I can say is that this was a turning point for us. I stopped trusting any fried restaurant food, and until recently the boys and I have not had any fried restaurant food except for the occasional order of fries from In-N-Out burger because I know the only thing that goes in their fryers are potatoes.
And, don’t get me wrong. This is not a complaint. I have no desire to eat typical ‘fast food’ ever again. It’s not food by any stretch of the imagination. I do long for a convenient way to get whole, real, nourishing foods in a quick and affordable way, but I do not desire to eat typical American fast food ever again. In fact, there are not many affordable, family-friendly restaurants that I like to eat food at anymore really. In our society and culture, it is hard to avoid the convenience of eating out and with young children, dietary restrictions, and a tight budget, our choices for eating out are limited (until I open my restaurant, that is…. some day…).
Oh, there I go digressing again…
A long story made short – today’s Sunday Monday Surprise is that fried foods can elicit gluten reactions. I'm guessing all the corn tortilla chips and crispy tacos at the Mexican restaurant we've eaten at several times this past month may have sparked Little O's rash and all of our irritability and, shall we say, slower GI tracts.
Of course, many a fried food is dredged in flour, batter, and/or coated before frying – that’s generally an overt gluten clue. What I’m talking about is foods that would otherwise not be considered to contain gluten, such as corn tortilla chips or potato fries, which are fried in oil that has been used to fry gluten-flour dredged/battered/coated foods.
Some restaurants claim their fries to be gluten free (as many fast food restaurants do) and some will say that the fries are gluten-free but that the oil is shared with gluten-containing foods. I think it is safe to assume that any restaurant fryer used for both gluten-containing foods and “gluten-free” foods, such that no fried restaurant food is truly “safe” for a gluten-intolerant unless the restaurant can confirm they use a dedicated gluten-free fryer.
Guess the boys and I will stick to our occasional indulgence in the fries from In-N-Out. But I’ll continue to bring our own bun-free burgers and fermented organic catsup. Now, if only they’d start using organic potatoes and expeller-pressed oil. . .
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