You order the hamburger with a gluten-free bun, making sure to emphasize that the bun must be gluten-free.
The waiter reassures you that they handle these types of requests all the time.
The bussers bring out the food.
Your burger looks delicious.
The cole slaw that you ordered instead of the fries, because the fryer is not dedicated to gluten-free foods, looks scrumptious.
You bring the burger up to your mouth.
Just as you chomp down, you notice out of the corner of your eye that your friend’s non-gluten-free burger has the exact same bun as your burger.
As you complete your bite you see your waiter running toward you waving frantically……
The bun is a regular gluten bun!
Aaaaigh!!!!!
What do you do?
This exact scenario happened to me. (My waiter didn’t come running but he did apologize profusely.)
I’m going to give you two options depending on whether you swallowed or not.
And no. Saying “oh well” and enjoying the yummy burger with the gluten bun is not one of the options.
OPTION 1: IF YOU DID NOT SWALLOW
Do not swallow!
Spit the bite into your napkin. If they didn’t provide napkins, spit it on the plate, floor or wherever, so long as you get it out of your mouth. This is not the time to worry about etiquette. Get that gluten out!
Immediately walk to the restroom. Bring your water glass.
In the bathroom, rinse your mouth several times, swishing the water between your teeth. Do this until your mouth is completely clean.
Gargle with the water to make sure no particles are on the back of your tongue. Spit it out.
Do the following step as soon as possible.
Get Alka Seltzer Gold. Drop two tablets into a glass of water and drink it, rinsing out your mouth with the concoction before you swallow. (Buy a box today and keep a pack with you.)
If you cannot get access to Alka Selzter Gold…
Put ½ tsp of baking soda in 6 oz of water.
Rinse your mouth, swishing between your teeth.
Swallow the rest of the glass of baking soda water.
Alka Selzter Gold contains baking soda. Baking soda is alkaline. It inhibits protein digestion. It also dampens immune reaction.
If you have a true allergy to gluten, immediately take a Benadryl and call your doctor depending on the severity of the allergy.
OPTION 2: IF YOU SWALLOWED. (GASP!)
Spit whatever you have in your mouth into your napkin.
Immediately walk to the restroom. Bring your water glass.
This part sucks, but if you can do it, you’ll avoid pain and suffering.
Make yourself throw up.
I know it sounds extreme, but it is way better than the alternative.
I’ve been in two situations, one where I barfed it out, one where I didn’t.
(Yakking into the bushes at a family picnic wasn’t any fun, but it was way better than feeling absolutely awful for over a week while on vacation.)
In the bathroom, rinse your mouth several times, swishing the water between your teeth. Do this until your mouth is completely clean.
Gargle with the water to make sure no particles are on the back of your tongue. Spit it out.
Do the following step as soon as possible.
Get Alka Seltzer Gold. Drop two tablets into a glass of water and drink it, rinsing out your mouth with the concoction before you swallow. (Buy a box today and keep a pack with you.)
If you cannot get access to Alka Selzter Gold…
Put ½ tsp of baking soda in 6 oz of water.
Rinse your mouth, swishing between your teeth.
Swallow the rest of the glass of baking soda water.
Repeat the Alka Seltzer Gold or baking soda remedies three times a day for the next 3 to 5 days depending on symptoms.
I found if I stop on the second day, my symptoms rear up again.
OTHER REMEDIES
Take a gluten-digesting enzyme. These enzymes help to completely break down the protein structure. It is the partially digested gluten that triggers an immune reaction.
Take a multivitamin/multimineral. You will most likely suffer some degree of malabsorption over the next week or two, so you want to replenish.
Activated charcoal is another remedy that may help when taken as soon as you ingest the gluten. Activated charcoal is taken as a pill. It binds to whatever you have eaten and carries it out of the body.
HYDRATE. Drink. Drink. Drink. Staying hydrate is critical, especially if you are suffering from gastrointestinal symptoms, like diarrhea. Hydration is important for every system in your body, especially if the gluten has triggered an immune reaction.
Be careful when exercising. I find I am most likely to suffer an injury immediately after being cross contaminated.
I hope this helps you avoid pain and suffering if you ever find yourself in this situation. (Hopefully, you won’t!)
What do you do when you get glutened? Leave a comment below!
Then, check out our Gluten Free Works Treatment Guide. It has everything you need to understand and fix your ongoing symptoms, identify deficiencies and be the healthiest you.
This video uses the Gluten Free Works Treatment Guide to show you how knowing the causes of health issues is as important and how to correct them.
We look at chronic dry and and explore it’s causes – which tells us how to fix and prevent it! In this case, the cause also can fix a multitude of other problems.
Gluten Free Works co-founders, John Libonati and Cleo J. Libonati, RN, BSN published the groundbreaking medical reference, Recognizing Celiac Disease, in 2007.
Endorsed by physicians and professors at Harvard, Columbia, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, Jefferson Medical College and other esteemed medical institutions, Recognizing Celiac Disease was the first book to gather medical research from around the world and present over 300 signs and symptoms of celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.
Today, that work has been converted into the Gluten Free Works Treatment Guide, a one-of-a-kind self-help resource for the newly diagnosed and people who are gluten-free, but still suffering symptoms.
John and Cleo discuss how the Gluten Free Works Treatment Guide grew out of Recognizing Celiac Disease and their experience lecturing to support groups and medical organizations across the United States.
Medications are supposed to make us healthy, right?
Well, medications are chemicals. Chemicals affect our bodies.
While a medication may improve one issue, it may be exacerbating or even causing other symptoms or problems that you thought were completely unrelated.
This can happen by interfering with absorption or causing depletion of our stores of certain nutrients.
Since different medications use different nutrients, the effect is different per medication.
Here is a frequently experienced scenario.
A medication is prescribed to treat a symptom.
That symptom improves, but another symptom develops due to the medication.
They call this a side effect. Now, that symptom requires a medication.
All too often, people find themselves on multiple medications to try to balance out all the problems caused by each medication.
Cleo Libonati, RN, BSN explains in two minutes how getting to the cause quickly, and looking at the entire health picture, are crucial to getting well.
“Get Well, Look Good and Stay Healthy Living Gluten Free”
We started using this tagline in 2005 when we first published Glutenfreeworks.com.
Optimizing your health has always been our primary goal and we have helped millions of people do just that.
With the Covid-19 pandemic afflicting the world, it is more important than ever to maximize your health and get to the root cause of any ongoing health issues.
The Gluten Free Works Treatment Guide website is a self-treatment resource that will empower you with the information and tools you need to recover and optimize your own health and well-being as well as work with your healthcare providers to improve your treatment.
Health conditions can persist or develop even after going gluten-free.
It is time to stop managing health conditions and fix them.
While standard medical treatment uses medications, procedures or surgeries to manage health problems, the Treatment Guide goes beyond treating symptoms to identify and fix the root cause.
This cause may be something as simple as a nutrient deficiency, a trigger that is causing inflammation, or a medication for one issue that is exacerbating another.
With the purpose of helping you achieve the best health you can, right now, we are offering you a subscription to the Gluten Free Works Treatment Guide for just $20.
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The mineral zinc is classified as an essential nutrient due to the vital functions it performs in our bodies. It is found in almost every cell of the body with highest concentrations in the liver, pancreas, kidney, bone, and muscle. High concentrations occur in the brain, middle ear, eye, prostate gland, sperm, skin, hair, and nails. This micronutrient is essential for the activity of approximately 100 enzymes. Enzymes promote biochemical reactions in the body. Read More »