Honey-Nut Chex

draperygoddess · Post by **draperygoddess** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 9:26 pm

I have been trying to figure this out for ages now: there is something in Honey-Nut Chex that gives me a bellyache, but I don't know what it is. Not gluten--aside from the fact that they're GF, that's not my typical gluten reaction. Corn in other forms doesn't bother me. Any ideas?

Post by **tex** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 10:32 pm

I love Honey-Nut Chex for a quick snack, and it doesn't seem to bother me. It's great with Silk Almond Milk.

Early on, though, when Rice Chex and Corn Chex were first reformulated to be GF, they both caused bloating problems for me, (and many celiacs, according to the comments all over the celiac websites). The general consensus of opinion is that General Mills didn't quite have their ducks in a row then they initially developed the GF versions, and cross-contamination may have been a problem.

IOW, it's possible that you just got a "bad" batch. I haven't checked to see if anyone is still having trouble with more recent versions of Rice Chex and Corn Chex, but they don't seem to bother me, any more.

I couldn't handle more than trace amounts of sugar while I was recovering, nor could I handle honey, molasses, etc. The only sugar I could tolerate in significant quantities was maple. Maybe it's the molasses, or the honey, or the brown sugar syrup, or the BHT.

Tex

draperygoddess · Post by **draperygoddess** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 4:26 pm

Hmm...I'll have to puzzle on this one for awhile. Thinking of getting some plain Corn Chex and seeing if I handle them better.

Gabby · Post by **Gabby** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 4:35 pm

Corn in ANY form bothers me. I ate some Schars pasta without reading the label first and later found out it was corn based. Won't make that mistake again.

I prefer the plain rice Chex. The cinnamon rice Chex are good too, but a bit too sweet for me.

Gabby

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:29 pm

Do they have any rice in them? Could it be rice?

Gabby · Post by **Gabby** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 9:54 pm

The Honey Nut Chex are made with corn:

http://www.chex.com/products/products.aspx

Now I'm craving Chex Mix...

Gabby

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 10:30 pm

I can't have corn OR rice. I wish I could! But I can have oats!

Zizzle · Post by **Zizzle** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 9:27 am

I do better with rice chex and cinnamon chex (rice based, and my all-time favorite cereal). I still buy honey nut, but the kids eat most of it. I'm trying not to OD on corn products, as I have way too many corn chips as it is. Do Organikids Panda Puffs bother you? They are corn too.

draperygoddess · Post by **draperygoddess** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 1:56 pm

I am still trying to figure this one out. I have yet to find a corn chip, GF or not, that likes me--everything seems to give me a bellyache, though not any other symptoms. This morning I didn't have Chex, but I did have a GF creamer with corn syrup in it, and I was fine. Bottom line, I don't know whether I'm reacting to corn or not, because some forms seem to bother me and others don't. Does that make any sense at all?

I am also avoiding peanut butter for the moment--maybe it's the whole legume/soy thing, but my peanut butter cookies, though yummy, make my tummy hurt. Figuring out gluten, dairy and potatoes was easy: unmistakable symptoms. This is more subtle, and I can't seem to put my finger on the culprit. Corn? Nuts? Legumes? Who knows??

Gabby--I've noticed that the Schar's bread doesn't agree with me, either, but I wasn't sure why. Thought it might be the potato starch, but others have said they can eat potato starch, even if they can't have potatoes.
Marliss--rice doesn't seem to be a problem for me. I eat large quantities of it these days (my go-to replacement meal is chicken stir-fry with rice), and rice pasta is fine.
Lesley--I'm scared to death of oats! I know some people react to the avenin, and I don't want to find out I'm one of them.

I'm not much of an oatmeal eater, anyway, and since i can eat rice, I haven't had to find another grain substitute. Considering all the things you're unable to eat, I'm glad you can have oats, at least!

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 3:47 pm

Considering all the things you're unable to eat, I'm glad you can have oats, at least!

Thanks, me too!

However, rice is a better food given it's versatility. Rice flour is in everything. Rice goes with more dishes. Rice syrup is also a great sweetener and works well in baking, as does the flour.
Oats are more difficult to work with as a food for anything other than breakfast, or eating granola as a snack. Oat flour is heavy and hard to bake with unless you can mix it with rice flour.

Still, I can have it, so I must not complain. Lots of restaurants offer it for breakfast, but it's not gluten free, so I still have nothing to eat when I go out with Adam for breakfast.

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:09 pm

I challenged peanuts a few days after successfully eating peas, thinking that I was doing so well that perhaps I could start adding legumes (except for soy) back into my diet. Who knew that three more letters could cause such problems? It was a very bad idea.

draperygoddess · Post by **draperygoddess** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 9:47 pm

Hmm...I don't have a problem with peas (I put sugar snaps in my stir-fry), but then I have a subtle reaction to soy, if any (if I have a lot of it, it makes my stomach hurt, but small amounts don't seem to bother me). Marliss, you're really reactive to soy, aren't you?

No corn except for corn syrup today, and no peanuts...stir-fry again for dinner! Tomorrow I'm breaking out the pork chops and sweet potatoes!

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Thu Jan 05, 2012 8:53 pm

Cynthia I have been able to eat corn with no problems, but like you the GF Che cereals do not sit well, especially the honey nut Chex. They have not caused any D, but do seem to bother my stomach.

Joe

Zizzle · Post by **Zizzle** » Fri Jan 06, 2012 9:05 am

Schar breads don't agree with me at all either, and I've always attributed it to corn starch. Any breads made with heavy doses of corn or tapioca starch don't sit well with me (i.e. Rudi's), yet I do fine with other corn products. I stick to rice flour-based products whenever possible. When I was a teen, I worked at a health foods store, and for some reason, the "nutrition experts" there warned of the many dangers of corn starch -- something about the molecules being so small they readily cross over into your bloodstream. Could be a myth, but I try to limit my corn starch consumption to the teaspoon I occasionally add to stir-fry sauces for thickening.

Incidentally, Schar breads also have several unnatural ingredients that may cause trouble. Here's the ingredients of their basic GF bread. Other models also contain soy, so label reading is essential.

water, maize starch (corn starch), rice flour, sunflower oil, sugar, thickener: guar gum, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose; lupine protein, yeast, salt, apple fibre, flavour, emulsifier: mono- and diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids. LACTOSE-FREE.

draperygoddess · Post by **draperygoddess** » Fri Jan 06, 2012 12:30 pm

Zizzle,

Thanks for the post--to be on the safe side, I have decided to take a break from the Chex, and I'm watching for a reaction to other corn products. I can't find the Schar here anymore, so that's not really an option anyway (though I have to say, I thought theirs had a really good consistency!).

I had some broccoli with dinner last night and had the same belly pain I've been experiencing with the corn. I'm beginning to wonder if it isn't a true reaction so much as too much hard-to-digest food too soon. It's hard to remember that, though I'm not running to the bathroom and I feel great most of the time, that doesn't necessarily mean the damage is healed! I guess I need to take it more slowly and try again in a few months.