Mini Wheats And Intolerance | Allergy

Mini Wheats And Intolerance

by Allergy Guy

I recently noticed that a surprising number of people have found this site by googling “mini wheats and intolerance“. Actually, almost any number is surprising, given that before this article was written, this website ranked at 51 in Google for that particular search term. That is a lot of websites to explore, none of which provide an answer.

So I guess I owe it to those of you who are searching to write an article specific to this subject. No one should have to sift through that many search results to get an answer to this question!

Here are a few facts about Mini Wheats:

  • They contain wheat
  • They are usually consumed with milk
  • They are highly processed

Lets take a look at these one by one.

Wheat can be hard to digest, and more and more people are discovering they have an allergy to wheat. Since wheat is pervasive in the Western diet (let’s assume that most eaters of Mini Wheats live in Western countries), it is unlikely that you would only suffer allergy symptoms due to wheat when eating Mini Wheats, but not bread, cake, soup, and just about most of what you probably eat. Unless you make a big effort to avoid wheat and gluten, you will be eating plenty of wheat.

I’ll assume anything as specific as an intolerance to Mini Wheats is not caused by wheat.

But now I am going to contradict myself and say that maybe, if you are allergic to wheat, your breakfast pushes you over the edge for various reasons. This is quite possible. It is also possible that you notice your wheat allergy symptoms more in the morning than any other time. So we won’t rule out a wheat allergy just yet after all. Let’s just say that it is less likely.

Milk is another common problem for a great many people. While some people have a milk allergy, a milk intolerance (inability to digest lactose is far more common. And it is common. Milk is also pretty pervasive in the Western diet, but not nearly so much as wheat. So it could be that your intake of milk is far more when you eat your Mini Wheats than at any other time. Ask yourself this: do you drink milk at other times, or have milk with other types of cerial, and have similar types of problems? If so, suspect milk. If not, milk is unlikely to be the problem.

Highly Processed Food is not healthy if consumed in large quantities. As processed food goes though, Mini Wheats is probably less processed than many other foods. I hope you will cut down on processed foods for general health reasons. Unless Mini Wheats is the only highly processed food you eat (unlikely), this is probably not the root cause of an intolerance to Mini Wheats.

Conclusion

An intolerance to Mini Wheats could be caused by a number of things, or combination of things. It could be due to a wheat allergy. Check out this Gluten Allergy information product for more information about how to avoid gluten. By avoiding gluten you will also be avoiding wheat.

Milk is also highly suspect. Think about other sources of milk in your diet. Cut them all out for a few days and see if you feel better. Don’t be surprised if your gut feels much more comfortable, you pass much less gas, and other symptoms go away.

Feel free to leave comments if you find this helpful, or if you find that you want more elaboration. Feedback is appreciated.


 

Resources

Gluten Allergy information product

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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Bev December 24, 2017 at 05:36

I do not have a wheat allergy but I do have an allergy to hay. From time to time drinking root beer can set it off as manufacturers do not need to list hay on the packaging. I feel that the same must be here that hay is getting picked up with the wheat and not filtered out. I tried it for the first time this morning and am having an allergy attack right now.

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2 Allergy Guy February 9, 2018 at 20:39

Bev,

Hay isn’t a specific type of plant, but one of several types of semi-dried plants used to feed animals. Hay could be made up of various types of grasses, including sometimes wheat, or legumes (lentil/pea family). So probably you are allergic to certain types of hay, or just irritated by the type of dust you get from hey, or something like that.

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3 Mike September 29, 2017 at 15:48

I have been eating pumpkin spice Mini Wheats dry as a snack. I find that they cause me to have heartburn. can you tell me why?

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4 JoeJoeJoe March 14, 2016 at 15:40
5 Sarah October 16, 2013 at 21:20

I have got to say. There is something wrong with those mini wheats. My 5 year old developed a pretty intense rash over the course of a week. He has no known allergies and has been exposed to all kinds of food. We went to the doctor. He suggested Advil, Benadryl and prescribed a cream. None of these worked over the course of the week as I examined our household products , clothing, and food and found no changes since the rash started- other than we has bought our first ever box of mini wheats… He stopped eating them for 2 weeks and all traces of the rash disappeared. I decided to give the mini wheats a try again to see if there was a reaction and the itching and rash a started back that afternoon. I threw the mini wheats out, it has been one month and no rash. Very odd allergy but I was surprised to find a few forums online with parents who have experienced the same reaction

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6 Allergy Guy October 16, 2013 at 22:35

Interesting … thanks for sharing.
Surely it must be either one of the ingredients, or an unlisted ingredient used in processing. It might be worth noting the ingredietns so if he ever gets the same reaction from something else, you might narrow down the cause.

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7 Mary August 19, 2013 at 15:03

People who can eat wheat, eat strawberries and drink milk and have done so for all their lives do not have a reaction like this.

Lips tingling and burning, mouth and throat swelling, pain in the chest, difficult to breathe and impossible to talk within seconds of digesting strawberry mini wheats is quite dangerous. Rushed to the ER and given antihistamines. Still under the doctor’s care several weeks later with sore throat and lungs, and possibly the end to a singing career. Not nice.

I personally have had an allergic reaction after ingesting pizza and potato wedges. Narrowed it down to pyrophosphate – a food additive and metal cleaner that should be handled during processing wearing a respirator and protective clothing. I’m thinking this singer’s symptoms were the same as mine only 1000 times worse. I was uncomfortable for about a day and didn’t need medical care. However, this fellow is in a lot of distress.

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