Emergency Guide to Accidental Gluten Exposure & Ingestion

This post contains affiliate links. Read the full disclosure here.

Have you been glutened, or are you afraid of being glutened? We’ve experienced accidental gluten exposure a time or two (or three) over the past decade and find the following guide to be extremely helpful in shortening the reaction and healing the gut!

*Please remember we are not doctors and this is simply a collection of things that have worked for us when we’ve experienced accidental gluten exposure. Please consult your doctor or medical professional before implementing any of part of this guide.

Whether you’re avoiding gluten because you have Celiac Disease (like me!), another autoimmune disease (like Anna!), a gluten sensitivity, or simply because you feel better without it, you probably already know it can be really difficult to never come into contact with it.

If you are extremely sensitive, where even a crumb of gluten can set things off, then this makes things even more difficult.

It seems the only way to avoid gluten completely is to make literally everything yourself, from scratch, and even THEN you may still run into issues… like when a product is labeled gluten-free but isn’t! (It’s happened to us before.)

If you do come in contact with gluten accidentally (or on purpose… I’ve done that, too, in moments of weakness), how long it takes to repair your gut depends on many factors. But, I found that following these steps can help minimize the damage and reduce the chance of a repeat offense.

4 Steps to Recover from Accidental Gluten Exposure

Step 1: Be Proactive

This step should technically be done before the accidental gluten exposure, but it’s a critical reminder! The best way to avoid gluten ingestion in the first place is to take all the necessary precautions in order to do so.

After many accidental “glutenings” of our own, Anna and I compiled a list of precautions to take to help you do this in our post: How to Avoid Accidental Gluten Exposure and Prevent Getting “Glutened”.

Along with taking these precautions, I also recommend assembling a toolkit that can help improve recovery time from accidental gluten exposure.

I always have the “tools” listed in the next steps (2 & 3) on hand and ready for emergency use, especially while traveling or eating out (which seems to be when gluten attacks are most common).

Preparation takes away the fear of unknowingly ingesting a gluten bomb, because you know you’ll be ready just in case it happens.

Step 2: Implement Gluten Exposure Containment Tools Immediately!

Once gluten has knowingly penetrated your defenses, it is time to institute the clean-up crew.

Fortunately, if you followed the precautions (link), you already used your digestive enzymes that contain DPP-IV (Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV) for annihilating gluten monsters. BUT, the enzymes only make the digestion quicker and don’t necessarily offset potential damage.

Speaking from personal experience and trial & error, I highly recommend considering the following tools for accidental gluten ingestion and using them as soon as you become aware you’ve been exposed.

I call these “short-term” containment tools because they can offer relief right away if you are experiencing symptoms.

Short-Term Containment Tools for Gluten Ingestion

• Water – Lots and lots of water. Water helps to flush your system and remove the gluten. Clean water is a must, as it reduces your exposure to other toxic and inflammatory materials during the healing process.
• Sleep – Sleep gives your body a chance to rest, which means it can focus on digesting and removing the gluten from your system. Plus, the liver and detoxification pathways are most active during sleep. A win-win!
• Activated Charcoal – the charcoal acts like a sponge to absorb toxins and reduce gas & bloating, so that the gluten particles don’t create more mayhem in your intestines. I usually take 1 capsule in the morning and 1 at night until I feel like I’ve recovered. I should note also that this is truly a short-term treatment, as charcoal can also absorb all the good stuff your body needs. So stop once you feel better.
• ION* (Intelligence of Nature Gut Support) – this supplement can be a miracle worker and is scientifically proven to strengthen tight junction barriers in the gut, which are degraded after ingesting gluten. We know people who had a long-term reaction from gluten exposure, and then started using this product and felt better within a day or two. We always have it on hand!
• Triple Therapy Probiotics – If you are not already taking probiotics as ongoing maintenance, then the best time to start is RIGHT NOW, especially after accidental gluten exposure. Over the years, Anna and I tried various probiotics. Some gave us absolutely no results, while others seemed to help a little bit… but once we discovered the Triple Therapy Probiotic approach from Dr. Ruscio, we finally felt a HUGE difference in our overall health (not just gut health).
  • The Triple Therapy Probiotic approach uses probiotics from the following three categories: Lactobacillus bacteria and Bifidobacterium, Saccharomyces boulardii (a type of beneficial fungus), and soil-based probiotics. We personally use and have success with the following probiotic products:
    1. For the Lactobacillus bacteria and Bifidobacterium probiotic, we use Seed, because it is the only one that has given us noticeable results almost immediately and we can feel the difference when we run out or skip a few days. (Use code HHR15 for 15% your first order if you want to give it a try, too. Since this is a subscription-based probiotic program, we find this to be one of the most affordable high-quality and effective probiotics on the market. We only take 1 capsule a day to make it even more affordable, and it is still very effective.)
    2. For the Saccharomyces boulardii probiotic, we use this one from Klaire Labs. It is expensive, but well worth it, especially when healing the gut. We’ve tried 3 other brands and always come back to this one because it works so well. We take 1 small scoop morning and night. It lasts for months using this dosage, especially if only one person is using it.
    3. For the soil-based probiotics, we use Amy Myers MD Primal Earth Probiotic.
  • You can also buy pre-made Triple Therapy Probiotic packets from Dr. Ruscio’s store, but we haven’t tried them.

The activated charcoal, probiotics, ION*, and water combine to make a super team of gluten fighting/removing agents and help get your gut back in fighting shape. Sleeping allows the team a stress-free period to do their work.

Step 3: Support Your Gut and Reduce Inflammation

Long Term Containment Tools for Gluten Ingestion

Through Steps 1 and 2, you have adequately contained the spill. However, if you have any type of gluten sensitivity or allergy, gluten will assuredly trigger some level of inflammation just from entering your system.

In response, I find taking the following actions over the next week to month or longer (depending on your unique situation) to be very helpful in giving the body and gut adequate time to heal.

Reduce Inflammation:

Use a combination of an anti-inflammatory diet, select supplements, and rest.

• Go farther than just gluten-free and follow a more anti-inflammatory diet to give the gut a break from common inflammatory foods while it heals. Dairy, beans, alcohol, some grains, and some vegetables, may cause your reaction to worsen, or slow your healing progress. I suggest something like the Paleo diet, Autoimmune Paleo/Protocol (AIP) Diet, the GAPS diet, but there are plenty of options so check out this post by Chris Kresser for more ideas. In our family, we tend to stick to more of the AIP or Paleo diet after accidentally glutening.
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids – Loading up on anti-inflammatory Omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce inflammation. Chia seeds, flax seeds, and fish oils are some of the best sources. I am very sensitive to both chia and flax seeds, so I tend to go for the fish Oil. Please understand that the popularity of fish oil has made it very easy to buy oxidized or lesser quality oils. These cheaper oils can actually do the opposite of what they are intended, so it is very important to buy one of high quality. I aim for about 2 grams of Omega-3s a day.
• Turmeric – You can use fresh turmeric root if you want, or you can opt for the supplement version (your choice). Turmeric contains a compound called curcumin which is a proven anti-inflammatory that can help cool down your inflamed immune system. This is especially helpful for any pain associated with your accidental glutening symptoms. I like Theracurmin HP and take 2 capsules daily for up to 30 days after gluten exposure.

Support Your Gut:

An anti-inflammatory diet will definitely support your gut, as will probiotics, but there are some other things you can do to make sure your gut is supported to the max!

• Leaky Gut Revive – pretty self-explanatory due to the name. This supplement helps to repair the gut and can soothe residual pain and discomfort. There is no one we know (as of yet) that hasn’t had noticeable relief from this powder. It was pivotal in Anna’s H. Pylori Healing Protocol.
• Continue Triple Therapy Probiotics (you may find these so beneficial that you continue them for long-term) and ION* Gut Support from Step 2.
• Collagen + Gelatin – These two substances can help improve and repair the intestines. Collagen can easily be added to protein shakes, smoothies, etc. and gelatin can be used for a bunch of different things, like homemade (and MUCH healthier) Jello! You can also consume lots of bone broth to get both of these at once if you do not want to supplement.
• Eat warming and healing foods to make digestion easy, and to help your gut absorb nutrients with little effort. The goal is to let your intestines rest during this stressful time.

If you add it all up, yes… it’s expensive, but you don’t have to get it all! This is just for MAXIMUM support.

All we want to do is tighten things back up after the gluten has made its mark, and hopefully repair any damage that may have occurred.

Step 4: Close the Loop

No matter how well Step 1 goes, and even if the incident is contained using Steps 2 and 3, Step 4 is a MUST.

If you were glutened, you need to figure out when and where it happened. Once you have figured this out, do the following:

• In the nicest, most professional way, please let the glutener (person(s) or place that glutened you) know that you were glutened by them. This isn’t intended to cause trouble, but instead to educate them and let them know their process needs improvement. If the answer is for you to not eat food from that venue any longer, then so be it! Your health is more important.
• If you suspect the accidental glutening didn’t come from a person or place, but rather a packaged food item, be sure to make a note of the item and then throw it away so you do not have a repeat offense.
• Write down the lessons learned. If you implemented any of this guide, what worked for you? What could work better? What would help you to avoid gluten in a similar situation next time? Brainstorm the actions that you can control, so that you can FEEL better and be more prepared next time.

As frustrating as it is to be accidentally glutened and suffer the consequences despite your efforts to avoid it, there are lessons to be learned in every scenario to help avoid gluten in the future.

Be patient and give yourself some grace, especially if you are new to avoiding gluten, and take comfort in knowing you always have tools to help you heal up quick and get back to feeling better!

Quick Summary of Emergency Guide to Accidental Gluten Exposure & Gluten Ingestion

• Step 1: Be Proactive: read How to Avoid Accidental Gluten Exposure and Prevent Getting “Glutened”
• Step 2: Implement Gluten Exposure Containment Tools Immediately
  • Water
  • Sleep
  • Activated Charcoal
  • ION* Gut Support
  • Triple Therapy Probiotics
    1. Seed Probiotics (use code HHR15 for 15% off your first order)
    2. Saccharomyces boulardii
    3. Amy Myers Primal Earth Probiotic
• Step 3: Support Your Gut and Reduce Inflammation
  • Reduce Inflammation
    • Anti-inflammatory diet
    • Omega-3 Fatty Acids
    • Turmeric/Curcumin
  • Support Your Gut
    • Leaky Gut Revive
    • Continue Triple Therapy Probiotics and ION* Gut Support
    • Collagen + Gelatin
    • Warming and healing foods that are easy to digest
• Step 4: Close the Loop

LIKE THIS POST? SHARE IT AND SAVE IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!