Making own seitan. Does vital wheat gluten make you sick?

Mr. Zamboni · Dec 11th, 2011, 10:14 PM

I made some Seitan yesterday. Ate a couple of seitan sandwiches. this morning I woke up with a headache and sort of nauseous. I made my own because it was cheaper than spending $3.70 on a little bit at the health food store. The store bought Seitan never made me sick. There is a chance it isn't the Seitan and just allergies to dust or the changing weather outside. Anyone who generally doesn't have a problem with wheat or gluten make seitan with Vital Wheat Gluten and feel rather crummy the next day?

**Maître** · Dec 12th, 2011, 11:58 AM

Maybe it was just due to eating too much protein in general? People who take protein powders etc often complain about headache and nausea, 100g of Vital Wheat Gluten is around 80g of protein remember - the store bought seitan tends to be far less concentrated and will have many other ingredients.

**twinkle** · Dec 12th, 2011, 01:48 PM

Could it just be that you've got a virus? Lot of sickness going round this time of year, I'd think it's just co-incidence unless it happens again next time you eat it.

I don't have a problem with wheat or seitan, and have recently been making my own with vital wheat gluten as it's much cheaper, as you say. Haven't noticed any ill health at all from it. Hope that helps and hope you feel better soon

**Maître** · Dec 12th, 2011, 02:19 PM

twinkle

Could it just be that you've got a virus? Lot of sickness going round this time of year, I'd think it's just co-incidence unless it happens again next time you eat it.

I don't have a problem with wheat or seitan, and have recently been making my own with vital wheat gluten as it's much cheaper, as you say. Haven't noticed any ill health at all from it. Hope that helps and hope you feel better soon

Sorry for off topic, but I see you're in the UK, where do you get it from? H&B employees had no clue what I was talking about when I asked...

**twinkle** · Dec 12th, 2011, 06:01 PM

Had to mail order. The only times I've seen it while out shopping have been in independent health food shops where it's been rather pricey.

**Mymblesdaughter** · Dec 13th, 2011, 10:56 AM

My local health food shop orders it for me they charge I think £3.50 for a Kg which I think is pretty reasonable. You could try your local health food shop they will usually order things for you.

Mr Zamboni, it's never made me feel sick either, what did you flavour it with? I sometimes find things like yeast extract give me stomach ache.

**CoolCat** · Dec 13th, 2011, 11:44 AM

Maître

Sorry for off topic, but I see you're in the UK, where do you get it from? H&B employees had no clue what I was talking about when I asked...

If you have a flour mill nearby (the industrial kind, not the windmill-now-tourist-attraction kind) you might be able to buy gluten from them. They use gluten to improve the quality of the flour. So the question is if they are willing to sell a few kilo to you in bulk. Google or yellow pages should be able to tell you who and where they are.

Mr. Zamboni · Dec 14th, 2011, 09:42 AM

I did eat quite a bit of it. Like two fairly large sandwiches. I might give it another shot. I had a wheat allergy when I was younger. It may be that I just ate to much of it at once. I really doubt it was due to sickness. I don't really get sick very often and I know what I feel like when I get sick (from flu/cold etc).I seasoned it with sage, marjoram, garlic powder, onion powder, soy sauce and molasses. I'll probably just give it another shot. See if I get sick again.