Malt in Cereals

Here is a list of Cereals that are not OK as far as Malt sensitivity goes.  They contain Malt, Malted Barley, Malt Extract or Malt Flavoring...(remember I am not a doctor or scientist, just a Mom who has done a lot of research!!)

Malt-O-Meal Brand
Crispy Rice
Frosted Flakes
Chocolate Frosted Flakes
Honey and Oat Blenders
Raisin Bran

Hot Malt-O-meal
Original
Chocolate
Maple N Brown Sugar

Post Brands
Grape Nuts
Grape Nut Flakes
Honey Bunches of Oats
Bran Flakes
Raisin Bran
Apple Caramel Pecan Crunch
Cranberry Almond Crunch
Blueberry Morning
Great Grains Crunchy Pecan
Great Grains Raisins, Dates & Pecans
Great Grains Banana Nut Crunch
Trail Mix Crunch

Kellogg's Brand
All Bran Complete Wheat Flakes
All Bran Original
All Bran Strawberry Medly
All Bran Yogurt Bites
Cocoa Krispies
Cocoa Krispies Cereal Straws
Frosted Krispies
Rice Krispies
Rice Krispies Treats Cereal
Cracklin Oat Bran
Crispix
Raisin Bran Crunch
Frosted Flakes
Frosted Flakes Gold
Frosted Flakes Reduced Sugar
Low Fat Granola with Raisins
Low Fat Granola without Raisins
Mueslix
Product 19
Raisin Bran
Raisin Bran Extra
All Smart Start Cereals
All Special K Cereals
Corn Flakes
Corn Flakes Touch of Honey

Quaker Brand
Oatmeal Squares
Quaker Natural Granola


Boy!!  Kind of Overwhelming when you think about it, you may look at that list and think...is there anything I can eat that does not have Malt in it??  Next Post I will be listing Cereals and other snacks that I find are fine for my son.

Looking for Information on Malt Sensitivity?

I found my son to have a food sensitivity to Malt and it has changed our lives!!

My son is 3 years old. Until he was just over 2, he never and I really do mean never had a formed stool and had lots of diahrea. I had spoken with his doctor about it, but he said children are all different and there is no "normal". Don't get me wrong, his doctor is my doctor and typically we have a great relationship. However, this was something I did not agree with him on. He did do a test for celiac on my request, but this turned up nothing (thank goodness!!). My Dad and my son's Dad both are lactose intolerant, so I tried replacing everything with soy, goat, rice milks, etc. This did not seam to have any effect. I even cut out some things that I thought might have trace amounts that he would eat on rare occasions. Nothing!!

After much research online and everything pointing to wheat or dairy problems (which we had already figured out were NOT the problem), I decided to do a food sensitivity test on my son. WOW!! This was wonderful. Now I had something to start with. When you get a food sensitivity test, they list things as different categories. Basically foods that don't cause a problem, might cause a problem so watch out for problems, foods to avoid, and foods to really avoid. (This obviously is not the way they are listed, but kind of a good way to look at it.)

The one item that was on the definitely avoid list was Oysters. Well, I thought, not a problem. I never eat them anyway. (Interestingly enough, all other shellfish is fine, no problems.) However, when doing additional research by looking through my cupboards, low and behold, I find oyster sauce. Well--one of my friends got to add that to their cupboard!!

Next comes the "foods to avoid". This is the list that has caused the problems, but also contained the solution to our bowel problems!! The first thing listed, was Mushrooms. Now, typically for a 2 year old, that should not be an issue. However, I love mushrooms and put them in everything including scrambled eggs!! (mmmmm....eggs, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, ham and cheese.....sooooo yummy!!) Also, since my son was about a year old, he would eat what I ate, and I discovered he loved mushrooms as well. Whenever he saw them in a dish, he would pick them out and eat them first!! So I decided that we needed to stop putting the mushrooms in things since he liked them so much. But, the big item was Malt. Huh??? Yes, I said Malt. Now, try doing a little searching on the internet for Malt sensitivity, how to avoid Malt, etc and you will find results like "did you mean SALT?", celiac info, etc. How was it possible that there is not ANY information on this? So, I decided after much learning that I would start this blog as a source of information for people on Malt sensitivities.

Once we took the Malt out of my son's diet, we started getting "normal" bowel movements. If he accidentally got something with malt in it, the diarhea returned. For example...one day, we stopped at Wendy's and got a Frosty for desert. I used to LOVE them when I was a kid and since Brennan had never had them and LOVES chocolate, I thought I would get one for him. Boy...were we in for a treat! Actually, I didn't realize until we were driving down the road with my friend, Brennan in his car seat and me in the passenger seat totally enjoying our treats that a light bulb in my head turned on! Oh sh*t! This has Malt in it!! It had been so long since I had one that I completely forgot. Well, I couldn't exactly just take this wonderful chocolate ice cream treat away from a 2 1/2 year old, so I figured we would just live with it, but avoid it in the future.

There are so many items out there that have Malt in them. I will be posting list of OK foods/Foods to Avoid at different restaurants as well as other lists (cereals, breads, etc.). If you would like me to research a specific category or restaurant menu, let me know and I can see what I can find. Believe me, reading ingredient lists is something I have become a pro at and it takes me very little time to find the malt in items now!!

If this is something that you are dealing with, please let me know. I have had a very difficult time finding information, so I am doing all of the research on my own.

Stacey