Gluten and casein are two proteins typically found in wheat, barley and rye (gluten) and milk (casein). Eating a gluten- and casein-free diet may help avoid a number of physical and emotional symptoms linked to these two proteins; this means avoiding all foods with wheat, barley, rye and dairy ingredients. If you're particularly sensitive to gluten and casein, you should also avoid any foods processed on the same equipment or stored in the same facility as barley, wheat, rye or dairy products--a precaution to avoid exposure to cross-contaminated foods.
Grain
Those on a gluten-free diet can still enjoy a wide variety of gluten-free grains. These include corn, rice of all types, quinoa, amaranth, kasha, flaxseed, millet, sorghum, sesame and tef (sometimes spelled teff). These grains are put to work in a variety of ways--dried and ground into flour to serve as wheat, barley or rye flour substitutes, cooked whole, pressed into oil or separated into hulls and bran, which are then used as food ingredients.
Breads and other finished foods made with these gluten-free foods may or may not be casein-free; you must carefully check the label or ask the maker if dairy products were used as an ingredient.
Nuts
Wheat flour is a ubiquitous ingredient in everyday Western foods. To make up for the lack of wheat flour in a gluten-free diet, you may encounter a variety of nuts that are ground into flour to add flavor, fiber and sometimes protein to gluten-free foods. These include acorns, almonds, walnuts, Brazil nuts, pecans, cashews, pistachios and chestnuts. Of course these nuts can be eaten whole or mixed with other gluten-free foods, such as dried fruit, as well.
Nuts are also used to make "milk"--nut juice, in essence. Almond milk and rice milk are both common products, very close in semblance to cow's milk, that can be used as a casein-free substitute in baking, over hot cereal or as a beverage on their own.
Other Flours
Legumes are gluten-free; lentils and all types of beans are used whole or dried and ground into flour in gluten-free cooking. Other unusual foods that may be ground into flour for use in gluten-free foods--if not used whole--are coconut, potato and sweet potato, taro, arrowroot, sago, sunflower seeds, tapioca and water chestnut.
Again, knowing that these flours have been used to create a finished food isn't enough to assure that the food is casein-free; you must check to make sure no milk or other dairy products were used.
Fruits and Vegetables
All fruits and vegetables are both gluten- and casein-free and are often mixed with the foods listed above. As always, you must check every ingredients on the label, looking for wheat, barley, rye and milk or dairy products, to be sure that a food is completely gluten- and casein-free; the presence of a few "safe" ingredients, such as fruits or vegetables, is no guarantee that the other ingredients are safe as well. Cream, for example--which contains casein--is a common ingredient in some vegetable soups.
References
- Celiac Sprue Association
- Book: Prescription for Dietary Wellness; by Phyllis a Balch, CNC; 2003.
