The term gluten refers to a group of plant proteins associated with a disorder known as celiac disease. If you have celiac disease, your body identifies gluten from wheat, barley and rye plants as a foreign body and launches an autoimmune response to destroy them. This attack damages your small intestine and can cause abdominal cramps, bloating, gas, loss of energy and more. Also, some people believe that gluten makes the symptoms of autism worse.
Grain Flours
Many gluten-free flours are manufactured from grains and specifically exclude wheat, rye or barley. If you're sensitive to gluten, you can safely eat flours made from amaranth, brown or red rice, buckwheat, millet, quinoa and tapioca. Read the label carefully to ensure no gluten has been added during the manufacturing process.
Nut and Vegetable Flours
Nut flours offer a flavorful, gluten-free alternative to traditional wheat flour. Choices include acorn, almond and peanut flours. Vegetable flours, including cornmeal, soy, potato, chickpea, garbanzo and other bean flours, are also safe for those on a gluten-free diet.
Mix Your Own
If you're used to the taste of wheat flour, it can be a challenge to adjust to the varying flavors of gluten-free flours. The Celiac Sprue Association (CSA) publishes a number of recipes for mixing your own gluten-free flour. For example, the four flour bean recipe combines 1 cup each of rice flour, corn starch and tapioca flour, along with 1 tbsp. of potato flour. You can also purchase commercial gluten-free flour blends.
Tips
The CSA publishes an extensive online listing of gluten-free grains and flours that uses three symbols to classify these products. A check mark identifies flours that are "consistent with a gluten-free diet at this point"; varieties denoted by a slash mark are "not consistent with a gluten-free diet at this time"; and those with a question mark are "questionable due to content, contact, or contamination." Once you've decided on the type of gluten-free flour you want to buy, look for it in the health food section of your local supermarket, at a health foods store or from one of the online gluten-free vendors listed on the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse website.
Warnings
While it's easy to identify common gluten-laden wheat flour as an ingredient in a product, there are other flours made from specific types of wheat you should be aware of. If you can't eat gluten, stay away from products made with flours called emmer, spelt, kamut, einkorn, durham, farina, semolina and triticale.
References
- National Foundation for Celiac Awareness: Getting Started: Celiac Disease & the Gluten-Free Diet
- Autism Speaks: Treating Autism
- The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center: Gluten-Free Diet
- MayoClinic.com; Gluten-Free Diet; January 29, 2010
- Celiac Sprue Association; Gluten-Free Flour Formulas; February 20, 2008
- Celiac Sprue Association; Gluten-Free Diet: Grains and Flours; January 29, 2010
