Following a wheat-free or gluten-free diet can be a challenge but widespread labeling and new product availability make it easier to find safe foods to eat. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. Oats are often gluten-contaminated during processing. An allergy to gluten takes the form of celiac disease or gluten intolerance, which causes diarrhea, bloating, pain, fatigue, forgetfulness, irritability and sometimes undesirable weight loss. Eating the right foods won't cure the allergy but will eliminate the symptoms.
Grains And Foods to Avoid
Massachusetts General Hospital publishes lists of foods to eat and foods to avoid on a gluten-free diet. Wheat, barley, rye, and some oats are off the menu. But many processed foods contain gluten so it's important to examine every sauce, spice, sweetener and mixed dish. Soy sauce, potato chips, french fries, fake bacon, trail mix and energy bars commonly contain some wheat, barley or rye. Anything with semolina, durum flour or malt favoring should be avoided. Don't eat couscous, matzoh, teriyaki sauce or udon noodles. If you are allergic only to wheat, you can eat barley and rye but it is easier to hunt for gluten-free products.
What to Drink
Safe beverages begin with water but include coffee, Swiss-process decaffeinated coffee, teas, milk, most carbonated beverages, 100 percent fruit juices, hard cider, wine, gluten-free beers and drinks made with cocoa powder, such as hot chocolate made with water or milk.
Dairy And Animal Foods
Most animal foods are fine to eat. Those include fresh meats, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy. Cow's and goat's milk, buttermilk, evaporated milk, kefir, some yogurts, butter, some artificial creams, sour cream, aged cheeses like Swiss, cheddar and parmesan, cottage cheese and cream cheese are all acceptable.
Good Grains
Many grains are allowed on a gluten-free diet, so the trick is to get very good at discovering them and learn new ways to use them in meal planning and recipes. Good grains and starches are tapioca, corn, rice, soy, buckwheat, quinoa, arrowroot, millet, sorghum, flax, wild rice, corn meal, grits, hominy, potato flour and corn starch. Oats have no gluten but are often contaminated so a verifiable source of pure oats is important. Generally you can include ½ oz. of oats per day on the diet. Those on a wheat-free only diet can add barley and rye.
Fruits And Vegetables
Fresh, canned and frozen pure fruits, fruit juices, fruit drinks and vegetables should be part of a healthy gluten-free diet. Edamame, tofu, beans and nuts should be fine. So should pure jams and jellies. Vegetable bouillons may be safe but check ingredient labels. The danger is that cross-contamination or additives to prepared foods and sauces leave small amounts of gluten in food. So it is essential to be vigilant about any fruits and vegetables that are processed. Read labels, ask in restaurants. Skip a serving that appears suspect.
Menus And Labels
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires that wheat be listed as an ingredient on food labels of products that contain it. You can find wheat listed in an allergy statement just below the ingredients or next to a food that contains it. Manufacturers are not required to list the possibility of slight cross-contamination in the production of the food, but many do so voluntarily. There are FDA standards for labeling a food "gluten-free" but using that label is presently voluntary.Restaurants are now providing menus that state ingredients and highlight gluten-free dishes. Many put their menus online, which allows some advance research about what foods are safe to order. When there is a question, ask the waiter and, if there is any doubt, order something else.
