Food allergies can be life-threatening, and no cure is currently available. Individuals with serious allergies must avoid trigger foods and carry emergency medications to treat a reaction if they unknowingly ingest a trigger food. Unfortunately, gluten is a hidden ingredient in many foods. People with gluten allergies must be vigilant, especially when eating in restaurants, to avoid foods and other products such as medications and cosmetics that contain the trigger ingredient.
Gluten Intolerance
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. Individuals with gluten intolerance, also called celiac disease, have a severe immune response to gluten. The immune system responds to gluten by destroying the villi that line the small intestine and absorb nutrients from food. People with untreated celiac disease who eat gluten can become malnourished even if they eat plenty of food. A gluten-free diet is the only treatment for celiac disease, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse.
Common Sources of Gluten
Breads, pastas and cereals are the most obvious sources of gluten, but many processed foods contain it as well. Gluten-intolerant individuals should be aware of common sources of gluten in processed foods, such as modified food starch, hydrolyzed wheat protein, and even soy sauce. Some non-food items also contain gluten, such as prescription and over-the-counter medications, cosmetics such as lipstick, and play dough. If you are not sure if your medication contains gluten, ask your pharmacist.
Vanilla and Vanilla Extract
Vanilla is a long, dark brown pod containing thousands of seeds. The whole vanilla bean or the seeds can be cooked with liquids to impart a strong vanilla flavor. Most home cooks and commercially produced foods are flavored with vanilla extract, which is made by steeping vanilla beans in distilled grain alcohol. Theoretically, if the alcohol used was made from wheat, rye, or barley it could contain gluten, but in practice the distillation process removes all gluten proteins from the finished alcohol.
FDA Definition of Gluten-Free
According to proposed U.S. Food and Drug Administration food allergen labeling requirements, any food that contains less than 20 parts per million of gluten can be labeled gluten-free. This is the smallest amount that can be reliably detected by current analytical models. Many foods, including vanilla, are naturally gluten-free. Some brands advertise this fact on the label, while others do not. However, all natural vanilla and most brands of vanilla extract are safe for those with gluten intolerance. If you are concerned about the possibility of gluten in the alcohol used to extract vanilla flavor, choose a brand that is explicitly gluten free, or make homemade vanilla extract.
