Healthy Food Choices: Gluten-Free Dairy

What are some gluten-free dairy foods that can supplement a diet? Learn how to adjust your diet to fit your specific health and nutrition needs in this video on grocery shopping.

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Plain milk is okay
Most cheeses are acceptable
Check food labels
Learn alternate names for gluten

About this Author

Mary Hondros graduated from University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics. She currently works as a nutritionist for New Hanover County Schools in North Carolina. Her main focus is to teach children to improve nutritional habits.

MARY HONDROS: I am going to talk to you a little bit about eating dairy if you are on a gluten free diet. Somebody that has to be on a gluten free diet can't digest the wheat gluten and it is found in wheat, barley, and rye materials. And the good news is that if you do have a gluten allergy, most dairy products are safe for you to consume. Any type of whole milk, skim milk and cheese is normally okay for you to eat because it does not contain any gluten in it. Now when you get into talking about cheese products like cheese dips, you need to check your labels because those may contain gluten and they should be labeled with something like "may contain gluten" so it should not be hard to find. Gluten goes by all kinds of different names. It could sometimes be called vegetable gums, stabilizer, emulsifier, hydrolyzed vegetable protein. Those are all kind of nicknames for gluten in that part that can contain gluten. So just remember if you are trying to stay away from gluten in your diet, one, it is okay for you to have any kind of plain milk product, skim, low fat or whole milk. Also, most cheeses are fine too. Aged cheeses especially like Parmesan, Swiss cheese and American cheese are all fine foods to eat. Thirdly, remember that yogurt may or may not have gluten so check your food labels. And lastly, remember the alternate names for gluten. That could be vegetable gum, hydrolyzed plant protein, emulsifier, flavoring, starch or food starch. And those are tips on how to avoid gluten in your dairy products.

Healthy Food Choices: Gluten-Free Dairy Video

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