What is Gluten?

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What Is Gluten

To put it simply, gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. This seemingly harmless protein triggers an immune response in the small intestine of people with gluten intolerance and those with celiac disease. This means the body creates antibodies to fight the gluten, thinking it is a foreign invader. In the process of fighting the gluten, the antibodies also attack the villi of the small intestines, creating all sorts of gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal symptoms and discomfort. Actual symptoms vary, and some afflicted with celiac disease suffer no symptoms at all, but some signs of celiac include:

Gas Bloating Constipation Diarrhea Abdominal pain Unexplained weight loss Anemia Distended abdomen Bone pain Joint pain Fatigue Vitamin deficiencies Mineral deficiencies Delayed growth in children Failure to thrive in infants Tooth abnormalities Migraines

It's important to note that the intestines are being damaged even without noticeable symptoms, and that's why it's critical for those with gluten intolerance or celiac disease to avoid all foods on the list of foods containing gluten.

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Free List of Foods Containing Gluten

Recognizing the grains that contain gluten is the easy part. Wheat, barley, and rye are all off-limits. Experts in the United States feel that oats should also be forbidden due to dangers of cross-contamination. That means that the following items are usually sources of gluten (the exception would be specially-made gluten-free versions):

Bagels Biscuits Bread Bread crumbs Breaded fish Breaded meats or poultry Bread pudding Cake Cereal Chicken nuggets Croissants Cookies Crackers Croutons Doughnuts Dumplings Flour Flour tortillas Fried vegetables Graham crackers Hamburger buns Hotdog buns Ice cream cones Macaroni Melba toast Muffins Noodles Pancakes Pasta Pastries Pie crusts Pizza crust Pretzels Rolls Spaghetti Stuffing Tabbouleh Waffles

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Foods You Wouldn't Expect to Have Gluten

You probably weren't surprised to learn that cakes, cookies, and all the other floury snacks contain gluten. After all, they're made primarily of wheat flour. The following list, on the other hand, may surprise you. These are foods that usually or often contain gluten. In some cases, wheat is added as a thickener; barley malt is often added as a form of natural flavor. You must read the labels of these items carefully to look for gluten-containing ingredients. Even better, look for products specifically labeled "gluten-free."

Beer Beverage mixes Bologna Candy (many candies are gluten-free, so read labels) Canned baked beans Cold cuts Packaged cereals, even corn cereals Commercially prepared broth Commercially prepared chocolate milk Commercially prepared soup Custard Fruit fillings Gravy Gum Hot dogs Ice cream Non-dairy creamer Potato chips Pudding Root beer Syrups Salad dressing Soy sauce Vegetables with commercially prepared sauces

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Ingredients with Hidden Gluten

The tricky part is recognizing the hidden gluten. By law, wheat must be clearly identified on labels. If wheat is listed, you know you can't eat the food. Unfortunately, "wheat free" doesn't equate to "gluten-free" and the law doesn't currently require all forms of gluten to be listed. Since barely, rye, oats, and their derivatives are all natural foods, they can sometimes be listed under fairly innocuous sounding names. That's why everyone with celiac diesease or gluten intolerance, including children, must learn to recognize sources of hidden gluten. Study the ingredient list of all prepared foods and avoid those containing:

Barley Barley grass Binders Blue Cheese Bouillion Bran Brewers yeast Bulgur Cereal binding Chilton Couscous Durhum Edible starch Emulsifiers Farina "Fillers" Hydrolyzed plant protein Hydrolyzed vegetable protein Kamut Kasha Malt Malt flavoring Malt vinegar Matzo Modified food starch Monosodium glutimate (MSG) "Natural" flavor Rye Seitan Semolina Some spice mixtures Soy sauce Spelt Stabilizer Suet Teriyaki sauce Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) Wheat Wheat grass Wheat protein

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