Good Morning!

Today’s topic is about following a strict gluten-free diet for the treatment of Coeliac disease (CD). Now that you understand what Coeliac disease is (if not checkout yesterday’s post here: https://www.facebook.com/erinhunternaturalhealthservices) I can move on to the good, the bad and the ugly (well it’s not really ugly but you know what I mean!) of following a strict gluten-free (GF) diet.

Following a strict GF diet means that you have to avoid the obvious sources of gluten such as bread, cereals, pasta and pastries however there are also hidden sources of gluten that need to be avoided – gluten is actually in an extremely large proportion of processed foods, it’s pretty unbelievable where it can be lurking!

People with CD can’t have any gluten – we cannot tolerate any more than 50mg of gluten which is 1/100th of a slice of wheat bread, that is extremely small.

Gluten and similar proteins that trigger the auto immune response in people with CD are in wheat, rye, barley and oats. However gluten is added to foods as a thickener, filler, emulsifier and duster.

Gluten can be found hidden in the following foods:

• Sauces: soya sauce, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, marinades, salad dressings, oyster sauce, sweet soya sauce (Kecap Manis), gravy, passata sauce, pasta sauces, tomato paste – always check the label of any sauce you are going to use for someone with CD
• Chips and biscuits: packets of chips plain or flavoured can contain gluten – in plain chips the presence of gluten is usually due to cross contamination due to where the product is processed and flavoured chips is usually due to the actual flavouring containing gluten. Some rice crackers/biscuits still contain gluten due to processing or due to flavouring.
• Drinks: Yes I know it can be in drinks! Beer is probably the obvious one but other drinks are iced tea, flavoured soft-drinks especially ginger beer, cordials and flavoured waters.
• Condiments: Salt, pepper, spices and herbs – it is due to them being processed on the same line as gluten containing foods.
• Sweets: Chocolate, lollies, ice-cream, ice-cream cones, icing mixture, icing sugar, baking powder, dessert syrups, chocolate chips and toppings.
• Canned goods – legumes, tuna, tomatoes and baked beans.
• Frozen meals/pre-made meals and salads.
• Potato products: wedges, hot chips, hash browns, potato gems etc.
• Vegetable burgers, vegetarian products (wheat is in vegetarian Quorn products and in many other vegetarian/vegan products), vegetarian sausages, vegetarian “mince” and seitan.
• BBQ chicken, rissoles, sausages, marinated meats, deli meats and filled or stuffed meats/poultry and coated meats or fish.

This list is not exhaustive by any means, but it gives you a good idea of where gluten may be hiding.

It is imperative for anyone with CD to check every single label of anything we are going to eat. So of course cutting down on commercially processed foods is one strategy to help avoid hidden gluten. The hardest thing for many people can be eating out and explaining it to your dinner hosts!!

Gluten is found in:

• Anything containing wheat except glucose syrup and alcoholic spirits such as vodka – these are so processed the protein is no longer present. Common wheat containing foods are: bread, pasta, pizza, pastries, biscuits, cous-cous, semolina, bread crumbs, wraps, bread rolls, muffins, cakes, beers, wheat flour, gluten flour (high content of gluten usually used in bread making) and wheaten cornflour. Don’t forget about other types of wheat  and alternative names for wheat such as: spelt, kamut, durum, khorsan wheat, Einkom wheat, triticale, Emmer, grano farro, freekeh and bulgur (often in tabbouleh salad).
• Rye – bread, wraps, pasta, cakes. Rye often is mixed with wheat in breads and pastas.
• Oats – porridge, flour, biscuits, oat milk, oat flakes, oat groats.
• Barley – malt, barley malt cordial, malt vinegar. Barley malt is hidden in many foods such as chocolate.

So, what can people with CD eat????

Naturally GF foods such as:

• Vegetables
• Fruit
• Legumes/beans
• GF grains: rice, corn, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, millet, Jobs tears (Hato Mugi), Sorghum and teff.
• Nuts and seeds
• Meat
• Herbs and spices (unless they have a may contain gluten statement on the packet)
• Tamari (always check the label – tamari is a soya sauce that is traditionally made without wheat)

There are lots of alternative products around that are GF to replace the foods that gluten is usually found in such as breads, pastas, pastries, cakes, biscuits etc.

Keep checking my facebook page for Coeliac Disease Awareness posts, upcoming tips and recipes.

Thanks for reading,

Erin