Gluten refers to proteins found in grains such as; wheat, triticale, barley and rye. It acts as a binding that holds food together. A person with gluten sensitivity refers to a person with the inability to digest these proteins. Gluten sensitivity can range from mild to celiac disease.
Whilst wheat appears as a grain containing gluten, what it means to have a wheat sensitivity can be confused with what it means to have a gluten sensitivity. Having a wheat sensitivity refers to just not being able to eat products with wheat. Whereas, people with a gluten sensitivity can’t have products with gluten in it including; wheat, triticale, barley, rye etc.
If you have a sensitivity to gluten or wheat, it is super important that you go by the advice your doctor and dietician as to what you can and can’t eat. I hope that my lists can help you identify foods that may contain gluten when you are checking ingredients lists. The biggest shock I got was the day when I learnt that soy sauce can contain wheat! So glad there are a lot more wheat free and gluten free alternatives for food now.
WHERE IS GLUTEN FOUND?
Below is a breakdown of grains that contain gluten and a list of some foods and ingredients that gluten can be found in. Some are commonly known and some may surprise you. Food that contains gluten isn’t only limited to the list below, so it’s important to check product ingredients yourself.
WHEAT
⁃ Battered fried food
⁃ Beer (unless it says gluten free)
⁃ Bread
⁃ Cakes (even New York cheesecake), pastries and other baked goods
⁃ Candy
⁃ Cereals
⁃ Condiments such as sauces, gravy and roux
⁃ Couscous
⁃ Crackers
⁃ Dressings
⁃ Durum wheat (these grains make couscous)
⁃ Emmer (wheat species)
⁃ Farina (wheat)
⁃ Fu (wheat product used to imitate meat in Japan)
⁃ Graham Flour
⁃ Hot dogs
⁃ Ice cream (sadly there can be wheat in some ice cream)
⁃ Instant sachet coffee
⁃ Kamut (wheat)
⁃ Matzo
⁃ Pasta
⁃ Potato chips
⁃ Semolina (from Durum wheat)
⁃ Soy sauce
⁃ Spelt
⁃ Spice mixes (those sneaky ante-caking agents make their way into all sorts of food!)
⁃ Soup
⁃ Stock
⁃ Wheat starch
⁃ Wheat bran
⁃ Wheat germ
TRITICALE
⁃ Bread
⁃ Cereals
⁃ Flour
⁃ Pasta
BARLEY
⁃ Beer
⁃ Brewer’s yeast
⁃ Flour
⁃ Food colouring
⁃ Malt, milkshakes, chocolate, vinegar, ice cream
⁃ Maltose
⁃ Protein bars
⁃ Soups
RYE
⁃ Bread
⁃ Beer
⁃ Cereals
OATS
Oats have made it onto this list as whilst there are some gluten free oats available, not everyone with a gluten sensitivity can have them. It is so important that you check with your chosen medical professionals to decide if these will be safe for you to eat or not.
NATURALLY GLUTEN FREE FOOD;
Whilst there are now some fantastic gluten free and wheat free alternatives now, you can’t go wrong with naturally gluten free as well. Some of these include;
⁃ Amaranth
⁃ Arrowroot
⁃ Beans
⁃ Chicken
⁃ Chickpeas
⁃ Eggs
⁃ Fish
⁃ Flax
⁃ Fruit and veggies
⁃ Lean beef
⁃ Legumes
⁃ Nuts
⁃ Oil
⁃ Potatoes
⁃ Rice
⁃ Soy
⁃ Tapioca
This list goes on and on.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I hope that you got something out of it and have a little more insight into how important checking ingredients is.
Savy’s Kitchen 