Introduction To The Gluten Free Diet For Celiacs

A look at the gluten free diet for people with celiac disease and wheat intolerance including some useful advice and tips on ensuring your diet remains gluten free.

To maintain a gluten free diet means that you cannot eat or drink anything that contains gluten, while this may seem very difficult at the beginning it becomes part of your way of life and in no time at all you'll find that you will be able to eat a wide variety of different foods.

Gluten is a sticky protein found in wheat, including karmut and spelt, it is also in barley, rye and triticale. Oats have little if any gluten but may be contaminated with other grains so should be avoided.

Gluten is found in many food additives as a stabiliser or as a thickener. To avoid gluten symptoms you need to be aware of the ingredients used in all the gluten products you use including medications, vitamins and even lipstick.

Gluten comes in many forms and you have to educate yourself about the different food ingredients. You need to carefully check for gluten as it can be included as modified food starch (from wheat not maize), vegetable proteins and starch, malt flavouring and glucose syrup.

Even if gluten is not in the ingredient list it may be added during the preparation of the product, for example as a dusting to baking trays. Take care that your food or drink is processed under gluten free practices, even though it does not contain gluten another product processed in the same factory may do so and this could lead to cross contamination.

When preparing your meals at home you also have to avoid cross contamination as well. To do this keep your gluten foods in a separate press or shelf, you should get a second toaster to be used only for gluten bread and ensure you prepare your meals separately.

Of course the easiest way to avoid gluten at home is to remove it altogether from the household cooking, make all the meals for the family without gluten, it’s not difficult once you get the hang of a gluten recipe, take for instance sauces, gravies and soups, substitute maize flour for wheat flour or even potatoes can be used as a thickener.

It is important you learn about celiac disease so that you can ensure what you are eating and drinking is providing you with the correct nourishment.