Going gluten free might sound easy to some, and it is just as hard as you make it I guess. However, with that in mind there is no such thing as going kind of gluten free. If you are going to live a gluten free lifestyle due to health reasons you have to go 100%. There is no looking back, no day dreaming about previous food loves etc. My advice is to have a good attitude and see it as an adventure.
First, I want to start by letting you know that I am just an ordinary person. I am not a healthcare provider, a dietitian or any other specialist. All the advice and information that I give is based on my own personal experience and research. There is new information and sources coming out every day about gluten intolerance and celiac disease. The information I am providing may be obsolete or incomplete before I can blink. I am just trying to give my perspective as someone with gluten intolerance and as the mother of a 13-year old with gluten intolerance. I am trying to assemble as much information as I can in one place in order to help others on their journey.
What is Gluten?
Gluten is the protein in Wheat, Rye and Barley. This protein helps make the bread more elastic. You can remove a certain amount of gluten from the wheat flour, which produces wheat starch. However, you cannot remove all gluten from the wheat flour. So this is why we need to stay away from all forms of wheat flour.
Where is Gluten Hiding?
Gluten is in foods such as bread, soy sauce and other sauces, canned food, prepared foods, cereals, fresh frozen chicken, prepared meats etc. It is also found lotions, make-up, shampoo and conditioner, hair color, and anywhere in between. You will need to become a label reader. What are you looking for? Well, you are looking for a lot of things. I am going to start with food. Make up and beauty products are a whole other ballgame.
Grains:
Wheat, Rye, Barley
Oats (Oats don’t contain Gluten naturally, however, due to how they are grown and processed they do contain gluten unless they are certified gluten free).
Flour:
Wheat, wheat germ, oats, barley, rye, bran, graham flour, malt, kasha, bulgur, durham
Vinegars:
Malt Vinegar
Cereal:
Barley Malt is an ingredient in most cereals and it contains gluten. (ie. Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies etc.)
Miscellaneous:
Malt
Brewers Yeast
Yeast Extract
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP), unless it is specified from soy or corn
Vegetable Protein, unless it is specified from soy or corn
Malt or Malt Flavoring, unless it is specified from corn
Modified Starch/ Modified Food Starch, unless it is specified from corn, potato, tapioca, arrowroot, waxy maize or maize
Vegetable Gum, unless it is specified from xantham, guar, cellulose, vegetable starch, carob bean, locust bean, arabic, aracia or tragacanth
vegetable starch
Soy Sauce and Soy Sauce Solids (there is soy sauce that is not made with wheat)
If these words appear there may be gluten in the product:
Flavoring
Stabilizer
Hydrolyzed
Emulsifier
Plant Protein
Things to keep in mind.
CROSS CONTAMINATION. I know this almost sounds nuclear, and I for one didn’t believe that I needed to worry about that. However, I have not been able to eat at my favorite restaurant for over a years since they can’t control the cross contamination on their grill. This is a real issue and don’t take it lightly. If you are frying breaded chicken nuggets in a frying pan and then you fry French fries they are no longer gluten free. You just contaminated your fries. If you are using a knife and cutting board for bread don’t contaminate your gluten free food with the same knife and cutting board. The same goes for pots, pans, peanut butter and jelly etc.
THINGS AREN’T ALWAYS THE WAY THEY APPEAR.
French Fries are gluten free, but at most restaurants they are not. Why you may ask, well, they are either suffering from cross contamination or if they were frozen they sprinkle them with wheat flour so that they don’t stick together. A
Mexican Food might seem like it should be fairly safe. Well a lot of the corn chips are mixed flours and not just corn. The sauces are usually wheat flour.
Fillers. Remember that fillers are used for a lot of foods. That includes hamburger meats at restaurants and processed meats such as ham and salami.
Chicken. Some frozen chicken, rotisserie chicken and chicken in any form have been injected with flavorings that contain gluten.
