Celiacs cannot eat any gluten in any form whatsoever. Gluten is the one of the protein components found in Wheat, Rye, Barley and Oats (think BROW for a good acronym to remind yourself). So that means any products that list any of those substances in their ingredient list is off limits. These days most supermarkets are a lot more label conscious and have to put by law( in certain countries) what every substance is in their product.
A lot of manufacturers are also aware of the many allergies in the consumer market and so there is often a list of allergens as well. Be sure to check the ingredient list anyway, as not all manufacturers always know exactly what gluten is. For example "corn flakes" and "rice krispies" say they are "gluten free" on the box, but the ingredients contain a small amount of barley malt. Technically this is not gluten free, although it is in small enough amount not to affect you, if you are highly sensitive, or are only at the start of your journey to heal your gut, then avoid it.
The most important thing is to educate yourself. You cannot rely on the labelling of your favourite food products, or even the nice lady at the store. If you do not arm yourself with all the knowledge of the food you can and cannot eat, you make face contamination or accidental ingestion and then you may not understand why you are not getting better.
I have personally gone through trial and error of certain products which still may affect me. I am highly sensitive to any form of gluten and when you cut it completely out of your diet, as Celiacs have to, then even the smallest trace amount can affect me.
So what foods contain gluten? Here is a sample list:
• Atta
• Bal ahar
• Barley
• Bread Flour
• Bulgar
• Cake flour
• Cereal extracts
• Couscous
• Crackerbread
• Durum
• Farina
• Gluten
• Kamut
• Laubina
• Malt
• Minchin
• Oats
• Pasta
• Puffed wheat
• Rye
• Ryvita
• Semolina
• Soy Sauce
• Spelt
• Triticale
• Soperamine
• Wheat bran
• Wheat germ
• White flour
• Whole wheat flour
What can you eat on a Celiac Diet?
• Amaranth
• Arrowroot
• Buckwheat
• Corn /Mielies
• Chickpea / Gram flour
• Maize
• Rice
• Mabella (sorghum)
• Millet
• Potato /yam flour
• Quinoa
• Tapioca
• Lentil (urid) flour
• Sago
• Soya
• Teff
• Rice ( any products made from rice)
• Ricethins
• Rice cakes
Of course those are just the grains you can eat. You can also eat all fruits and vegetables. All proteins such as chicken, meat, fish, eggs and seeds and nuts are naturally gluten free. There is a huge variety of choices of food products you can eat. Don't ever feel like you are deprived. See it as an opportunity to know exactly what is going in your mouth and making you so much healthier. It's a challenge to begin with, but once you get the hang of it, you will be feeling so well and great, you will have wished you had gone gluten free sooner!
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