What Does Gluten Free Mean?

Kyle Eslick — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:36:17 +0000

Have you ever heard of someone mentioning they were on a gluten free diet, but it didn’t look like they needed to lose weight? Or maybe you know someone who rarely eats in public? Even if neither of these apply to you, each day the odds improve that you will come across the term Gluten Free Diet.

So, what exactly does it mean to be on a gluten free diet? Typically this diet is associated with treating people that have Celiac (Coeliac) disease. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder of the small bowel that occurs in genetically predisposed people of all ages from middle infancy. While difficult to diagnose, each day doctors are correctly diagnosing more people with the disease based on their Celiac symptoms. Treatment of the disease typically involves being on a gluten free diet.

What foods contain gluten?

A gluten free diet is a diet completely free of ingredients derived from gluten-containing foods: wheat (including Kamut and spelt), barley, rye, oats and triticale, as well as the use of gluten as a food additive in the form of a flavoring, stablizing or thickening agent. Although most patients can tolerate oat products, there is a controversy about including them in a gluten free diet: some medical practitioners say they may be permitted, but the Celiac Society advises against them.

What foods are gluten free?

Several grains and starch sources are considered acceptable for a gluten-free diet. The most frequently used are maize (corn), potatoes, rice, and tapioca (derived from cassava). Other grains and starch sources generally considered suitable for gluten-free diets include amaranth, arrowroot, millet, montina, lupine, quinoa, sorghum (jowar), sweet potato, taro, teff, and yam. Various types of bean, soybean, and nut flours are sometimes used in gluten-free products to add protein and dietary fiber. In spite of its name, buckwheat is not related to wheat; pure buckwheat is considered acceptable for a gluten-free diet, although many commercial buckwheat products are actually mixtures of wheat and buckwheat flours, and thus not acceptable. Gram flour, derived from chickpeas, is also gluten free.

Gluten is also used in foods in some unexpected ways, for example as a stabilizing agent or thickener in products like ice cream and ketchup

People wishing to follow a completely gluten free diet must also take into consideration the ingredients of any over-the-counter or prescription medications and vitamins. Also, cosmetics such as lipstick, lip balms, and lip chap may contain gluten and need to be investigated before use.

Living on a Gluten Free Diet

People diagnosed with Celiac Disease will often become anti-social, prefering the comfort of their own cooking over the hassle of trying to find gluten free foods out in the world. This also reduces the risk of cross-contamination, which is always something people on the diet need to be wary of.

As more people are either diagnosed with Celiac Disease or know someone how is, things have steadily been improving for people who want to become more social.

If you would like to find tasty and affordable gluten free products online, Gluten Free Resource recommends the products available at Gluten Free dot com, Gluten Free Mall, or Gluten Free Online. I’ve purchased from all three and really enjoy the foods and products they offer.

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What is Celiac Disease?

Kyle Eslick — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:07:28 +0000

Though the term is fairly new, more and more people are being exposed to Celiac Disease every day, either through a diagnosis or through a friend and family member that has this disease.

If you find yourself in a situation where you are wanting to learn more about this disease and how to live with it, you are in the right place! Gluten Free Resource provides news, resources, recipes, and hopefully everything else you need to live a gluten free lifestyle, or support someone in your life that needs to.

So, what exactly is Celiac Disease? According to Wikipedia:

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder of the small bowel that occurs in genetically predisposed people of all ages from middle infancy. Symptoms include chronic diarrhoea, failure to thrive (in children) and fatigue, but these may be absent and symptoms in all other organ systems have been described. It is estimated to affect about 1% of Indo-European populations, but is thought to be significantly underdiagnosed. A growing portion of diagnoses are being made in asymptomatic persons as a result of increasing screening.[1]

Coeliac disease is caused by a reaction to gliadin, a gluten protein found in wheat (and similar proteins of the tribe Triticeae which includes other cultivars such as barley and rye). Upon exposure to gliadin, the enzyme tissue transglutaminase modifies the protein, and the immune system cross-reacts with the bowel tissue, causing an inflammatory reaction. That leads to flattening of the lining of the small intestine, which interferes with the absorption of nutrients. The only effective treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet. While the disease is caused by a reaction to wheat proteins, it is not the same as wheat allergy.

If you have been diagnosed with this disease, you will need to begin by switching over to a gluten free diet. The diet is zero tolerance, and making the transition can be difficult, this site site (along with several others) are here to help!