Healthy Crumbs Week: Feedback Friday: Gluten: Where to Find It

HEALTHY CRUMB: FEEDBACK FRIDAY

Gluten: Where to Find It!

I often get ask, what foods contain gluten? Here is a list of foods and ingredients that often contain gluten. You must become an excellent label reader, gluten is hidden in so many ingredients. 

The following are the grains and starches gluten is found in:

Wheat	Couscous	Semolina
Wheat Germ	Farina	Spelt
Wheat Grass	Graham Flour	Triticale
Rye	Kamut	Oats*
Barley	Matzo	Oat Bran*
Bulgur	Seitan	Oat Fiber*

*Oats may contain gluten due to easy cross contamination. Oat fields frequently have wheat or rye growing in them and therefore most oats show gluten contamination when assayed. If contamination doesn't happen in the fields it often occurs in transport or at the manufacturing facility. You can find certified gluten free oats from a few companies. Bob's Red Mill, Creamhill Estates, and Gluten Free Oats.  Bob's being the most readily available. Bob's offers certified gluten free oats as well as oats that are not gluten free, so check the packaging to make sure you are getting the oats specifically stated as gluten free.

The following is a list of foods/ingredients that MAY containing gluten (check labels!):

Breading	Marinades	Seitan
Broth	Meat Balls	Self-Basting Poultry
Coating Mixes	Meat Loaf	Soup Bases
Communion Wafers	Meat Substitutes (Tofurky, etc…)	Soy-Based Veggie Burgers
Crab Cakes	Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)	Soy Sauce
Croutons	Pastas	Stuffings
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein ("wheat")	Processed Meats	Textured Vegetable Protein ("wheat")
Imitation Bacon	Roux (common sauce base)	Tamari
Imitation Seafood	Sauces	Thickeners
Malt or Malt Flavoring, Malt Vinegar(usually from barely and corn)	Sausages	Vital Wheat Gluten (found in imitation meat)
Caramel Coloring	Vinegars (often a derivative of gluten containing grains, especially distilled vinegar.)	Vegetable Gum
Rice Syrup	Blue Cheese (the mold usually originates on old bread)	Vitamins and Supplements

Alcohol

Beer is made from grains therefore it contains gluten. Alcohols such as scotch, rye, and vodkas, while made from grains that contain gluten, have been distilled removing the gluten, making them safe to consume. Keep in mind that alcohol when mixed with gluten in food seems to magnify the reaction of gluten and should be avoided. 

Soy

Soy has some negative characteristics. Soy foods are one of the most common sources of hidden gluten. Seitan and most soy-based veggies burgers contain "vital wheat gluten", the ingredient that gives those foods the texture and taste of meat. Despite being gluten free, soy beans often provoke digestive bloating, gas, and allergic symptoms. As a bean they contain the same lectins that grains have. 

You must become an excellent label reader. Many products say they are gluten free but contain ingredients such as oats, hemp, wheat grass, malt or wheat starch with may contain gluten. Also be wary of food additives labeled as "natural flavorings", "spices", or "extractives of…" If in doubt don't consume the product unless you have written the company or called to verify the product is indeed gluten free. Most companions are forthcoming about whether or not their product is gluten free. So do your research!

I hope this helps shed some light about the foods and ingredients gluten is in. Whether you are new to a gluten free diet or have been following one for a while it is always good to remind ourselves how many foods and ingredients do contain gluten and make sure we are reading our labels. 

posted by Allergy Free and Cheap Like Me! at 6:00 AM