What is gluten?
A food protein found in wheat, barley, rye and oats. It is what gives doughs and batter their elasticity when kneaded, and what enables foods (like breads) to rise.
Why go gluten-free?
Gluten is not bad for you unless you have a medical condition such as celiac disease or gluten intolerance. These conditions differ from wheat allergies.
Celiac Disease: “An autoimmune condition, whereby the body's immune system attacks its own intestinal tissue in an inappropriate response to eating gluten. The damage caused by untreated celiac disease can lead to malabsorption of food, which in turn can cause nutritional deficiencies, anemia, rickets, kidney stones, osteomalacia, osteoporosis... other autoimmune conditions...thyroid disease, type 1 diabetes, liver diseases...rheumatoid arthritis...gastrointestinal cancers.” (The First Year: Celiac Disease and Living Gluten-Free; Jules E. Dowler Shepard; p.3) Celiac disease is treated and controlled by adhering to a strict gluten-free diet for life. Recent research indicates that 1 in 133 Americans might have Celiac Disease. Bloodwork and endoscopy are used to diagnose the disease. For a list of symptoms, please visit http://www.csaceliacs.org/celiac_symptoms.php.
Gluten Intolerance: “Another condition that requires adherence to a gluten-free diet but does not rise to the level of an autoimmune disease. Food intolerances occur when the body is incapable of metabolizing certain foods, typically because it lacks certain enzymes necessary to break down particular food components. Those with gluten intolerance often have the same overt symptoms as those with Celiac, but they test negative for celiac disease by bloodwork and endoscopy.” (Shepard, p.3)
What foods have gluten?
The short answer: Anything with wheat, barely, rye and (usually) oats.
Coming up with a specific list of gluten-free food is difficult (i.e. one brand of soy sauce might be fine, while another is not). A basic list of foods and ingredients those on a gluten-free diet have to watch out for is found below:
Bread (or anything containing wheat flour)
Barley
Barley Malt
Bulgur
Couscous
Durum
Einkorn
Emmer
Farina
Farro
Graham flour
Kamut
Kashi
Malt
Matzo
Modified food starch made from wheat
Orzo
Rye
Oats
Seitan
Semolina
Spelt
Triticale
Wheat
Check artificial colors and flavors
Check MSG
(Shepard, p.20)
What is cross contamination?
Eating gluten-free is made a little tougher by the fact that a tiny amount of gluten is as bad for a person with Celiac's body as a big piece. This means if a knife used to butter toast touches the butter after, the butter is probably no longer gluten-free. A microscopic piece is all it takes to cause a damaging flare up. Those on a strict gluten-free diet go to great lengths to de-contaminate their kitchens, and find restaurants that not only have gluten-free menus, but also understand and handle the risk of cross contamination.
The Good News
Eating gluten-free is becoming less and less challenging as awareness of Celiac disease grows. Many restaurants (such as PF Changs) serve contamination-free, gluten-free food, and many mainstream products are now making gluten-free products (such as Chex, and Betty Crocker Cake Mixes). Gluten free flours allow those eating gluten-free to bake nearly normally (with a little practice), and ongoing research and the internet make living on the gluten-free diet much easier.
