Gluten free foods are any foods that do not contain wheat, oats, barley, rye or any products made from these foods. Gluten free products are now identified more commonly in regular grocery stores, larger health food stores like Whole Foods as well as the smaller health food stores.
Gluten free foods do not contain the proteins called gliadin and glutenin usually found in wheat, oats, barley and rye. Gluten free products are easily found in health food stores as many people in the public are finding the consumption of gluten to be a problem.
A list of gluten free foods is not actually accurate as there are just too many. Let’s face it, a carrot is a gluten free food, but it would be silly to list that on a gluten free food list. The easiest way to determine if a food is gluten free is to read the ingredient list, if the product has one.
If you stay away from the foods listed above and also from any food that has them added to it or any of their by-products added to it, you are eating a gluten free food. The important concept is to read all ingredient labels.
Wheat is the main food to understand when considering a gluten free food list. Wheat is made into flour and used to make bread, cookies, cake, pasta, crackers and bagels as well as many other foods and is added as a filler in many foods. All white flour, whole wheat flour or bleached flour: the original substance is wheat and needs to be avoided. Look also for the word gluten in ingredient labels.
Oats are found as oatmeal and granola. It’s important to read ingredient labels looking for oats and you may also find them in breakfast or protein bars.
Barley is potentially more difficult to find when on a gluten free diet. It’s a grain and made into barley soup and put into vegetable soups. Barley is also made into white vinegar and into barley malt as a sweetener. Acceptable vinegars when on a gluten free diet are balsamic, apple cider, red wine and rice vinegars.
Rye is an easy avoidance on a gluten free diet as it is mostly found in rye bread which is also made with wheat flour.
Unfortunately, there are health conditions caused by or aggravated by gluten or linked to symptoms. They are: Irritable Bowel Syndrome, any form of Colitis, Crohn’s Disease, Celiac Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Dermatitis Herpetiformis, Eczema, Psoriasis, Rashes, Hives, Asthma, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Grave’s Disease and Hashimoto’s Disease.
If you suffer from any of the gastrointestinal or skins conditions linked to gluten please feel free to download the free report available below.
