What Foods Have Gluten and What Food Don't

If you find out that you have a gluten intolerance or that you have celiac disease you may be thinking "what next?" You will need to know what foods you can't eat and what foods you can eat, and what to look for when it comes time to do that dreaded grocery shopping. And then you have to wonder, what is gluten, because until people started finding out they were having issues of it that word wasn't very popular. Now it is popular and we are still asking that question. Gluten is a type of protein that is found in rye, wheat and barley. When you think of gluten, think of glue, which is where the word comes from, gluten being the Latin word for glue. Gluten makes things stick together.

Because gluten is found in wheat that means that many cereals have gluten in them. But don't fear, you can still have cereal. Look for rice- and corn-based cereals and make sure to check the ingredients to make sure they didn't sneak any wheat in there. Some foods you may not have thought of that have gluten in them are sausages (it is used as filler), ice cream (it is used as a stabilizing agent) and canned soup (which is filled with flour to thicken it). The thing I can't stress enough is to always check your labels, look for wheat, wheat flour and gluten. If you love soup, make it at home and use potato flakes to thicken it instead of flour. Bob's Red Mill make great gluten-free products too, which includes gluten-free flour and even gluten-free cake mix.

Stay away from store-bought breads, unless they specify gluten-free on the labels. You can make gluten-free bread at home though, or use corn tortillas to make sandwich wraps instead. Many stores are catering to the gluten-free public now though. If you love pasta, you can find rice pastas in the pasta isle. They aren't exactly the same as regular pastas, but they taste pretty good, with a slight rice flavor. The cook a little quicker too. Oatmeal is free of gluten but is usually processed with wheat, so it is best to be cautious when shopping for anything with oatmeal in it (like cereals, breads and cookies).

Your best choices for gluten-free are corn, rice, potatoes and even buckwheat (which isn't actually a wheat, as it's name suggests). Millet and quinoa are both grains that are becoming popular and are free of gluten also. And if you enjoy eating fast food make sure you order your burgers without the buns and stay away from breaded chicken and fish. Going gluten-free doesn't have to be difficult, and it can subtract a few inches from your waist too.