Wheat is the number one trigger for autoimmune conditions such as Crohn’s and Coeliac’s disease. Much of it is due to the fact that the intestine does not recognize any byproducts, especially gluten. When gluten is introduced to the body through diet, the stomach goes into shock and causes uncomfortable symptoms such as pain, vomiting, bloating and diarrhea. Given the symptoms, it is essential for anyone with this type of ailment to be vigilant when weeding the gluten out of their bodies and meals altogether to sustain a gluten free diet.
One of the best ways to accomplish this is to read the labels of any food product before purchasing. In doing so you can easily identify what is made out of wheat, what contains gluten and what does not. Wheat free tags are always rational bets when you’re trying to avoid gastrointestinal problems, especially coeliac’s disease. However, you’ll also have to make sure the item is not supplemented with gluten through other sources like barley, rye and tricticale. Beware of misleading wheat names too like;
- flour
- spelt
- dinkel
- einkorn
- emmer
- semolina
- kamut
- graham
- farina
- couscous
- matzah/matzo/matzoh
- cake flour
- bulgur
- and furumento
why? …because they’re full of gluten and hardly the wheat alternatives they are described to be.
Other ingredients that should raise your concern too include:
- breading and bread stuffing
- brewer’s yeast
- malt, malt vinegar, malt milk, malt extract, malt flavouring, malt syrup
- oatmeal, oat flour, out bran (as long as they are not guaranteed uncontaminated)
You could always stick to a purely organic gluten free diet to ensure your safety. But if that is not possible, see to it that you remember these gluten free essentials. Most importantly read the label!
Have you given up Gluten? Or are you planning to? Find out more about giving up the Gluten:
> 6 Benefits of a Gluten Free Diet
> 10 Must have’s for a Gluten Free Pantry
> How to get Started on a Gluten Free Diet
If you liked what you learnt here I’d love to hear from you. Comment below 🙂
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