Gluten/Wheat

About the Allergy
Foods to Avoid
C-Store: Sample Gluten Free Product List
More Information and Links

About the Allergy

What you should know about Celiac Disease

What is Celiac Disease (CD)?
Celiac Disease is considered to be an immunological reaction produced against gluten. Exact causes of CD are unknown and undergoing investigations. However, CD has been linked to a group of genes located on chromosome six.

How Would I know if I had CD?
CD can occur in people of any age, sex, or race. CD can even appear in patients later in life, possibly after having surgery, a serious viral infection, or even pregnancy/childbirth. Symptoms may vary based on age group. Children and infants may experience behavioral changes, vomiting, abdominal bloating, or even stunted growth. Symptoms of adults include: weight loss/gain, anemia, abdominal discomfort, chronic constipation/diarrhea, and steatorrhea (fatty stools).

How Can CD be treated?
Unfortunately there are no current medications for CD. The only way to treat CD is to follow a strict gluten free diet. Once you follow a gluten free diet you will notice that your symptoms will disappear and your overall health should improve. This is due to the gluten being removed from your small intestine and the process of healing begins.

Foods to Avoid

What exactly is Gluten and where is it Found?
Gluten is a protein that is found in most all cereal grains and all forms of wheat including: durum, faro, spelt, semolina, kamut flour, and einkorn. It is also found in many related grains, such as; rye, some oats, triticale, and barely. Gluten usually acts as a binding agent in wheat that helps hold all the ingredients in wheat together.

Unlikely Gluten Products
You should always read the labels of all prepackaged foods to check for gluten or gluten-containing products. Many foods that would not seemingly contain gluten actually do, some of these products include: soy sauce, most low or non-fat products, jelly beans, licorice, hard candies, and cold cuts. There are also many ingredients in prepackaged/prepared foods that contain gluten including: binders, fillers, malt, texturized vegetable protein (TVP), hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), hydrolyzed plant protein (HPP), excipients, extenders, modified starch, and modified food starch. Also, make sure to ask your pharmacist before taking any medications, even over the counter medicines, because gluten may be used in some pharmaceutical products to act as a binder.

More Information and Links

Alternatives to Gluten
Although it may seem as if the majority of foods have gluten or gluten byproducts there are many alternatives to gluten available. Gluten alternatives include: Arrowroot, corn flour, amaranth, cornmeal, buckwheat, lentil flour, corn tortillas, malt-free rice/corn breakfast cereals, polenta, millet meal, psyllium, polenta, potato flour, quinoa, rice bran, any variety of rice, rice flour, most rice crackers, sago, soy-based lecithin, soya flour, tapioca, and taco shells.

Ways to Make Recipes Gluten free
Recipes, such as those for bread and desserts, which would typically include gluten, can easily be amended to be gluten free. Some alternatives to gluten that will suffice as a binding agent include: guar gum powders and xanthum gum. For cakes, adding extra baking powder to the mixture may also aid in binding. For pancake batters or mixtures with a similar consistency, the addition of an egg may aid in binding. Listed below are alternatives to making varieties of flour without using wheat flour.

Self rising flour- 1 tsp. xanthum gum, 1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda, 1/2 tsp cream of tarter, 2 tbsp. potato flour, and a sufficient amount of white rice flour to equal 1 cup.

Plain flour- 1/3 cup tapioca flour, 2 cups of rice flour, 2/3 cup potato flour, 2/3 cup soya flour, 2 cups cornstarch.

Sweet pastry flour- 120g. melted butter,1 1/2 cups coconut, 3/4 cup milk powder, 60g. cornstarch An alternative to baking powder is listed below.

Baking powder- 1/4 c cup bicarbonate soda and 1/2 cup cream of tartar.

Where Can I find Gluten Free items?
Most of the ingredients listed above can be found at your local grocery store such as Harris Teeter, Kroger, or Food Lion. Some of the ingredients may be more difficult to find in ordinary grocery stores, in such a case, try a specialty nutrition store or Whole Foods. Whole Foods has many of the ingredients needed, they also have there own "gluten-free" line which includes sweet breads, cakes, scones, muffins, and more.

Click here for a list of Gluten Free Menu Items offered at University Dining.

For more gluten free recipes and more information about celiac disease search the sites listed below. Some of these sites were used to form this pamphlet.

www.celiac.org (provided most of the information used in this pamphlet)

kidshealth.org (great recipes to make with your children)

www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au (a more detailed list of foods you should be aware of)

www.csaceliacs.org/recipes.php (great recipes)

digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/index.htm (provides good general information about celiac disease)

Einkorn is a type of wheat that is seeded. This particular wheat is found in arid areas.

Triticale is a hybrid form of wheat and rye. It is known for having a high yield

An excipient is similar to starch or gum Arabic. It is typically used in the formulation of tablets or pills.

An extender is used to alter or dilute a product for example cutting a juice drink with water.

Arrowroot is a type of starch that is obtained from rhizomes (these are a type of herb found in the tropical Americas.

Amaranth is a type of plant. The seed is used in some cereals.

Psyllium is the seed of a plant which is used primarily to add dietary fiber to foods.

Sago is the starch extracted from the trunks of Asian sago palm trees.

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