Frequently asked questions:

Why be gluten & wheat free?
Allergies! Wheat is one of the most allergy-producing foods in our culture. Wheat and flour products make up nearly 30% of our diet.

What is gluten?
Gluten is the protein in wheat that makes dough elastic. Gluten is the primary allergic factor in wheat. If you have gluten sensitivity or celiac disease (gluten-sensitive enteropathy), exposure to gluten can result in an immune reaction: your body's ability to absorb nutrients from food is reduced, due to the loss of villi, the tiny protrusions in the small intestines. This can lead to malnutrition, no matter how well you're eating, since eating even a small amount of this protein can result in damage to the intestine.

What other ingredients contain gluten?
Look for ingredients such as starch, modified food starch, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), hydrolyzed plant protein (HPP), texturized vegetable protein (TVP), binders, fillers, excipients, extenders, malt, and natural flavorings, all of which may indicate the presence of gluten.

What foods contain gluten?
Read labels carefully because gluten can turn up where you don't expect it: in cold cuts, soups, candies, and even soy sauce.

What grains contain gluten?
If you are sensitive to gluten, you must try to avoid all foods containing wheat, oats, barley and rye, triticale, kamut and spelt.

What?

Are you saying I can't have all these grains?
If you are only wheat free, Kamut and Spelt are old varieties of wheat that have been resurrected and popularized. Their value is in their high protein and type of gluten that is different from regular wheat and less likely to elicit an allergic response. Oats are mild tasting and Barley has a meaty taste.

In that case, what does'nt have gluten?
Rice, millet, buckwheat, corn and soy are all non-glutenous grains and except for corn, are unlikely to cause an allergic response.

What other symptoms would lead me to believe I have an allergy?
Please refer to Options to learn more.