Gluten Free Tips

Archive for June, 2008

Gluten Free Bread
The smell wafting from the oven when baking home-made breads and cakes is hard to resist. And you shouldn’t be limited just because you’re on a gluten-free diet. There are plenty of gluten-free bread recipes to choose from. One of the pitfalls of gluten-free bread is that it ends up too crumbly and dry. This is because gluten is the protein which strengthens and binds dough in baking.

When baking gluten-free bread you will need to find alternative binding agents for use with gluten-free flours. One way is to use a combination of flours, such as rice flour, chickpea flours, polenta, potato flour, sorghum flour, soya flour, arrowroot or buckwheat flours. Adding pectin powder, egg, grated apple or mashed banana may also help to bind the gluten-free bread. When baking gluten-free bread make sure you don’t cross-contaminate with wheat. Also, by cleaning all utensils and baking tins thoroughly thoroughly before baking the gluten-free bread. Or to be absolutely safe, only use certain sets for your gluten-free baking.

It is important to follow recipes for gluten-free bread accurately, as the measurements and ingredients would’ve been formulated to take into account the lack of gluten in the flours of the recipe. Cornbread is a popular gluten-free bread. It uses a combination of rice flour, buckwheat flour and cornmeal (or polenta) and doesn’t require yeast nor any kneading or rising. It is delicious served warm or cold. It can be eaten as an accompaniment to chillis or stews, or with cheese and pickles. This gluten-free bread is also suitable for breakfast with butter and honey or fruit jam.

Another gluten-free bread is a fruit, nut and seed teabread. It uses only one kind of gluten-free flour (self-raising, or with baking powder added), but is bound together by eggs, dried dates, apricots, sultanas, and mixed seeds and nuts. Again, this gluten-free bread is yeast-free, you just bake for 1 hour and service with butter, jam or honey, either for breakfast or afternoon tea.

When making gluten-free bread with yeast, make sure to use enough yeast to ensure an open texture. Gluten-free flours tend to be more dense and make dense, small loaves. You can make gluten-free bread by hand or in a bread machine. If you’re using a bread machines, make sure it has a gluten-free bread programme option or use the “quick bread”, or “cake” programme options. Gluten-free bread can dry out quickly, so wrap it in cling film or foil as soon as they are cold. It also freezes well. To refresh the gluten-free bread, pop it in the microwave for 10-2- seconds; or toast it. If the bread is pale when the programme is finished, then brush the top with some butter or oil and place under the grill for a few minutes until browned.

Good Luck and enjoy your gluten-free bread!

Gluten Free Oats
Are oats gluten free and can you get gluten-free oats are questions that are often asked. Whilst it is often quoted that Celiacs should avoid wheat, rye, barley and oats the question of the suitability of oats in a gluten free diet is subject to some discussion.

The problem with oats is that they are subject to cross contamination from wheat, rye and barley in the farmer’s field, in the harvesting and sometimes in the post harvest factory processing. As such, if you are intollerant to small amounts of gluten in your diet you will find that oats trigger a gluten reaction and you will pay the price for eating them.

Some farmers claim to be able to offer safe oats to Celiacs and produce uncontaminated oats which contain no gluten. At least they are tested to a gluten component of 10 ppm and found to be clear. Whether you can include these as part of your regular diet depends upon your sensitivity to gluten. Some popular commercial oats preparations typically contain 23 to 25 ppm gluten levels.

We feel that eating oats could represent the risk that you do not need to entertain. There are many alternative flour products available for inclusion in your diet so why take the risk specifically with oats. No matter how diligent the farmer has been and how pure his initial seeds are there is always a risk of cross contamination from other wheat products in nearby fields. We accept that they can exercise a high degree of control over the harvesting and subsequent processing, by cleaning the combine harvester and having a dedicated gluten-free factory and grain mill, but oats are grown in fields and therefore subject to whatever happens to be passing in the air or brought in by a bird.

The decision on whether to eat gluten free oats will be yours to exercise on your behalf or to make a decision on behalf of your children. If you feel that it would be a valuable addition to your menu, and help the quality of flour-based products that use it we suggest that you experiment with a small sample and check whether you get a gluten reaction. Gluten free oats are exceedingly rare and always prone to some minor cross contamination.

Wheat Free Diet
If you have been advised to follow a wheat free diet you will probably start to question whether there is anything in the normal Western diets that you can eat! Relax, people with coeliac condition who need to follow a gluten free diet have, by default, been following a wheat free diet for years. Gluten, the protein which they need to avoid, is commonly found in several grains including rye, oats, barley and wheat.

The main problem shared by people who need to have a wheat free diet is food labeling. Unfortunately the manufacturers use a variety of terms to describe the same products and food ingredients, you will also come to learn that some terms can be ambiguous.

Modified starch can be a good guy or a bad guy for the wheat free diet. Starch can be made from several different products and is only to be avoided if the underlying component is extracted from wheat.

Mono sodium glutinate (MSG) contains gluten and something as innocent as soy sauce can contain wheat as a thickener. Some varieties of oven chips are coated in wheat to ensure that they have a golden appearance on cooking.

To truly exclude wheat from your diet you need to scrutinise the food labels to check what food products they contain. Also make sure that you regularly inspect the labels as manufacturers have a habit of changing ingredients due to seasonality or lower-priced components becoming available. The fact that your TV dinner was wheat free last week is no guarantee that it will be wheat free in one months time.

To be successful and follow a wheat free diet you will also need to be prepared to include some different staple foods in your diet. Rice is safe and comes in many varieties and textures. Supermarkets are now stocking many gluten-free flours and prepared packages for making speciality breads and cakes.

Wheat and gluten free meals can be healthy if you adopt the right approach. Fruit and vegetables contain no wheat at all so stock up on these, there should be no problem in meeting your five and day target if you apply your mind to it.

At first you will feel that excluding wheat from your diet is a real challenge, after a while you will wonder what all the fuss was about. After all you’re trying to exclude wheat because it made you feel unwell so persevere and prosper on on a wheat free diet.

Gluten Free Vacations
If you suffer from coeliac disease and need to be gluten-free you might initially think that vacations are off the agenda, being too troublesome and prone with risk, and this should not be the case.

It is true that taking a vacation will present new challenges and expose you to new situations. Whilst this might take you out of your comfort zone for a while there is no reason why you should not be able to have a gluten-free holiday provided that you make a few basic preparations beforehand.

We don’t suggest that you search the holiday brochures for gluten free vacations, holidays are not graded in such a way. The first requirement for your holiday should be that it is enjoyable and provides the relaxation and enjoyment that you are looking for. Once you have found this ideal holiday the glute free requirements you’re planning should then be put into motion.

One very simple item that is recommended for all gluten free vacations is the basic restaurant translation card. Taking a pre prepared laminated card with a local translation of your gluten-free dietary requirements for eating out takes away many communication problems with the waiter, and can help to remove any doubts you might have over eating the meal. The information it contains is not complex, it should advise of the foods where gluten is most commonly found, state that you need to be free of gluten and advise that most foods such as potatoes, rice, vegetables and salads are gluten-free.

Gluten free vacations can also seem less like a challenge if you take some of your basic food requirements, and some of your favourite foods, with you. These days gluten free breads and cakes are available in most supermarkets. Take some of these packaged items with you to ensure that they are available on your vacation rather than spending many hours on your holiday searching for suitable local produce. Take care with the immigration requirements for some countries, you may need to declare these foodstuffs on your import documentation although this should merely be an administrative task rather than a major import negotiation.

After a while you will find that gluten-free vacations are not a challenge to be tackled but a normal regular part of your year and very relaxing, of course this is before you return to the grind of the office.

Wheat Allergies
Wheat Allergies result from the body’s intollerance of wheat and more specifically a protein called gluten. In the past, wheat allergies were very rare with only a small percentage of the population being diagnosed. In recent times this number has increased significantly to perhaps one in 300 of the population in certain countries. This is partly due to the improved awareness of wheat allergies and coeliac condition in the medical fraternity, and perhaps also comes from the increased use of wheat products in pre-processed foods.

Gluten is found in oats, rye, barley and wheat and is a sticky type of protein which binds other proteins together. This stickiness is one of the reasons why gluten often finds its way into preprocessed foods and in particular the sauces. It is also directly present in bread and confectionery products where, in the western world, wheat is the main flour used by the bakers.

Some people find themselves having a reaction to wheat but not to the other grains, oats, rye and barley. Wheat allergies can produce mood swings and feelings of depression. Common symptoms also include a feeling of bloatedness, nausea and perhaps an overwhelming feeling of tiredness. In addition to a general flu like feeling wheat allergies can often cause swelling of the abdomen and result in frequent rumbling noises.

Diagnosis of a wheat allergy is often difficult. One way you can test for this yourself is to remove wheat from your diet. This requires discipline as, on first sight, wheat is contained in most of the pleasurable foods and treats. In modern times the supermarkets have come to carry extensive ranges of gluten free foods and whilst these were targeted at people with a full-blown coeliac condition they are also available for anyone who feels that they have some form of wheat intollerance.

Gluten and wheat are very secretive and often try to sneak into your meal. You can find them hidden in the most unexpected places under terms such as modified starch. Who would think that the ordinary bag of oven ready chips would also contain wheat. Chips I ask you say, aren’t they made of potato, many manufacturers now seem to apply a wheat based coating to the product perhaps to enhance its golden colour when cooked.

If you find that removal of wheat from your diet produces an improvement in your health the next step is to visit your doctor. There are a range of tests they can perform to confirm the diagnosis and existence of wheat allergies.

Gluten Free Food List
This article highlights some ambiguously labeled food items that may or may not be gluten free to help you understand what contains gluten. It is not a gluten free food list as such, but deals with everyday foods, such as gluten-free cereals, gluten-free beers, and other items.

Lagers, ales and stouts were included in the gluten free food list before 1990. However, beer contains barley; and barley protein is therefore present in beer. Many gluten-free beers are readily available in supermarkets nowadays, and of course cider (made from apples) is safe as it a natural form of gluten-free beer.

Buckwheat often features on a gluten free food list and it is suitable in many gluten free recipes, especially suitable for use in gluten-free bread baking, pie crusts, and pancake and waffle recipes. Buckwheat, despite its name, is a seed and a member of the rhubarb family. The seeds are ground into flour or made into flakes. When using buckwheat flour in recipes it is best to mix it with other gluten free flours, such as rice flour or corn or tapioca flours.

The exact composition or preparation process of commercially available foodstuffs is unknown to most people. To this end, the Coeliac Society provide a gluten free food list for coeliacs to refer to. The list contains ?normal ? foods which are gluten-free. But also, the gluten free food list provides a index of gluten-free bread, cereals, beers, ready meals, sauces, condiments, spices, etc.

Lastly, eating out can be a problematic when adhering to the gluten-free diet. Choosing food that is gluten-free at McDonalds is quite simple. Either visit their website, which has a gluten free list, or just look at the back of the paper place mat in the plastic tray at any of their restaurants.

I have done searches for a gluten free food lists for other restaurants. I?ve been successful in finding a gluten free food list for the following restaurant chains: Frangos, Nandos, Burger King, WagaMama. It?s best to surf these websites in advance and note down which items are gluten-free, print out the gluten free food list and take it with you when you go. The staff at the restaurants may not be familiar with the gluten-free diet, or which items are gluten free, so it?s important to do your research before hand! It just means you end up with a smoother, more efficient dining experience, especially when the restaurant is busy!

The Coeliac Society re-publishes a gluten free food list every year, in April. During the year, as new products are introduced, or recipes change or foodstuffs change, the gluten free food list is updated. Updates can be downloaded from the Coeliac Society website. The gluten free food list, whether the one from the Coeliac Society, or ones from supermarkets or restaurant chains do make life easier for coeliacs and their carers.

Inedible Gluten Food Products
Having coeliac condition means that you need to avoid ingesting gluten. Gluten of course is that nasty little substance which is often hidden in food and is contained in wheat, rye, oats and barley. Whilst it can quickly be understood that these grains need to be excluded from your diet often the question is asked concerning inedible gluten food products. By inedible food products we mean, other household items such as soaps, and shampoo, suntan lotions, and cleaning products and cosmetics.

The guiding principle is that you wanted to exclude gluten from your diet. This means that anything containing gluten which has the chance to become part of your meal or get into your mouth, say from licking your fingers, must be treated with caution. Remember gluten can get into your system not only through eating foodstuffs which contain gluten as an underlying part of the meal but also from foods which have become contaminated with the substance. Contamination can result from gluten containing foods and accidentally being included in your food preparation but also by transference from other items which contain gluten.

Working in a kitchen where someone else is using flour could mean that some of the fine particles drift on the air and enter the food that you are preparing. Sharing knives or spoons could also lead to cross contamination of your foodstuffs and mean that you are preparing a gluten based meal for yourself. Eating the evening meal can lead to cross contamination if some foods in one dish contain gluten and, unknowingly, one of your guests uses a spoon which has touched these items to dispense other foods which were previously gluten free!

One real life example away from the dinner table to consider is creating a letter and posting this with a postal stamp. If you lick the envelope to seal the letter or if you lick the stamp before applying it to the letter you may find that you have activated the glue which contains gluten. In these circumstances there is a good chance that you will now have gluten on your tongue. Some people are very sensitive to gluten and this will be recognized immediately with some form of reaction. Other people are less sensitive and may not exhibit any symptoms although of course they have now ingested gluten and this could lead to a stomach upset or feeling unwell.

Another source of hidden gluten in foodstuffs is in shampoo. As there are many shampoos available in the shops it is best to remove the small risk that some of this will get in your mouth by buying a gluten free shampoo in the first place.

Don’t get too hung up with these examples. They merely illustrate hidden pitfalls and areas of the your daily life that you should consider for review to make sure that gluten is not entering your system. Once you have developed your daily habits you will find at things come naturally and you do not need to become neurotic about inedible gluten food products causing you problems.

Coeliac Diagnosis
Coeliac Diagnosis is notoriously hard to confirm as the symptoms of gluten intolerance vary in severity from person to person. In addition, knowledge of coeliac disease varies from doctor to doctor with the occasional missed diagnoses including being labelled as irritable bowel syndrome or a weak constitution.

This difficulty in coeliac diagnosis also means at identification of gluten intolerance can be made much later in life. Identification of the coeliac condition in young children is quite rare although we should sympathise with the medical community as other intollerances, for example lactose intollerance, can also exhibit symptoms very similar to coeliac disease.

Recently, a blood test for the antibodies produced when the body reacts with gluten has been developed. This is very sensitive and is proving to be a useful check on gluten intolerance. If a member of the family has been diagnosed with coeliac condition often the other members of the family will have a blood test to screen whether they appear to be gluten intolerant or have no reaction to the protein.

Absolute confirmation of coeliac condition is made through a biopsy of the small intestine. The body’s reaction to gluten results in the fine hairlike projections in the gut being flattened and ultimately eradicated. This reduces the body’s ability to absorb food and also provides a tell-tale marker of the presence of gluten intolerance. A biopsy, taking a small sample of the gut lining, will enable the medical examiner to review the sample under a microscope and observe the condition of the hairlike projections. The intestine of someone with coeliac condition has a very specific appearance and gives a precise diagnosis.

Diagnosis of gluten intollerance may initially seem to be the end of the world as, life as you know it, is thrown into turmoil. Coeliac diagnosis should not be viewed in this way. If you are diagnosed with coeliac condition the solution is to adopt a gluten free diet without delay, millions of people worldwide are successful in this from babies up to 100 years of age.

Coeliac diagnosis is becoming a more precise and represents the opportunity to improve your health as, now knowing the underlying cause of your ill-health, the gluten can be avoided with a little discipline and normal life and can resume.

Checking Food Labels for Gluten
When you first received diagnosis of Coeliac Condition for yourself or your child, you may quickly grasp the fact that wheat, oats, barley and rye products are to be avoided in order to comply with a gluten-free diet. However, there are a number of obscure ingredients around which are more difficult to spot when reading food labels and trawling through recipe books.

The following ingredients are made from grains, so I would recommend you avoid them if you want to be gluten free. They are: vegetable gum, flour, cereal, malt or malt flavoring, vegetable protein, soysauce, malt extract and modified starch. Unless, of course it is labeled clearly (i.e. modified cornstarch, or tamari soysauce – these are gluten-free).

One cereal where opinion is divided is on oats. It is recommended that if you are newly diagnosed that you do avoid oats during the first 6 months of starting the gluten-free diet. After then, if you desire, you can slowly introduce the oats and see if you can tolerate them. Oats are in theory gluten-free. However, oats are often grown on fields which have wheat grown on them in previous years – which leads to cross-contamination in some cases. Also, if you are very sensitive to gluten – i.e. you vomit within hours of ingesting gluten, then it is also recommended that you avoid oats.

Another ingredient to look out for in checking Food Labels for gluten is malt extract – an ingredient in many breakfast cereals. Whilst the gluten levels in malt extract are microscopic, and tolerated by most coeliac patients, it is wise to avoid it if you are very sensitive to gluten.

Soy Sauce is another difficult one to get one’s head around on a food label. How can something black and liquid contain wheat (i.e. gluten)! Also, one assumes that Japanese, Chinese and Thai cooking would be suitable for coeliacs as no flour is used in these cuisines, meats and vegetables are stir-fried and there is an absence of thick sauces and gravies. Most thickening is done by coconut milk and coconut cream. Rice (a gluten-free cereal) is the staple for these countries. However, soy sauce is used abundantly to season and flavor the dishes. Tamari Soy Sauce is gluten free, so it is worth investing in a bottle so that you can still cook your favorite Asian dishes! When eating out, just ask for the dishes to be made without the soysauce?. Indian food is also quite suitable for coeliacs; as long as you steer away from the chapattis and Nan-bread?. Indian cuisine uses chickpea flour to bind (i.e. Onion Bhajjis) ingredients and sauces are again thickened with coconut cream/milk.

With knowledge Food Labels will become less of a challenge and you can ensure that your food is gluten free.

Gluten Support Groups
Immediately after being diagnosed as gluten intolerant, with coeliac disease, you might feel quite daunted with the range of challenges which now face you. How can you eat a gluten free diet? Will you be able to go on holiday in the future? What are the risks of eating gluten? The best advice you can receive at this time is to talk to people in a similar situation and join a gluten support group. Remember you are not the first person in the world to experience gluten intollerance and there is no harm in learning from the experience of those who have encountered this situation before you.

The Internet is a good initial place to look for information on this subject. Most countries have a national coeliac support group to help people with gluten intollerance and assist them in living a gluten free life. You will find that they will have a web site with many reference materials and most probably issue a regular magazine or paper-based newsletter giving information on national events and the latest manufacturer news.

More local to home you might find that the national coeliac support site also carries details of local gluten support groups. This offers an advantage of learning of local events which are guaranteed to be gluten free and the opportunity to meet people in a similar situation so that you can learn, face to face, how they have adapted to their news and now manage to live gluten free. If you have any child who needs to live gluten free many problems seem to evaporate if they have friends in a similar situation. Parties are often easier to manage when all the participants have excluded gluten from the foods that they bring rather than frantically trying to create an exclusion zone around your child to prevent the intrusion of gluten.

Whether local or national many gluten free support groups will have online forums and knowledge bases / frequently asked questions where you can rapidly learn the basics of how to live gluten free and then ask questions, day or night, as they occur. Mixing in dialogue with people who have lived gluten free for many years will help you to understand that this is not a major event to permanently disrupt your life, you are merely learning your body’s preferences and understanding the tricks of how to exclude gluten whilst changing your lifestyle in the easiest manner.

Gluten free recipes are often collated in the sites or, some enterprising member will have created a mini recipe book with all the favourites. Think of this, you now have the opportunity to try out a whole new set of recipes with the excitement of eating a different diet and the knowledge that this will not leave you feeling ill for several days after.

After a while you can become a major contributor to your gluten support group and perhaps play your part in assisting the next person who learns that they have been diagnosed with a coeliac condition.