The gluten in the flour is what makes the paste "elastic" and binds it together. In fact "strong" flour, sold for making bread, has extra gluten added. Wheat gluten is a cheap source of protein.
Who Needs a Gluten Free Diet?
People suffering from celiac disease or gluten intolerance need to avoid foods containing gluten in order to live well. A strict gluten free diet is also the treatment for a related condition called Dermatitis Herpetiformis, which is a severe itchy skin condition. And it is often recommended for people with autism, ADHD (attention deficit disorder) or fibromyalgia.
Gluten and Celiac Disease
Eating foods even containing a small amount of gluten can cause damage to the small intestine for people with celiac disease.
Due to its autoimmune nature, celiac disease attacks the body, causing inflammation and damage to the inside of the small intestine. The normal small intestine features small hair like projections along its length known as villi. The villi increase the surface area of the small intestine and therefore assist in the absorption of the nutrients that the body needs to stay healthy.
The autoimmune response causes so much damage to these villi that they are no longer effective in absorbing nutrients. Changing over to a gluten free diet will allow your body to repair these villi. As a result your health will improve tremendously.
Gluten Containing Foods and Other Products
Some foods containing gluten are obvious to everyone that needs to follow a gluten free diet, but many could slip by unnoticed. The following list of foods below will help you to avoid gluten if you have celiac disease or suffer a gluten allergy or intolerance.
Gluten Containing Grains and Baked Goods
| Bread and bread rolls | Rye bread, pumpernickel | Yorkshire pudding |
| Pretzels | Cakes | Stuffings |
| Muffins | Pastry or pie crust | Pancakes |
| Biscuits or cookies | Pasta - macaroni, spaghetti, etc. | Crispbreads |
| Bulgar wheat | Durhum | Crumble toppings |
| Coucous | Pizza | Semolina |
| Scones | Anything in breadcrumbs | |
| All Bran | Sponge puddings | Sponge puddings |
| Barley water drinks | Malted drinks | Muesli |
Foods with Hidden Gluten
Other foods containing gluten could trick the unsuspecting newly diagnosed Celiac sufferer into thinking they are safe. The list below shows things that should be checked.
| Sausages - often contain rusk | Luncheon meat - may contain fillers | Blue cheeses (may be made with bread) |
| Gravy powders and stock cubes such as OXO cubes | Matzo flour/meal | Shredded suet in packs (flour is normally used to keep the strands separate) |
| Seitan (doesn't contain gluten, it IS gluten!) | Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP) | Baked beans (there may be gluten in the tomato sauce) |
| Farina | Meat and fish pastes, pates |
Oats - may be bulked out with flour. The general consensus is they do not contain gluten, but the risk of contamination is so high that most people on a gluten free diet avoid them. |
| Self basting turkeys | Sauces - often thickened with flour | Alcoholic drinks - such as beer, ale, lager |
| Soups - may be roux based (made with flour) | Mustard - dry mustard powder contains gluten | Instant coffee - may be bulked out with flour |
| Brown rice syrup | Cheap brands of chocolate | Potato crips/chips - some are OK, read the ingredients! |
| Soy sauce - only Tamari is OK | Drinking chocolate | Licorice |
| Chutneys and pickles | Salad dressings | Curry powder and other spices (can be bulked out with flour) |
| White pepper | Malt vinegar | Some pharmaceutical products |
| Supplements (binders) |
Some toothpastes | |
Celiac Disease Research
Alvine Pharmaceuticals Reports Positive Results with ALV003 in Phase 1 Trial of Therapy in Development for Celiac Disease, October 29, 2008
Bone Metabolism Defects Common in Untreated Children With Celiac Disease
News Author: Megan Rauscher; CME Author: Laurie Barclay, MD 09/05/2008
Delayed Celiac Disease Diagnosis May Lead to Shorter Adult Height in Men
Am J Gastroenterology 2008;103:1770-1774. 8/5/08
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News on Celiac Disease: Where Are We? Where Are We Going?
Alessio Fasano, MD; Medscape Gastroenterology. 2008; ©2008 Medscape Posted 05/21/2008
Advances in Coeliac Disease
John M Hutchinson; Gerry Robins; Peter D Howdle; Curr Opin
Gastroenterol. 2008;24(2):129-134. ©2008 Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins Posted 05/21/2008
Genetic Background of Celiac Disease and Its Clinical Implications
Victorien
M. Wolters, M.D.; Cisca Wijmenga, Ph.D., Am J Gastroenteroly.
2008;103(1):190-195. ©2008 Blackwell Publishing Posted 02/25/2008
New Study Highlights Need for Proper Screening
For Celiac Disease in Patients With GI Symptoms
Rosemary Frei, MSc, Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News, May 2007
Medical Progress: Celiac Disease
Peter H.R. Green, M.D. and Christophe Cellier, M.D., Ph.D., The New England Journal of Medicine, October 25, 2007
A prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to establish a
safe gluten threshold for patients with celiac disease
Carlo Catassi, Am J Clin Nutr, 2007
The Liver in Celiac Disease
Alberto Rubio-Tapia and Joseph A. Murray, Hepatology, 2007
A prospective comparative study of five measures of gluten-free
diet adherence in adults with coeliac disease
D. A. Leffler, Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 2007
Etiologies and Predictors of Diagnosis in Nonresponsive Celiac Disease
Daniel A. Leffler, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2007
AGA Institute Medical Position Statement on the Diagnosis and
Management of Celiac Disease
Gastroenterology, 2006
Celiac Disease
Warren B. Howe, Journal of Athletic Training, 2005
Follow-up of Patients With Celiac Disease: Achieving
Compliance With Treatment
Michelle Maria Pietzak, Gastroenterology, 2005
Narrative Review: Celiac Disease: Understanding a Complex
Autoimmune Disorder
Armin Alaedini, Ph.D., and Peter H.R. Green, M.D., American College of Physicians, 2005
Prevalence of Celiac Disease in At-Risk and Not-At-Risk Groups in the United States
Alessio Fasano, M.D., Arch Intern Med, February 10, 2003
Celiac Disease: Going Against the Grains
Michelle M. Pietzak, M.D., Nutrition in Clinical Practice, December 2001
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