Wheat vs gluten - can someone please explain the difference to me?

[ArtFine]

I'm a little confused between wheat and gluten.

DD has to go on a wheat free diet, not gluten free.

Does that mean everything that is gluten free is fine for her?

Yes. Wheat contains gluten. So she won't be able to eat bread, pasta, cereals with wheat.

Gluten is also in other grains - rye, barley etc.

Not necessarily, some gluten free foods still contain wheat. They somehow remove the gluten from the wheat. So you need to just check the label to make sure. Free From ranges are much better now than they were, although they are more expensive than regular food. Eg around 3 for gluten/wheat free bread.

So on a wheat free diet, can she have barley malt? (Vimto has that btw)

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye.
Coeliacs require a gluten free diet to avoid the autoimmune reaction to gluten causing damage to the stomach lining.
It's possible to have an allergy to wheat requiring avoidance if wheat and wheat based products and for some this involves not having skin contact with wheat.
In the main gluten free products will be suitable for a wheat free diet, but double check, as there are some gluten free products where the gluten has been extracted to make them suitable for coeliacs but they still contain wheat, so wouldn't be suitable for your daughter

Yes, someone who needs to be wheat-free can eat barley malt.

Most gluten-free foods should be fine, but check the label - some, particularly bread products, contain 'codex wheat starch' (a very, very low gluten product that provides some of the 'stretchiness' that gluten gives bread). And some contain wheat dextrose, which is again considered gluten-free. I avoid both for my coeliac DC, because I think even that very low level of gluten is a risk, and I know some people react to it.