Is there an easy guide to wheat and gluten free food etc ?

[GetStrongKeepFighting]

I'm trying really hard but I'm clearly eating stuff I shouldn't as I'm still having symptoms albeit not as bad as previously.

I've recently been diagnosed with low iron levels and when I googled to see what it meant I was taken to a page about coeliac issues.

Thank you.

I’m not sure what you mean with the iron part?

But you know people with coeliac disease need to avoid any trace of wheat, so anything suitable for them would be fine for you.

I googled what low iron levels meant and it took me to a link about coeliac disease.

Years ago I was tested and I was borderline coeliac whereas now I know I can't have wheat or gluten. It's easy leaving things that say wheat in the ingredients but I'm missing something obvious as I'm still having trouble when eating things that don't say wheat in the ingredients .

What sort of foods?
What sort of symptoms?
How is your iron deficiency being treated?

Perhaps you have IBS or something else?

Bread is the main issue along with pasta, cake,pastry etc. Bad stomach pains, loose frequent bowel movements. Tiredness and feeling generally bleurgh.

I've got iron tablets.

So are you buying gluten free bread/pasta etc?

Very occasionally as I haven't found one that is very nice yet.

Thank you.

Mark's and Spencer's gluten free range is delicious.
I've used their bread, pasta and quiche.

Dd has coeliac disease so has to be gluten free very strictly. You're right the bread is shit, she doesn't really bother with bread, pasta, etc. It's better to go without it than have stomach pains surely? Are you still eating non GF bread, sorry it's unclear from your posts?

Just avoid anything with wheat or barley or oats (unless they're gf oats). Food labels have these in bold on the ingredient list so easily avoided.

I feel like I am avoiding things with wheat in but still have the symptoms .

You need to avoid barley, rye, and oats (unless labelled GF) not just wheat. The Coeliac Society has a book with all GF foods in major supermarkets.

The bread is only really good toasted or freshly baked except for some rare exceptions that you probably can't get in the UK

It could also be lactose intolerance then. DD's villi was so badly damaged by gluten she had to go lactose free for six months while the villi healed. Definetely keep a food diary and ask your GP for help. Dd is still having issues and they're now querying Crohn's disease as well as coeliac.

Contact The Coeliac Society, and only eat foods that state “ gluten free” rather than not having wheat etc on the ingredients list, because a trace will be causing symptoms.

Thank you. I haven't found anything in the specific free from section that is worth having again and have only found one thing we eat that says gluten free on the front so I'm thinking I'll live on veg!

Dd lives on salads a lot, fruit, jacket potatoes, I make curry from scratch. But I think sharwoods curry sauces are mainly gf.

Chilli. Spag bolg with courgette noodles or gf spaghetti. Rice and quinoa are fine.

I've bought gf pizza bases online which were ok. Think it was Lo Dough ones. The Be Free ones in supermarkets are also ok.

Dd likes the gf spring rolls in m&s.

Most food won't state "gluten free" on the label. A tin of tomatoes for example is fine but I doubt they say gluten free. As long as there's nothing on the ingredients list and it doesn't say "may contain" it will be fine.

For example Dairy Milk isn't ok to eat because although it has nothing in the ingredients it says "may contain" and its down to the factory line its made in and they coat the cutting blades with flour or something. But then Wispa bars are fine. Some people might risk the "may contain" stuff but it makes dd poorly so she doesn't.

If you live in a house with others you need your own butter, jam, etc. Your own bread board and toaster or use toastie bags.

If you are not a coeliac, then it's possible you have non coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS). This can give you many of the hideous gastrointestinal and brain fog issues, but none of the severe long term health issues that coeliacs can face if they consume gluten.

All major supermarkets sell gluten free pasta, and most will have a "free from" section, where all the packaging tells you what it's free from (ie, wheat / gluten / egg etc). Bread is more hit and miss, though schar do a very good range of GF bread products - including ciabattas, pain au chocolat etc. Warburton do lovely GF crumpets. I buy Tesco's own brand bread, as I find all the speciality brands to be hideous.

Supermarkets also sell things like GF flour, biscuits, cakes, the supply is endless! It's so easy to get decent GF products in large supermarkets or online these days. It's down to personal preference, and you have to try a load of different things. M&S range is your friend here.... so many tasty things.

Potatoes, rice, quinoa and specifically labelled GF oats are all GF. Meat, eggs etc. There's no need to live on veg!

If you're still struggling, you need to strip back your diet to pure foods - meat, eggs, veg, and additional products above that you KNOW are GF. If you're still getting ill. You need to consider your cooking / eating environment. If you're sharing a kitchen, you may be experiencing cross contamination - ie bread crumbs in butter or jam, used grill pans etc. Wooden utensils are also culprits. You need to be careful eating out too. Also, weird things contain gluten, so ANY packaging needs to be read. I avoid walkers crisps for example, as they often have a "may contain" label and have made me ill a few times. Ditch the soy sauce, it's wheaty...

If you do all of this and you're still ill, it is likely that gluten is not the culprit. If it's not the gluten, it might be worth seeing a dietician and competing the FODMAP diet.

It's tough to get your head around, but you do get better at label spotting. I do miss the odd food here and there, but I don't miss the symptoms.

I really appreciate all your help, thank you very much.

I think the problem is also I don't fully understand what gluten is. Wheat I get as I understand it to be flour so anything I know made with flour (pastry, bread etc) I know I can't have. I thought gluten meant bread and possibly only bread stuff so if it doesn't that is why I am still having symptoms.

I get that I probably sound very stupid but I'm not really. I've just had some brain trauma and it has affected my memory recall when I read things, my understanding of certain things and I can read two sentences and have forgotten what was in the first one already.

I have to go out now but I'll be making notes when I get back so once again, thank you.

Gluten is in loads of stuff once you start looking. Eg my son has to avoid certain brands of crisps. Are you sure you’re not coeliac? It can be missed by doctors, it would be worth seeing the Dr again especially as you think you’re iron deficient. You can join coeliac UK for an annual fee (£24 I think) which gives access to an app you can scan barcodes with to check if they are safe. Also the info they send has a helpful checklist of foods that are definitely GF and ones you need to check (like crisps etc).

Gluten is a protein which is present in some grains.

Lots of things which you might not expect have gluten in. Marmite for instance, beer, soy sauce, some chocolate, some sausages, lots of sauces.

Getting checked again by the GP is a very good idea. Coeliac disease can develop. Just because you didn't have it a while ago doesn't mean you don't have it now.....especially if they said you were borderline.

Even if it turns out you're not coeliac it sounds like the app and scanner would be good for you.

So if something had gluten in it what would it say on the ingredients? This is the bit I can't grasp.

No, it wouldn't always say it contains gluten. But it would say that it contains wheat or rye or barley or oats. So if you read all labels and it doesn't list one of those 4 and it doesn't say may contain for any of those things then it's ok. If it says oats (gluten free) then that's ok. Because gluten can be washed out of oats or something.

I'll take some pictures later.

It's definitely worth speaking to your doctor about being tested again for Coeliac disease. My daughter was tested a few years ago and the result was negative, but she's been tested again recently after having a lot of symptoms (low iron being one of them) and the results are positive this time. If you are going to be tested again, unfortunately you have to eat gluten for a few weeks before you have the blood test so this may make you feel worse temporarily.

In a list of ingredients the allergens are usually listed in bold. You need to look for wheat, barley, rye and oats and avoid anything with these in. Gluten can be in things you don't expect, as wheat flour is often used to thicken sauces so it can be in things like ketchup, soups, stock cubes, etc. Gluten is also in beer, but other alcohol is fine.

If you're not keen on the free from foods, I'd try to stick to things that are naturally gluten free. So you can eat rice, all fruit and veg, dairy, meat, fish (as long as not coated in breadcrumbs/batter), flours such as corn flour, gram flour, rice flour.

I'd second the advice of joining the coeliac society as they will give you an up to date list of all brands of all products that are safe to eat. There are also lots of Facebook groups which I find helpful. Also some good groups on eating out and where has good gluten free options.

Just as an example this soup is gluten free because the ingredients list (you might need to scroll down to see it) doesn't contain wheat, barley, rye or oats.

But this soup contains gluten as wheat and barley are listed in the ingredients.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. So it isn't an ingredient in itself which is why it isn't listed. Gluten can be removed from wheat, so it is possible to get something which is gluten-free but contains wheat. This would be marked as gluten-free though.

Oats don't contain gluten but they way they are milled means they can get contaminated with gluten so you should avoid them as well unless they specifically say gluten-free.

I’d guess looking out for wheat would be a very good start. Unless you’re buying cereal bars/granola, how many things have rye/barley/oats in?