Hidden Gluten – for those sensitive but not intolerant to gluten

Who might be sensitive to gluten? Here are a few examples: Women during pregnancy, type I diabetics, and those suffering from IBS. The biggest problem when you are sensitive to gluten is that no one meal matters. It’s the build-up of gluten in your system overtime that matters. It can take your body a couple of days to digest and process all the gluten you have eaten, so it’s easy to ‘stack’ the gluten up to the point where it bothers you.  You might know not to eat a whole bowl of pasta, but if you eat several foods that have hidden gluten in them throughout the day it could add up to just as much gluten. Here are some items that might have gluten and you should be aware of…

·         Processed rice and corn products can be contaminated in the factory or have other ingredients that contain gluten.

·         Ice cream because wheat is often used to prevent crystals from forming

·         It’s not just wheat but barley and rye that have gluten in them, so make sure to check the labels for those items as well.

·         Vinegar can contain malt made from barley

·         Coolers and hard lemonades often contain malt/barley (and obviously beer). But the good news is that typically wine, champagne, and distilled spirits are gluten free (but the mixes for drinks typically are not).

Here are just a few suggestions. If you want to look up what other products/brands might have gluten in them you can visit www.celiac.com.