Gluten Free Diagnosis and Diet Change: Part Two: Learning Gluten’s Many Names

Gluten is sneaky. Really sneaky. It enjoys hiding in places you would never imagine it existed. To understand the many names of gluten, let us first take a quick lesson in gluten itself:

From Wikipedia: 

Gluten (from Latin gluten, "glue") is a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat and related grain species, including barley and rye. It gives elasticity to dough, helping it to rise and to keep its shape, and often giving the final product a chewy texture. ... Worldwide, gluten is a source of protein, both in foods prepared directly from sources containing it, and as an additive to foods otherwise low in protein.

Below is a wonderfully detailed but long list of grains, flours, seeds, etc. that we absolutely, positively CANNOT have. I like to Google some of the listed items at various times to find out in more detail why they're on the list. Take meringue, for example: I missed it on the list the first time I read it, and only now noticed it!

Gluten Free Diagnosis and Diet Change: Part One: The Helpful Shopping List

For those recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease, removing all gluten from one’s daily diet without any notice is daunting. Perhaps even more daunting than the instant diet change is the first grocery shopping trip after the diagnosis. Suddenly, all of the food that was so easily thrown into the cart last week must now be carefully scrutinized for any trace of gluten; and to your horror, gluten is in all of it!

This is how I felt standing in the store with my husband, both of us looking from one end to the other, wondering if plain meat, vegetables, and nuts were all we would be bringing home that night. But of course that didn’t happen; within two months we were both shopping like gluten free pros.

This is the list to get you by as you learn and research more about gluten and how to avoid it: