Should You Go Gluten-free?
The Low-Down on What You Can (and Can’t) Eat.
The Low-Down on What You Can (and Can’t) Eat. – By Registered Dietician and Exercise Scientist Lise Bryer
This diet is designed to provide adequate nutrition, while eliminating wheat, rye, oats and barley from the menu. Gluten may be present in foods not only in a basic ingredient (i.e. listed as wheat, rye, oats or barley), but as a derivative, when a food is processed or prepared. That’s why reading labels is important.
Since flour and cereal products are quite often used in preparing foods, it’s important to be aware of the methods of preparation used, as well as the foods themselves. This is especially important when dining out.
| Food Group | Foods Allowed | Food to Avoid |
| Milk | Fresh, dry, evaporated or condensed milk, cream, sour cream, yoghurt | Malted milk, some commercial chocolate drinks, non-dairy creamers |
| Meat, fish, poultry | All fresh meats, fish, seafood, poultry, fish tinned in oil or brine, hot dogs and lunch meats | Prepared meats that contain wheat and rye etc, sausages, hot dogs, bologna, luncheon meats, chilli con carne, sandwich spreads, bread-containing products e.g. meatloaf, turkey injected with hydrolysed vegetable protein |
| Cheeses | All aged cheeses, e.g. cheddar, Swiss, Edam, Parmesan, cottage cheese, cream cheese, pasteurised processed cheese | Any cheese product containing oat gum as an ingredient |
| Eggs | Plain or in cooking | Eggs made from gluten-containing ingredients, e.g. wheat-based white sauce |
| Potato or other starch | White and sweet potatoes, hominy, rice, wild rice, gluten-free noodles, some oriental rice and bean noodles | Noodles, spaghetti, macaroni, most packaged rice mixes |
| Vegetables | Plain, fresh, frozen vegetables, dried peas and beans, lentils | Creamed vegetables, tinned vegetables in sauce, some tinned baked beans |
| Fruit | Fresh, frozen, tinned or dried fruits, all fruit juices, some tinned pie fillings | Thickened or prepared fruits, some pie fillings |
| Breads | Specially-prepared breads, using only allowed flours, commercially-available brands | All others containing wheat, rye, oats and barley |
| Cereals | Hot cereals made from cornmeal, cream of rice, hominy, rice; cold cereals as follows: Puffed Rice, Kellog’s Sugar Pops, Post’s Fruity and Chocolate Pebbles, Special (is this a brand name?) cereals | All others containing wheat, e.g. bran, graham, wheat germ, malt, bulgur, buckwheat |
| Flours and thickening agents | Cornstarch, tapioca starch, corn flour, cornmeal, potato flour, potato starch flour, rice bran, rice flours, rice polish, soy flour | |
| Crackers and snack foods | Rice wafers, pure cornmeal tortillas, popcorn, some crackers and chips | All others containing wheat, oats, rye and barley |
| Fats | Butter, margarine, vegetable oil, nuts, peanut butter, hydrogenated vegetable oils, some salad dressings, mayonnaise | Some commercial salad dressings |
| Soups | Homemade broth and soups made with allowed ingredients | Most tinned soups and soup mixes |
| Desserts | Cakes, quick breads, pastries, puddings prepared with allowed ingredients, cornstarch, tapioca, and rice puddings, gelatine desserts, custard | Commercial cakes, cookies, pies etc made with wheat, rye oats or barley, prepared mixes, ice-cream cones, pudding |
| Beverages | Instant and ground coffee, instant tea, tea, carbonated beverages, pure cocoa powder, wines, rums, some root beers, vodka distilled from grapes or potatoes | Ovaltine, malted milk, ale, beer, gin, whiskies, vodka distilled from grain, herbal teas containing malted barley or other gluten-containing grains |
| Sweets | Jelly, jam, honey, brown or white sugar, molasses, most syrups, some sweets, chocolate, pure cocoa, coconut | Some commercial sweets |
| Miscellaneous | Salt, pepper, herbs, extracts, food colouring, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, chilli powder, tomato puree and paste, olives, pickles, rice cider and wine vinegar, yeast, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cream of tatar, dry mustard, MSG | Some curry powder, some dry seasoning mixes, some gravy or meat sauces, some mustard, horseradish, some soy sauce and chip dips |
Deputy editor Lisa Nevitt recently tried eating a gluten-free diet for three months, to see if there was any benefit to her health and athletic performance. Read about her experiences in ‘The Missing Ingredient’, in the June 2016 issue of Runner’s World– out now.
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