People with celiac disease must avoid eating foods made from wheat, rye, barley, and oats. These grains contain the particular gluten proteins that make celiacs sick. Oats contain only very small amounts of these gluten proteins, but most of the oats used by the food industry have been contaminated with other gluten-containing grains or flours during storage, transport, milling, or processing, and are not safe to eat.
In some cases, it’s easy to figure out if a food contains gluten. Baked goods and pastas are two examples of foods that you probably know celiacs must avoid. But gluten may also be a hidden ingredient, showing up in foods such as soups, sauces, and salad dressings.
Below is a list of ingredients celiacs must avoid. Remember to check every label, every time, even if you think a product is safe!
- Atta – chappati flour made from wheat
- Barley
- Beer
- Bran – from unknown source or from wheat, oats, barley, rye
- Bulgur
- Cereal binding – from unknown source
- Couscous – coarsely ground wheat
- Durum – a type of wheat
- Edible starch – source unknown
- Einkorn – a type of wheat
- Emmer – a type of wheat
- Farro – a type of wheat
- Filler – unidentified
- Food starch – source unknown
- Fu – Asian food ingredient made from wheat
- Germ – source unknown
- Graham flour – whole wheat flour
- Gum base – source unknown
- Hydrolyzed plant protein (HPP) – source unknown
- Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) – source unknown
- Kamut – durum wheat
- Malt – usually from barley
- Malt extract
- Malt flavouring
- Malt syrup
- Malt vinegar
- Miso
- Modified starch – source unknown
- Oats, oat bran, oat gum, and any other oat products – unless certified pure and uncontaminated, in which case you can use in small quantities
- Rye – in any form except rye whiskey
- Seitan – made from wheat – use tofu instead
- Semolina – a type of wheat
- Spelt – dinkel, a type of wheat
- Tabbouleh – salad made from cooked wheat grains
- Triticale – cross between wheat and rye
- Wheat – bran, flour, germ, or starch and anything made from wheat, such as cakes, cookies, pies, bread, rolls, crumbs, croutons, noodles, and batters
- Monosodium glutamate (MSG) – is allowed, but may cause problems for some people
For complete information on the gluten free diet, go to the Canadian Celiac Association web page and click Gluten Free Diet.
