Am I gluten sensitive

by Amie

Amie asks...

So I just read an article about having a gluten free diet.

I read all the symptoms associated with being gluten intolerant, and I definitely had 8 out the the 10 symptoms listed.

Now I've never known anyone with this disease and I am confused on what foods to avoid. I get that gluten is in wheat ingredients but how/what do you look for on the nutrition label to see if there is gluten in the item?

Is gluten in oatmeal or no because it's an oat? Oh man, I'm definitely confused!


The gluten free chef replies...

Amie, if you think there is a real possibility that you may be gluten sensitive then it is important to visit your doctor before starting a gluten free diet. There are certain tests that the doctor may want to do, which will not bring back accurate results if you are following a gluten free diet at the time.

The ingredients to avoid are, as you rightly mentioned, wheat but also barley and rye. Oats are a gray area, as they do not contain gluten but are often processed in the same place and have a high risk of contamination.

Regarding food labelling, the following page has a list of ingredients that it is best to avoid.

This page has a long list of foods containing gluten and there is also a page with a gluten free food list.