Gluten-free

You avoid wheat (including spelt, durum, semolina, farro, kamut, and einkorn), barley, rye, and triticale, plus any product made from them such as regular bread, pasta, pastries, breaded meats, and most beers. Hidden sources include soy sauce, malt vinegar, malt extract, seitan, and many processed foods that use wheat flour as a thickener. Oats are tolerated by most people with celiac disease only when certified gluten-free, since standard oats are often cross-contaminated.

It is medically necessary for people with celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, or wheat allergy, but offers no proven nutritional advantage for others. Replacing whole wheat with refined rice or corn flour products typically reduces fiber, folate, iron, and thiamin intake. Many commercial gluten-free baked goods also contain more added sugar and fat to compensate for texture.

Rice, corn, quinoa, buckwheat, millet, sorghum, amaranth, teff, and certified gluten-free oats are all safe. Starches like potato, tapioca, cassava, and arrowroot are also gluten-free and often used in baking blends. Quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat are particularly useful because they supply more protein, magnesium, and iron than rice-based alternatives.

For people with celiac disease or wheat sensitivity, removing gluten resolves the underlying intestinal damage or symptoms. For others reporting relief, the change is often due to lower intake of fructans, a type of FODMAP found in wheat, rather than gluten itself. A low-FODMAP trial may be more targeted than a full gluten-free diet in those cases.