More about foods labelled gluten freeTop-level navigation |
Gluten is a protein found in a number of cereals including wheat, rye and barley. So, if you have coeliac disease you need to avoid foods made from these cereals, including most types of bread, pasta, pizza, pastry, biscuits and cakes. Wheat ingredients are used in many foods, such as some sausages and burgers, and many sauces. Foods in batter or breadcrumbs aren't suitable for people with coeliac disease either. If you have coeliac disease, always check the ingredients on the foods you buy. You also need to avoid some alcoholic drinks made from barley, such as beer and lager. Food labelling rules require pre-packed food sold in the UK, and the rest of the European Union, to show clearly on the label if it contains cereals containing gluten, including wheat, rye, barley and oats (or if one of its ingredients contains these). There are lots of foods that naturally don't contain gluten. Rice, potatoes and corn are all naturally gluten free and are good sources of starchy carbohydrate. Fruit, vegetables and unprocessed meat and fish don't contain gluten either. People with coeliac disease can also buy special products designed for them. The rules about the labelling of foods specially prepared for people with gluten intolerance have changed. A claim of 'gluten free' or 'very low gluten' now have specific meanings and can only be used on certain foods. 'Gluten free' means that the product contains 20 parts or less of gluten per million. Most people with coeliac disease are able to eat foods with this very low level of gluten without any adverse health affects. Gluten helps give bread an elastic quality and gives it a chewy texture. In order to have bread, pizza bases, etc with some of these qualities, a second category of products labelled as 'very low gluten' has been allowed. This will include only those products that are manufactured using a special type of starch that has been treated to take out almost all of the gluten. Products in this category will have a higher level of gluten in them of up to 100 parts per million. While there is more gluten in these products, it is not intended that you should eat a lot of food in this category on a daily basis. The new claims on the labels will enable you to choose mainly those food that are 'gluten free' and fewer of the ones marked 'very low gluten'. However, not everyone will be able to eat foods marked 'very low gluten' because 100 parts per million will make then unwell, so it's important to speak to a doctor or dietitian before introducing them into your diet for the first time. It is possible that some manufacturers will not be able to meet these levels because other products they are making have contaminated a pre-packed food during its transportation, storage or production. In which case, they may decide to tell you that the food does not contain any gluten-containing ingredients and leave it to you to decide whether the level of accidental contamination of the food is too high for you to eat. There will not be any indication of the amount of gluten in the product and so you may feel that it is not worth taking a risk. If you have coeliac disease you will probably be advised to avoid oats, as well as wheat, rye and barley, especially when you are first diagnosed. You should discuss whether to start eating oats again with your health professional because some people with coeliac disease find they cannot eat oats. There are two reasons for this - it is possible that these people react to a protein in oats that is similar to gluten, or that small amounts of other cereals, such as wheat, have got into oat products when the crop is growing, being harvested or transported. At the moment, medical experts don't have enough evidence to decide whether all people with coeliac disease should avoid oats. However, you should be aware that the new rules only oats with 20 parts per million or less to be labelled as 'gluten free' or used in products labelled as 'gluten free' or 'very low gluten'. It's important to remember that products labelled 'wheat free' aren't the same as those labelled 'gluten free' or 'very low gluten'. Wheat-free products may contain other cereals, such as rye or barley, so these aren't suitable for someone with coeliac disease, unless they are labelled 'gluten free' or 'very low gluten'. 'Gluten free' products and 'very low gluten' products may still contain other proteins found in wheat (albumins, globulins and starch granule proteins). So these might not be suitable for people who are intolerant or allergic to wheat. Coeliac UK, a charity that supports people with gluten intolerance, works with manufacturers to produce a regularly updated list of foods that don't contain gluten.
We don't fully understand why some people have this condition, but it does often seem to run in families. Coeliac disease is frequently diagnosed after weaning, at the time when cereals are introduced into the diet, but it can also be diagnosed at a later age, with many people not being diagnosed until much later in life. Some research suggests that waiting until a baby is about six months old before starting to give them foods containing wheat, such as bread, wheat flour, breakfast cereals and rusks, makes it less likely that they will develop coeliac disease. (Current advice is not to give your baby any solid foods until around six months, unless your GP or health visitor advises you to.) People with certain medical conditions might be more likely to develop coeliac disease, for example those who have Type 1 diabetes, thyroid problems, ulcerative colitis and certain neurological disorders, such as epilepsy. There are blood tests that can help find out if someone has coeliac disease, but the only way to be certain is to do a biopsy, where a little piece of the small intestine is removed and examined under a microscope. Until recently, coeliac disease was thought to affect about one in 1,500 people in the UK. However, evidence published in February 2004 suggests that about 1 in 100 have the condition. This figure is based on blood tests in children and hasn't been confirmed by biopsies. So coeliac disease might not be as common as the research suggests. However, many people with coeliac disease don't realise they have the condition and it’s estimated that only 1 in 8 people have been diagnosed. There is no cure for coeliac disease. The only way to avoid the symptoms is not to eat foods and drinks containing gluten. If people with coeliac disease don't control their condition, it can lead to anaemia, bone disease and, on rare occasions, certain forms of cancer. It can also cause growth problems in children.
Gluten is a protein found in wheat and also in a number of other cereals including rye and barley. So, if you have coeliac disease you need to avoid foods made from these cereals, including: