Avoiding wheat in the Western world like navigating a mine field. If you are allergic to wheat or gluten, or have celiac, you need a really good map and you need to always double-and triple-check everything.
Note
This description is a work in progress. Note in particular that the lists may not be complete. I certainly intend to improve and expand on this article as time goes on. Do please add your comments to help add content or correct any inaccuracies that you notice.
Wheat Has a Use
This article is a bit of a map. It is divided into four sections:
Synonyms to Wheat
See the Definition of Wheat.
(Almost) Always Contains Wheat
Most of these items always contain wheat. Some ususally are made from wheat.
- Bread (wheat-free bread does exist)
- Chappatis
- Fu
- Gnocchi
- Gravy mix
- Liquorice candy
- Manna
- Muesli
- Noodles (exception: rice noodles, commonly found in Asian food)
- Pasta
- Pitta bread
- Play dough
- Quorn products (mycoprotein food)
- Rusk
- Sauces in general. If you can’t verify the ingredients, assume they contain wheat).
- Scotch eggs
- Soy sauce (exception: some brands of tamari sauce)
- Stuffing
- Suet
- Soups (especially packaged or canned, check ingredients. Home-made soup may not have wheat. Always ask.)
May Contain Wheat
- Baking powder
- Beer/lagerBlue cheese (depending on mold source)
- Coffee substitutes made from cereal
- Chicken and beef broth (canned/cubed)
- Citric acid (verify before use)
- Corn starch (some brands add wheat flour)
- Curry powder (some brands add wheat flour)
- Dextrin (may be derived from wheat)
- Edible Starch (may be derived from wheat)
- Filler (could be anything!)
- Food Starch (may be derived from wheat)
- Falafel
- French fries (especially if manufacturered or seasoned. Always ask.)
- Gelatinized starch, modified starch, modified food starch
- Gum base
- Hydrolyzed plant protein
- Ice cream
- Imitation bacon
- Imitation crab
- Meat, fish and poultry binders and fillers, e.g., deli meats, hot dogsPie fillings, puddings
- Medicines (always check with pharmacist)
- Miso
- Modified starch or modified food starch
- MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)
- Mustard powder, prepared mustard (always check)
- Pepper, ground (avoid in restaurants). Whole pepper is fine.
- Prepared ketchup, mustard
- Salad dressings
- Sauces, e.g., chutney, soy sauce, tamari sauce
- Seasonings
- Spices, ground (always check)
- Starch (may be derived from wheat)
- Stock cubes
- Surimi (used to make imitation crab/lobster meat)
- Thickener (unless specified as other than wheat).
- Tortillas
- Vegetable protein
- Vitamines (always check with pharmacist)
- Yogurt (those thickened with starch or wheat are of low quality in any case)
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
QUORN
HI?
Quorn products and subsequently Mycroproteins….GOOD OR BAD?
thxs,
marco
Wheat-free: not Quorn (usually)
Quorn products usually contain wheat so read ingredients carefully or avoid.
Wheat allergy
Is malt vinegar to be avoided by wheat allergy folks?
Malt Vinegar is Wheat Free
Malt vinegar is made from barley.
It is therefore safe if you are avoiding wheat.
It should be avoided if you are avoiding gluten or barley.
wheat allergies
I read your list of things to avoid, it is bad enough i have msg allergy, but by your list what is left to eat?
Lish
Wheat allergy and what you can eat
I know what you mean, Lish. I face the same problem.
It doesn’t seem like a problem though, after you learn what you can eat and spend some time getting comfortable with the diet.
And if you do have a wheat allergy, it is well worth avoiding – you feel so much better! That’s why I created this whole website in the first place.
For more focused information on managing a wheat or gluten allergy, check this out:
Gluten Allergy information product
Hope that helps
Can I eat horseradish if I have a wheat allergy?
Can I eat homemade horseradish? Contains; horseradish, sugar, salt, white wine vinegar and whipped cream?
Thanks
No wheat in that
None of the contents you listed have wheat or gluten in them.
Enjoy.
What about rice?
Are there certain kinds of rices to stay away from or are some better than others for a wheat allergy?
Kinds of rice
Hi Devan,
There are thousands of varieties of rice, as you probably know.
I have no information about whether someone may be allergic to one type of rice and not another.
Rice, like wheat and all grains (and bamboo too, just to give you an idea of the variety) are all types of grass.
I am not aware of any advice that would suggest that one type of rice is better than another if you have a wheat allergy.
If you care to experiment, please find out what works best for you and report back here with your comments.
types of rice….
with regard to allergy I do not know whether some sorts of rice are better than others. But one aspect that an be important to look at is glycemic value/index – the brown rice types and parboiled rice is better to eat than white rice – this is due to their influene on your blood sugar level
;O)
Henriette
Rice and glycemic index
Good point Henriette, thanks
wheat
distilled vinegar may be made from wheat
Protien contamination unlikely
What you say may be true, however:
Does gluten or other wheat proteins carry over into the vinegar?
I do not have an answer based on solid research, but I suspect not.
Distilled vinegar should be safe for the same reason that spirits such as gin and vodka are safe: the distillation process leaves most, if not all proteins and other allergenic substances behind.
Personally, I do not worry about distilled vinegar, but each person must make their own decision on this.
Beer
I just found out I have a wheat allergy (not gluten) and am having trouble navigating the minefield of what’s wheatfree or not. There’s a lot of conflicting information. But this site’s very useful and to the point.
Are beers that aren’t specifically wheat-beers okay or not? All the information I’ve seen so far deals with gluten/celiac, which is more restrictive than a simple wheat allergy.
Thanks!
Gluten-free beer vs. wheat-free beer
Your best bet is to drink gluten-free beer, because then you know you are safe.
Beer is often made with barley rather than wheat, which is OK if you have a wheat allergy (but not gluten free).
Here is what I suggest you do:
1) Read the ingredients.
if no wheat is listed, follow step 2:
2) Call the manufacturer and ask them if there is wheat of any kind in their beer.
Hope that helps.
Cheers!
Cuba Beer
I am also on a wheat free diet and am heading to Cuba do you know if Cuban beer is wheet free or if any is?
Thanks
same issue!
It’s nice to see someone out there with the same issue that I’m having! I’m wheat-intolerant, but gluten is not a problem for me. While it is safer to follow a gluten-free diet, it’s also incredibly restrictive.
I’m looking to find a list of beers that I can have without getting sick. So far, I’ve been able to drink Guinness without any trouble. I’ve also heard that Bud and Coors use rice or corn rather than wheat. I usually drink wine to be safe, but I’d also appreciate some input about wheat-free, NOT gluten-free, beer.
Vodka from different grains
Vodka can be made from numerous grains and plants, but two predominate: wheat and potatoes. Barley, rye, corn, and grape vodkas are also available. Potato vodkas and grape vodkas are generally considered “high-end” vodkas, although some wheat vodkas are considered premium as well. Here’s a rundown of the base grains for common vodkas:
• Wheat: Stolichnaya (made from a blend of wheat and rye), Grey Goose, Ketel One, Snow Queen, Van Gogh (made from a blend of wheat, corn, and barley), La Chance, Vox, Polar Ice, Absolut
• Rye: Belvedere
• Barley: Finlandia, Koskenkorva
• Corn: Smirnoff
• Potato: Chopin, Teton Glacier, Monopolowa, Vikingfjord, Luksosowa
• Grape: Cîroc, Bombora
http://foodallergies.about.com/od/wheatallergies/f/vodka.htm
Thanks for the vodka grain run-down
Thanks for summarizing what different vodkas are made from, Ruby.
Vodka is highly distilled, so many consider it safe, no matter what it is made from.
A couple things to consider:
It might be best to cut out in the early stages of an elimination diet. Even if the base grain is note likely to effect you, “not likely” is not good enough when trying to determine your food allergies and sensitivities.
Also, alcohol may contribute to leaky gut syndrome, especially when your gut is trying to heal, shortly after eliminating offending foods.
Corn Vodka
Canadian Iceberg Vodka is made from Corn, peaches and captured iceberg water. It is safe to drink for wheat free diets.
Allergic to Wheat, and avoiding most foods, but notice and wondering more so now if Beef or chickens are fed wheat or grains and can effect me, lots of hives and itching. Drs. don’t seem to know.
In theory, feeding an animal food that you are allergic to should not cause the meat to trigger an allergy. In theory.
You may have a separate meat allergy. Or it could be that you have symptoms depending on what the animal is fed.
Sorry, I can’t give you any definitive information on this one.
I would suggest you cut out beef and chicken if they seem to be causing you trouble and see how that works.
See Self-Testing for Allergies for more ideas on how to handle this.