What can people on a gluten-free diet eat
A gluten-free diet is a way of eating in which the foods consumed contain no gluten at all. This is by no means an easy approach to follow. But our experience shows that the more severe a person's existing complaints are as a result of celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, the easier it becomes for them to comply with this strict diet.
Gluten is present in wheat, barley, rye, and oats, and in all foods made from the flour of these grains (bread, cake, pastries, buns, baklava, biscuits, and pastries), as well as in barley and semolina. There is disagreement over whether celiac patients should avoid or stay away from oats.
WHAT CAN PEOPLE WHO NEED TO FOLLOW A GLUTEN-FREE DIET EAT
Among grains, they can eat rice, corn, buckwheat, potatoes, quinoa, and wild rice, along with flours made from these grains and products made from them. Today, the availability of gluten-free grain flours has made life easier for celiac patients. However, I want to underline a distinction here. If a person has gluten sensitivity, since the gluten-free diet will continue for a certain period, being as strict as possible with their diet and staying away even from products labeled "gluten-free" will speed up the healing of the intestinal flora and mucosa. But if the person is a celiac patient and the gluten-free diet will continue for a lifetime, they can choose products made from gluten-free grain flours to add variety to their diet.
At the same time, researching gluten and learning which foods contain it should become second nature for celiac patients. These patients need to learn which foods are safe and which ones exceed the limits.
Below you will find a list of foods that are allowed and forbidden on a gluten-free diet. It is important, especially for celiac patients and anyone with gluten sensitivity, to know this list.
FOODS ALLOWED ON A GLUTEN-FREE DIET
Beverages: Coffee, tea, ayran, rosehip tea, linden tea, unmalted drinks (some wines, rum)
Milk: Fresh, condensed, or pasteurized milk, powdered milk, curd cheese, yogurt, creams
Meat, Fish, Poultry: Fresh meat, fish, other seafood, and poultry
Cheese: White cheese, kashar cheese, pasteurized cheeses, cream cheeses, all aged cheeses
Potatoes and other starchy foods: Potatoes, rice, gluten-free noodles
Grains: Corn, rice, and products made from them (such as popcorn, corn flakes...)
Bread: Bread made only from permitted flours (such as corn bread, buckwheat bread)
Flours: Corn flour, buckwheat flour, quinoa flour, potato flour, rice flour, soy flour, hazelnut and walnut flour, bean and lentil flour, and starches made from all of these, along with any flour from which gluten has been removed
Vegetables: All vegetables, beans, lentils, and other legumes
Fruits: All fruits, all fresh fruit juices
Fats: Butter, olive oil, hazelnut, peanut, and other oils
Soups: All homemade soups that do not contain flour as an ingredient
Sweets: Honey, jam, sugar, chocolate, pudding, rice pudding, and other flour-free sweets
Other: Salt, pepper, mint, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cider vinegar, wine vinegar, dry mustard, olive oil, paprika, tomato purée
FOODS NOT ALLOWED ON A GLUTEN-FREE DIET
Beverages: Malted milk, beer, gin, whiskey, flavored coffees, some herbal teas (those containing gluten)
Milk: Malted milk, commercial chocolate milk, creams of unknown production
Meat, Fish, Poultry: Meat, fish, etc. prepared with flour-containing ingredients
Cheese: Cheeses containing grain products
Potatoes and other starchy foods: All types of pasta, noodles
Grains: Wheat, barley, rye, oats, bran, bulgur, millet
Bread: White bread, and all bread containing whole wheat, barley, rye, oat, millet, or bulgur flour
Flours: Wheat flour, barley flour, rye flour, oat flour, millet flour
Vegetables: Vegetables prepared with gluten-containing sauces
Fruits: Some commercially concentrated fruit and fruit juices, some dried fruits with added flour
Fats: Some commercial salad dressings
Soups: Tarhana, noodle soup, tripe soup — in short, any soup made from flour-based products or containing flour as an additive, and instant soups
Sweets: Baklava, revani, flour halva, tulumba, şöbiyet, etc.
Other: Tomato paste, ketchup, horseradish, yeast, brewer's yeast, some distilled grape vinegars
There are some foods that may contain gluten in their ingredients, so it is necessary to be careful and do research.
- Flavoring and spice blends
- Starchy foods
- Foods containing plant-based protein
- Products such as salami and sausage
- Sauces
- Fish products
- Light/diet products
- Ready-made foods
- Canned goods
- Sweets
You can find more information on this and similar topics in my book "Beautiful, Happy, and Healthy."
Hüseyin Nazlıkul