What is Gluten?

Gluten is a protein found in grains including wheat, rye, oats and barley. Patients with Coeliac disease are sensitive to gluten which damages the lining of the small bowel. This damage affects the absorption of food and can lead to symptoms including weight loss, diarrhoea, iron and folic acid deficiency. A gluten free diet is the only long term treatment for Coeliac disease. Complete removal of gluten from the diet allows the gut to recover to normal over a period of time. Even small amounts of gluten are enough to prevent recovery or cause further damage.

Obvious symptoms or damage may not occur at the time of consumption. It is important to include a wide variety of gluten free cereal products in a Gluten Free diet. This can be as simple as adding small amounts of soy, potato flour or rice bran to a dish. These are important sources of fibre, B group vitamins, zinc and increase the variety of the diet.

Food Labelling and Australian Standards

The Australian Standard of Gluten Free foods now requires that foods labelled as “Gluten Free” contain no detectable gluten using a sensitive assay. There is no evidence that inclusion of extracted ingredients causes mucosal damage² although some patients with Coeliac disease may prefer not to eat products which contain these extracted ingredients. The Coeliac Society of Australia has changed the category of these products in their ingredient list including glucose syrup, dextrose and caramel colouring. Under the new standard, it will require careful reading of ingredients on products labelled as “gluten free”if Coeliacs choose to avoid these foods.

Foods may also contain less obvious sources of gluten as there is no requirement for manufacturers to specify the composition of ingredients that contribute less than 10% of a food. For example, it may be difficult to determine the origin of a soy sauce included as an ingredient in a commercial marinade. This means that gluten may be “carried over” into the marinade via the soy sauce. It is best to contact the manufacturer directly to determine the source of these ingredients.

It is essential that all food labels be rechecked regularly since the composition may change. Avoid any food that is doubtful .

 For more information see the following video courtesy of You Tube

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