Have just about finished a big job and I'm starting to feel better, both of which are a huge relief. Just wanted to post quickly about the difference between wheat-free products and gluten-free products as there is some talk about food intolerances at the moment, and not everyone knows the difference between these two. In our household we have a person who is wheat intolerant (me) and gluten intolerant (Rob) so I feel semi-qualified to talk about the subject :-)
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, oats, barley, rye, and substances made from those products. Something is wheat-free if it contains no wheat. But something is gluten-free only if it contains no wheat, oats, barley or rye. So oats, while they are wheat-free, are not gluten-free.
The difference in terms of effects can be quite marked. When I eat wheat products I find it quite hard to stop (see my previous Addict post) and wheat products (bread in particular) make me itchy. The roof of my mouth itches when I eat it (always has done, ever since I was a kid, although I didn't connect the two until recently), and my feet break out in an itchy rash a day or so after eating it. Rob's symptoms are more debilitating. After eating a product containing gluten, he goes straight to the bathroom (several times) and then spends the next few days in bed because it makes him feel so tired. So this means that I usually eat gluten-free too (no point cooking separate meals for both of us), although I have been having oats for breakfast lately.
This page provides some more detailed information on a gluten-free diet.
3 comments:
Actually, I am quite glad you posted this. I have never really looked into it, but I was one of those who did not know the difference. Neither of these foods bothers me, so I eat them all, though I try to eat lower GI most the time so I do buy a lot the gluten free products anyway.
Thanks!
I thought that oats were naturally gluten free, but usually cross-contaminated by being grown with wheat?
I think that you can find GF oats.
Hi Carolyn, thanks for your comment! Apparently oats contain a different type of gluten than that found in wheat, rye, barley and triticale. Some people with coeliac disease can tolerate it and some can't. I think gluten-free oats are sold in the US, but not in Australia.
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