the technical stuff

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and often oats. It is most common in bread, pasta, cookies and cereals. (We'll be providing a more detailed list). Oats are essentially gluten-free by nature, but are often cross-contaminated with gluten. It is probably wiser to stay away from oats to be on the safe side. However, I have seen signs of some gluten-free oats appearing on the market.

Most important: check your food labels.

Celiac disease is the inability to digest the protein gluten properly. The immune system incorrectly targets gluten as an invader, and therefore attacks it. Because of this, the villi of the small intestine are often damaged and the proper nutrients are unable to be absorbed into the body. This can result in malnutrition along with other negative effects on the body.

A wheat allergy is similar in that the immune system views certain proteins as harmful. However, the body is reacting to a different protein other than gluten. To clarify: wheat is composed of proteins which include albumin, globulin, gliadin and gluten. If your body is actually reacting to the gluten protein specifically... then chances are you have Celiac. In general, people with wheat allergies tend to eat gluten-free since there is such a fine line between the two.

Make sense? Didn't to me in the beginning. But not to worry...

This may all sound complicated - and it even took me quite awhile to absorb it and figure it all out - so don't feel like you're alone. We're here to try to help you through the process and hopefully make it easier. Just give yourself time. The good news is that there is more awareness out there than even a few years ago. Gluten-free food is being offered at markets more than ever... and the range is growing. There are now gluten-free bakeries, gluten-free restaurants, gluten-free menus at major chain restaurants (even some diners!)... but we'll be getting into more of that in the near future.

So, start small. Once you or someone in your family is diagnosed... check out your nearest Whole Foods or natural food market. If you don't have one, many supermarkets are now starting to offer gluten-free food. Get some gluten-free bread, bagels (I find Glutino bagels are yummy toasted), pick up some Tinkyada pasta - links are to the right if needed. Feel free to eat your meat, fish, potatoes, rice, fruit and veggies. In fact I encourage it. Familiarize yourself with your local markets and what is offered. Eventually, you'll learn different substitutions and easily find the foods you CAN eat... perhaps find something new that you've never tried before, and potentially fall more in love with food and cooking!

Just remember you can always eat this:

Or this flourless chocolate cake (from my wedding):