Keep in mind that just because a food is naturally gluten free doesn’t mean that it retained that gluten free status by the time it got to your plate. Regrettably, many natural gluten free foods are contaminated intentionally or unintentionally with gluten (most commonly wheat) by the time they are processed and packaged.
Diamond brand nuts are a prime example of this. Shelled and unshelled alike caution that the nuts may contain wheat. I don’t know if this is to keep the nuts from sticking together or what, but I don’t recommend Diamond as a safe brand for anyone who cannot have wheat/gluten. Fisher Nuts are labeled GF, but have had multiple recalls for bacteria issues – I suffered horrendous food poisoning from their walnuts several years ago.
Always read the labels! Even if it is a product you have purchased before.
FOODS:
- Amaranth
- Buckwheat (kasha)
- Butter*– watch for additives
- Chia seeds
- Cheese – real, unprocessed, not blue cheeses (some Celiacs say it is safe; others don’t – it can be started with mold from wheat products)
- Corn – in any form: cornmeal, polenta, flour, Hasa Marina, etc.
- Eggs
- Flax seeds
- Fruits – plain, canned, fresh, frozen
- Hemp – protein, milk
- Juice – all natural, fruit & vegetable
- Kefir* – check flavored varieties, if flavors contain gluten, plain yogurts risk cross contamination
- Legumes (beans, peas, lentils)
- Masa – grits and pasta
- Meat – plain, unseasoned
- Milk – cow, goat, sheep, almond, coconut, hazelnut, rice, soy, oat, hemp
- Millet
- Montina
- Oats* – they must be PURITY PROTOCOL oats to be Celiac Safe.
- Oils – vegetable, olive, coconut, flax
- Nuts* – raw, flours
- Potato – plain, raw, flour, starch
- Quinoa
- Rice
- Seafood – plain, unseasoned
- Seeds
- Sesame
- Sorghum
- Soy – milk, cheese, tofu, beans, nuts
- Tamari* – check sauces
- Tapioca
- Teff
- Tempeh* – plain, unseasoned
- Yogurts* – check flavored varieties, if flavors contain gluten, plain yogurts risk cross contamination
INGREDIENTS:
- Annatto
- Arrowroot
- Baking soda
- Caramel color* – GF when made from corn, not GF when made from barley
- Carob – Sweetened carob may contain malt/barley
- Cellulose gum
- Citric, lactic, malic acids
- Corn starch
- Cream of tarter
- Dextrin* – can be made from wheat
- Dextrose
- Gelatin
- Glucose syrup – can be made from wheat, barley, corn, etc
- Guar gum
- Herbs – pure
- Lactose
- Lecithin
- Locust bean gum
- Maltodextrin
- Maltitol
- Manioc (tapioca flour)
- Modified food starch* – if made in U.S.
- Mono- and Diglycerides (dry)* – usually OK in U.S.
- Nuts – raw, flour
- Oat gum
- Rice
- Seasonings* – pure seasonings OK, seasonings may contain additives
- Silicon dioxide
- Spices – pure
- Starch – potato, tapioca, corn
- Sucrose
- Tapioca – starch, flour
- Vanilla and vanilla extract
- Vegetables – plain, canned, fresh, frozen
- Vegetable broth
- Vinegar – distilled, not malt
- Xanthan gum
- Yeast (except Brewer’s Yeast, which as the name implies, is related to beer; it is in fact a byproduct of brewing beer)
* Check the label, or call the manufacturer especially on marked items, but it never hurts to double-check everything you purchase. Impulse purchases, where I don’t check labels closely enough because the product used to be safe or should be safe are the ones I always regret later when I’m about to eat said item. Better to take time before buying it than after the fact
I do not personally recommend consuming some of the items above, as some are simply not healthy. However, unless you are having definite reactions to foods/ingredients listed above, it is generally easier to wait to eliminate additional items out of your diet only after you’ve been on your GF diet long enough to either heal completely or as much as you’re going to heal (the longer you ate gluten, the longer it will take to heal).
