Foods that Contain Gluten

Gluten is the protein part of many grains, including wheat, barley, rye, and some oats. Gluten also is “hidden” in many foods and therefore often hard to detect. You may eat them without knowing it -- that is, until you suffer the side effects such as bloating, gas, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, etc. Removing gluten from the diet is critical to healing the gut but doing so can be quite a challenge.

Read: Gluten Intolerance (Celiac Disease) after Weight-Loss Surgery

In patients like me with celiac disease, gluten injures the lining of the small intestine. And when patients totally eliminate gluten-containing foods from their diets, the lining of the small intestine has a chance to heal. Since it is necessary to remain on a strict gluten-free diet for life, it will be helpful to meet with a nutritionist or registered dietician.

In the meantime, here is a list of foods that contain gluten.

Gluten-Containing Foods

It is important to fully understand the gluten-free diet. Read food labels carefully! Do not eat anything that contains the grains: wheat, rye, barley, and oats (unless the oats are labeled gluten-free).

Wheat goes by many names. Eliminate the following wheat flours: bulgar, durum flour, farina, graham flour, kamut, triticale, spelt, semolina.

All beer and alcohols derived from grain contain wheat, rye, or barley.

Beware of any of the following words on labels: stabilizer, starch, flavoring, emulsifier, or hydrolyzed plant protein. This usually means that a grain containing gluten has been used.

Grains are used in the processing of many foods. Check for any of the following items on food labels because this may mean that there is gluten in the product.

Malt vinegar, malt, or malt flavoring unless derived from corn

Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) unless made from soy or corn

Flour or cereal products unless made with any of the flours that are gluten-free (corn meal, buckwheat, etc)

Vegetable protein unless made from soy or corn

Modified starch or modified food starch unless arrowroot, corn, potato, tapioca, waxy maize, or maize is used

Vegetable gum unless carob bean gum, locust bean gum, cellulose gum, guar gum, gum Arabic, gum arcacia, gum tragacanth, xanthan gum, or vegetable starch

Soy sauce or soy sauce solids unless you know they do not contain wheat

Virtually all processed foods contain gluten unless specifically labeled as gluten-free.

In fact, I follow a bariatric diet and eliminate all grains and processed foods. This is what has kept my 100-lb weight-loss from gastric bypass surgery off for a decade! My plan of eating is similar to the trendy Paleo and Primal weight-loss diets. You can learn more about how I shop for healthy foods in the post below.

Read: My Primal Food Shopping Trip

How do you know a food is a processed food? Simple: It has an ingredient label. Foods generally found around the perimeter of the food store such as fresh fruits and vegetables, meats and fish do not have a label. These are real foods (be aware that meats from the deli are processed foods; its original packaging has a label and may contain gluten). All food found in your grocer’s aisles have a label; these are processed foods. Also be advised that virtually all chain restaurant foods are processed foods.