A note about wheat and gluten-free

If you adhere to a gluten-free diet, you are probably highly adept at reading food labels. I’ve made efforts to mark which items need their gluten-free counterparts, but please use your own experience, instincts, and knowledge when shopping for ingredients.

If you’re new to gluten and wheat-free eating, here is a brief summary: People who are on a GF diet are split into a few camps. First, there are those who have been diagnosed with celiac disease, a genetically determined disease in which any gluten consumed injures the lining of the small intestine and makes digestion difficult and painful. The second camp is of people who have an allergy to wheat, and the third applies to those who have autoimmune issues around wheat. While digestion-related symptoms are also prevalent in people with wheat allergies, other allergic reactions are triggered, like skin rashes, inflammation, headaches, and nausea, and those with autoimmune issues experience joint pain or other allergy-like reactions. These reactions can range from minor to life-threatening, similar to how people respond to nut allergies.