Celiac Disease: Foods to Avoid

If you’re gluten-free for Celiac disease or a wheat allergy, then you know how important it is that you know how to read food labels so you can avoid any offending foods. Gluten is especially tricky because it can sneakily show up in strange ingredients and unexpected foods.

I’ve had Celiac disease for over 15 years, so trust me when I say I know the struggle of being on a gluten-free diet! It’s hard to know what to eat, and it’s really hard to read nutrition labels and know whether or not certain ingredients are safe. After I was diagnosed, I was so scared to eat anything! While this is totally understandable, it led to a very strained relationship with food. Food was no longer fun or pleasurable. It was scary and figuring out what to eat was such a chore. Whether you’re newly diagnosed or you’ve had Celiac disease for your whole life, I don’t want you to go through what I went through! I want you to have a happy relationship with food, one that doesn’t involve fear and frustration with every trip to the grocery store or every time you go to a restaurant.

A good place to start is to know which foods are not safe to eat on a gluten-free diet. I recommend to screenshot these lists and save them in your phone and/or on your refrigerator to help you remember them. I promise you’ll get used to looking for these ingredients and knowing what to avoid, even if it takes a while (no judgment, it took me years to feel fully confident in this area!).

Let’s get into it!

Grains and grain-based products to avoid on a gluten-free diet.

Gluten is a protein that is present in anything made with wheat, barley, or rye. Here is a list of grains and grain-based products made with these grains that therefore contain gluten and need to avoided on a GF diet:

• Barley (flakes, flour, pearls, beer, lager, ale)

• Bromated flour

• Bulgur

• Couscous

• Durum flour

• Einkorn

• Emmer

• Enriched flour

• Farina

• Farro

• Flour (including cake flour, bread flour, all-purpose flour unless explicitly GF)

• Graham flour

• Kamut

• Phosphated flour

• Panko

• Plain flour

• Self-rising flour

• Semolina

• Spelt

• Triticale

• Udon

• Wheat, wheat bran, wheat germ, wheat starch

• White flour

Packaged foods to avoid on a gluten-free diet.

There are so many wonderful packaged gluten-free foods! But, at the same time, there are so many packaged foods that are tricky because certain ingredients may or may not contain gluten depending on what they’re made with.

I recommend to avoid these foods unless you know for sure they are gluten-free because the label or manufacturer explicitly says so.

• Beer (avoid “gluten-removed” and “gluten-reduced” beers)

• Bouillon cubes

• Buckwheat

  • Unless it is made with 100% buckwheat, as sometimes buckwheat products are made with a combo of buckwheat and wheat

• Candy (especially chewy candies like licorice)

• Cold cuts, hot dogs, salami, sausage, prepared meats

• Communion wafers

• French fries (and fried foods in general)

• Grain mixes

• Gravy

• Ice cream or gelato

• Icing

• Imitation crab and fish

• Marinated, breaded, or coated proteins

• Matzo

• Multigrain crackers or chips

• Pickles or pickled veggies made with malt vinegar

• Rice mixes or rice pilaf (especially if seasoned)

• Roux

• Sauces and marinades

• Seasoned tortilla or potato chips

• Seitan and some tempeh

• Self-basting poultry

• Soups, stews, broth

• Soy sauce (Tamari is ok!), teriyaki sauce, hoisin

• Spice and seasoning mixes

• Sprinkles or jimmies

• Thickeners

• Vegan meat alternatives

• Vegetables in sauce

• Veggie burgers

• Worcestershire sauce

What are some sneaky gluten-containing ingredients to watch out for?

Take extra care to watch for these words on ingredient labels if you’re using these foods in your kitchen. Some of these may be derived from wheat, but they also may be from corn or another GF source. The label is supposed to denote with the phrase “contains wheat” on the label or in the ingredient list, but this may not be there if the product hasn’t been strictly regulated or certified. If a label has these ingredients and says it is certified GF, you’re good to go. If you don’t see that certification, assume the food has gluten.

• Brewer’s yeast

• Brown rice syrup

• Caramel coloring

• Dextrin

• Hydrolyzed plant protein (HPP)

• Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)

• Malt

  • Including: malt syrup, malt extract, malt flavoring, malt or malted beverages, malted milk, malted vinegar, or rice malt)

• Maltodextrin

• Modified food starch

• Textured vegetable protein (TVP)

Don’t forget to check your supplement and medication labels too!

Are oats gluten-free? Can I eat oats on a gluten-free diet?

Oats are a little more controversial. Oats contain a protein called avenin, which is structurally similar to gluten, so a small percentage of those with Celiac disease can react to it as if it were gluten. However, most organizations report it is safe to eat oats with Celiac disease or on a GF diet. This is mirrored in the research, which shows that people with Celiac disease are able to tolerate oats just fine as long as they are certified gluten-free and do not come from a facility that may also handle wheat, barley, or rye for cross-contamination reasons.

To clarify things - oats are naturally gluten-free. When you see an a package of oats that says it is certified gluten-free, it means the facility in which they were made does not carry the risk of cross-contamination and that the oats themselves have been tested to be safe for a GF diet. It does not mean there are gluten-containing oats in addition to gluten-free oats. However, I suggest going with certified GF oats as often as you can if you have Celiac disease to reduce your chances of cross-contamination as much as possible.

Need a little support on your gluten-free diet?

We’re here to help!

Emmy not only specializes in Celiac disease as a gut-health dietitian, she also has Celiac disease and has been gluten-free for over 15 years!

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Note: All information in this and all Real Good Nutrition Blog posts is for educational purposes only. This information is not intended to diagnose or treat any health-related condition. Please check with your healthcare provider before making changes to your health plan.