WHEAT INTOLERANCES – WHAT YOU SHOULD AND SHOULDN’T EAT
Having an intolerance to wheat does not necessarily mean that you also have an intolerance to gluten. Wheat contains over 27 different potential allergens. Although gluten is the most well-known, it is not the only thing our bodies might react too. Knowing this fact is essential as it also means that not all gluten-free foods will also be wheat-free. Instead, they may just contain a strand of wheat that is free of its gluten counterpart. Despite the fact we use wheat as a favourite ingredient in most Western societies, there are plenty of grain-based alternatives that we can choose to eat instead. Having these other options to choose from makes a wheat intolerance marginally easier to combat than having a gluten and wheat intolerance.
For example, if you have a wheat intolerance, you will still be able to eat the following grains:
Oats
Barley
Buckwheat
Rye
Millet
Symptoms of a wheat intolerance
Allergic and intolerance symptoms to wheat are very different. With an intolerance you are likely to experience bloating, headaches, skin issues such as acne and joint pains. The symptoms may not appear until 2-3 days after the consumption of wheat making it difficult for us to understand the true cause of our discomfort. The added difficulty in trying to diagnose a wheat intolerance without having a blood test (like the one offered by Rejuva Nutrition) is that we most commonly consume it with other high allergen foods such as eggs, dairy and milk etc.
Foods and products to avoid:
Bread
Pies
Pastries
Biscuits and Cakes
Thickening and bulking agents e.g flour, soup, sauces, processed meats, pasta, breadcrumb coatings, cereal, crackers, roast chicken and chips
Blue cheese
Alcohol
Bulgar wheat
Couscous
Einkhorn
Farina
Gnocchi
Gravy
Muesli
Noodles
Pepper
Semolina
Soy sauce
Spelt flour
Stock cubes
Tamari
Beauty products
Body care products
Great alternatives to traditional flour and thickening agents:
Chickpea flour
Corn flour
Maize starch
Quinoa flour
Potato flour
Rice flour
Rye flour
Soya flour
Alternative carbohydrates to add to your meals:
Quinoa
Rice noodles
Wild rice
Brown rice
Buckwheat pasta