So what is gluten?

If you want to live a gluten-free life, you need the right food. Gluten is contained naturally in cereals such as wheat, spelt, rye and barley. So for flour, baked goods and pasta, alternatives to conventional products are needed. But you also need to be careful when choosing ready meals, spice mixes, sauces, sausages and prepared meat products, and beverages.

Gluten is a protein occurring in many popular cereals such as wheat, spelt, rye and barley. Gluten helps the ingredients in baked goods stick together. However, gluten is not essential for our body, which makes a lifelong gluten-free diet possible. In fact, some people have no other choice, such as people with coeliac disease. For individuals with this autoimmune disorder, consuming gluten causes inflammation of the small intestine.

IMPORTANT: It is essential that you don’t make any changes to your diet until you have consulted a healthcare professional. If you believe gluten may be the cause of your symptoms, speak to your doctor about arranging suitable testing. You must continue to consume gluten regularly throughout the testing procedure.

If you want to enjoy life on the gluten-free diet, you obviously need the right foods.

The following food items are naturally gluten-free:

• fruit and vegetables
• milk and dairy products
• eggs, fish and meat
• fat, butter and oil
• pure herbs
• condiments such as salt and pepper.

Gluten-free cereal alternatives include millet, rice, maize, buckwheat and potatoes, and even oats, providing they come from controlled gluten-free cultivation.

It’s important to keep in mind that for flour, pasta, bread, crackers, biscuits, cake and other baked goods, gluten-free alternatives to the conventional items made of wheat, spelt, rye and barley are needed.

But gluten can also be contained in a number of other foods, even where you might least expect it. Gluten is often hidden in the following foods:

• ready meals
• spice mixes
• sauces
• sausages and prepared meat products
• beverages.

For this reason, it is especially important to always carefully check the list of ingredients and in case of doubt, don’t purchase a questionable product.

Foods are defined as gluten-free if they contain less than 20 mg gluten per kg (= 20 parts per million). This means that when you go shopping, you should always check the list of ingredients on the package to identify hidden gluten. Gluten-free products are labelled 'gluten-free' or have the symbol of an ear of wheat with a cross through it displayed on the package.

What may you eat?
Check here for an overview of what you may eat on the gluten-free diet and where it's better to be cautious.