Can anyone explain the difference between gluten free and gluten and wheat free. I'm fortunate that I suffer from no apparent signs of being glutend,, but do have a slight concern that should I be trying to stick with gluten/wheat free food just to make sure.
[By Mikes - moved from Blogs]
Hya Mikes, coeliac can get products made with a washed wheat that is below codex on prescription. This is labelled as gf and states codex wheat starch, which is to reassure the consumer that it is within the codex limit for gf foods.
It is also called select so if you look through a list of prescription foods and they say select then they are made with codex wheat starch and this includes flour bread and pasta etc.
It's advantage is it has the familiar taste of wheat and is more palatable to some coeliac whereas naturally gf flours have their own flavours but are less processed and naturally gluten free.
Thank you for your reply, it's quite clear now.
Hi Mikes - good question. This has baffled many a newbie Coeliac or Gluten intolerant. It confused the hell out of me when I was first diagnosed.
The answer is:
A) Gluten Free & Wheat Free = a product that is gluten free and is also free of any wheat based ingredients i.e. Codex Wheat Starch. These products comply with the EU law for labelling gluten free products i.e. they're all 20ppm or less and are deemed as safe for Coeliacs to consume. For example most supermarket products do not contain codex wheat starch as they realise some Coeliacs do not want to eat it as it's derived from wheat despite it being universally classed as safe as it meets EU GF levels.
B) Gluten Free = products labelled GF that are 20ppm or less, however amongst these products you may find that in the ingredients some list 'codex wheat starch'. This has been processed so that it 'removes' the gluten and is tested to ensure it comes in at 20ppm or less so that it can be labelled gluten free. For example many prescription food products contain Codex Wheat Starch - often to add the 'right texture & taste'. However, many producers like Juvela and Glutafin allow you the choice of ordering non-Codex wheat starch products.
Legally all food producers in the EU have to state where a starch is from i.e. Corn Starch, Wheat Starch etc so you should always read the ingredients in full.
Note:
Most Dietitians recommend that newbie Coeliacs make life as simple as possible and stick to gluten free & wheat free products when they begin the gluten free diet. This is also because the villi are normally so damaged at diagnosis that some Coeliacs can't cope with over processed foods (like those containing Codex Wheat starch) and may find themselves reacting in some way to it. You will see a lot of scare mongering on various Coeliac Facebook pages & forums about Codex Wheat starch. The general tone alleging that Codex Wheat starch is bad, causes glutening symptoms, isn't gluten free etc. My personal slant is that many Coeliacs can eat it with no problems especially in small quantities. However, like most things GF if you binge on GF Codex bread in the morning, at lunchtime and in the evening you might not feel great (especially as you haven't varied your diet).
I personally prefer not to consume products that are derived from Wheat as I can't see the point I'd rather be as fully gluten free as I can. I also avoid all products produced on a line with wheat, labelled 'no gluten containing ingredients' (as this has no legal basis, testing and the risk of cross contamination with these products is high as the FSA will confirm), avoid all barley, avoid all malt vinegar and likewise I avoid all gluten free Oats. Obviously many coeliac societies worldwide say these items are safe for coeliacs. But I've chosen my diagnosis to help push me onto a healthier food lifestyle than I had before so I cook most foods from scratch myself and I've always preferred savoury foods to sweet so cake cravings weren't a problem for me. Ultimately newbie Coeliacs should seek advice from their Dietitians and check their anti-body blood levels at their yearly check ups to see if anything in their diet could be causing a reaction.
I hope this helps.
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Hi Ellen, basically they wash the bulk of the gluten from wheat so that it is below 20ppm of gluten and is then classed as gf.
And I personally avoid it and prefer foods that are naturally gf.
Gluten free foods may contain up to 20ppm per kilo of finished product.
Gluten/Wheat Free means that has no wheat gluten in it.
A coeliac needs to find what suits them best which is governed by symptoms when consuming foods. I went Gluten/Wheat free but became aware that permitted derivatives maybe included as an ingredient ie Maltodextrin or wheat-based glucose syrup, after further issues I found that a gluten substitue ingredient was exacerbating a yet undiagnosed condition (pre December 2012). This for me included an identical ingredient in medicines so in the real world a person once diagnosed has to find what is acceptable to their own bodies, what affects you might not be related by others.
Many thanks everyone for your answers.
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