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Gluten-Free Diet

Is the Gluten-Free Market Over Saturated?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 1 Comment

Atlanta is probably the most gluten-free friendly city in the Southeast. Dining-out options here are too many for one person to experience unless they eat out most every day. It seems that each week brings another new gluten-free menu or gluten-free pizza option. There is not a 100% gluten-free bakery here yet but one is opening here soon!

When speaking to someone at the health food store where I get most of my gluten-free items, the guy working there asked me why I bought gluten-free products. We discussed both celiac and gluten intolerance and he then shared that 2 of 10 adults shopping there are buying gluten-free food. That is 20% of the customers there and we know only 1% of the population has celiac. Since most of them don’t even know it yet, the diagnosed number is much less than 1%. That means that a LOT of people who don’t have celiac are buying gluten-free food. Some buy it for their autistic children and others buy it to treat their arthritis or migraines. There are actually a host of health issues that people treat with a gluten-free diet.

The store mentioned above was where I overheard two women complaining about the gluten-free tags everywhere. One of the ladies actually said, “what’s with all this gluten-free stuff, it’s taking over the store!”. I had to stop myself from bursting into laughter when I heard that. Maybe that woman now knows how we feel at most mainstream grocery stores where the shelves, bakery racks, and freezers are filled mostly with gluten products.

Actually, the woman’s comment reminded me of how aggravated I was when Atkins-approved items started popping up everywhere in the store, several years back. I was not ever on the Atkins diet and found it ridiculous that every week a new item was marked “reformulated – now Atkins approved!” These days I wonder if food companies are going overboard jumping on the gluten-free bandwagon. How many gluten-free products do we really need? There are more gluten-free baking mixes available here than gluten ones. Most food shoppers are not following the gluten-free diet, yet you’d think half of the people shopping at Whole Foods were eating gluten-free, based on all their gluten-free tags that line the shelves and freezers at our location these days.

Personally, I love variety so I’m not complaining that there are too many products for us to enjoy. I just wonder if the market can sustain itself or if we’ll wake up eventually to find many of our favorite foods off the market. Larger companies will buy some of the old favorite brands. In fact, it seems that some of the larger companies are already buying some gluten-free products from popular gluten-free brands, but due to non-disclosure agreements, none of the companies involved in this practice will go on record about it.

What is unfortunate in my opinion, is that people in large cities have so many gluten-free food options while those in smaller communities have hardly any. Do we need 10 gluten-free waffle options before others have one? It’s all about supply and demand, of course. More people eating gluten-free equals more choices for them than in areas with very few people following the gluten-free diet. Last year we visited a grocery store where no one working there knew what gluten-free meant. Obviously, that store did not have one single gluten-free replacement food. It was kind of shocking and sad at the same time. All I could think about was the people who lived there that might be living gluten-free.

Everyone in the gluten-free community benefits when the market size grows. Even though we’re not on a trendy diet, like Atkins followers were, the gluten-free market is growing so quickly that it’s hard to imagine that it can sustain this kind of growth long term. The problem is that the mainstream food companies that are paying attention to our market (finally!) tend to follow diet trends. Soon enough there will be a new diet trend for them to jump on. Even though most people on the gluten-free diet are not being trendy, it seems unclear if mainstream food companies completely grasp that concept. Hopefully, the powers that be will read this Progressive Grocer article that explains the gluten-free market is here to stay.

Are French Fries Gluten-Free?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Potatoes are most certainly gluten-free. You might have read or been told you can’t eat French fries in restaurants because the fries are often times cooked in a fryer with battered fried foods that contain gluten. That means the oil is contaminated and nothing prepared in the fryer is considered gluten-free, regardless of what it is. Any gluten-free foods that are dumped into a gluten fryer are not gluten-free when they come out.

When I first read this information myself, I had a very hard time believing it. After several unscientific experiments of my own, which always resulted in me doubling over in pain, I realized that contaminated fryer foods were unsafe for me to consume. There are exceptions to this rule. Though it is not extremely common, some restaurants do have dedicated fryers.

Dedicated fryers can be dedicated to whatever the restaurant deems them to be used for. If they have one for French fries, unless the fries are coated with something that isn’t gluten-free, the fries would be considered gluten-free. In my experience, gluten-coated fries are very rare, but I have run across them on occasion. If an establishment has a gluten-free fryer, they likely have gluten-free fries and will be able to confirm that for you.

There is such a thing as gluten-free battered fried foods, but restaurants that serve them are far and few between. Some places use cornstarch batters and others use rice flour or other gluten-free flour blends. Some fish fry places use gluten-free corn meal batter but fry the fish in gluten fryers. Other places use dedicated fryers, which keeps the fish gluten-free.

Some Mexican restaurants use one fryer for corn products and another for wheat. Assuming the corn products are gluten-free (yes, corn tortillas can contain wheat, though they rarely do in restaurants), and they are cooked in a corn product fryer, they would be considered gluten-free. Many Mexican restaurants use the same fryer for both corn and wheat foods so you’ll need to ask before consuming anything from a fryer when dining out for this cuisine.

Below are some of the national restaurant chains that offer gluten-free French fries in some or all of their locations –

  • Ted’s Montana Grill – *rolling out to all locations
  • Chick-Fil-A
  • McDonald’s -*despite the controversy that surrounds fries from this chain, the fries and hash browns are considered gluten-free
  • Five Guys Burgers
  • Cheeseburger in Paradise
  • Margaritaville – *not all locations
  • Outback Steakhouse – only the Roswell, GA location

When it comes to eating anything cooked in a fryer when dining out, it’s always best to ask the right questions before ordering fried foods.

For more information about safe French fries, please read Savvy Celiac’s post about them here and Dr. Stephen Wangen’s post here (though Burger Kings in my area do not have dedicated fryers).

Have a question about the gluten-free diet which we haven’t covered yet?  You can now submit your questions here! (Note: All medical questions should be directed to your physician)

Is Vodka Gluten-Free?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

All vodkas are gluten-free unless gluten-containing flavors have been added to them. Vodkas made from corn, soy, potatoes, and even wheat are gluten-free. This is true of all distilled spirits. Unfortunately for many years, scientists didn’t understand that the gluten protein is removed in the distillation process so people were told they had to avoid all alcohols that were distilled from gluten grains.

While it’s very unfortunate that rumors abound that most alcohols contain gluten, most of them actually don’t. Unless specifically made to be gluten-free, beers contain gluten because they are brewed, not distilled. Several gluten-free beers are now available in the U.S. The most widely distributed brand is Redbridge by Anheuser- Busch. One of the most popular domestic brands is Bard’s Tale and Green’s from Belgium ranks as one of the favorite imports.

Some of the most popular distilled spirits that are gluten-free (as long as no gluten flavors have been added to them) are:

  • Bourbon
  • Rum
  • Vodka
  • Tequila
  • Gin
  • Scotch
  • Brandy

Some people report that they react to alcohols made with gluten grains so they might choose to avoid consuming them. Even though the science that proves distilled alcohols are gluten-free has been in evidence for several years, the old information about them won’t seem to go away. There is no problem with anyone avoiding anything they choose to. The problem arises when people share inaccurate information with others.

According to every celiac specialist in the world and Shelley Case, the foremost authority on the gluten-free diet in North America, gluten protein is not present in grain alcohols once they have been distilled, period. People can choose to believe scaremongers on the internet or they can believe the experts on the subject. There is enough to worry about when on a gluten-free diet without worrying about items that are actually safe to consume.

Pure distilled alcohols with no flavorings added are gluten-free. Many flavored alcohols are gluten-free as well, but you need to check with the manufacturer of such drinks regarding their gluten-free status. There is a helpful website, GlutenFreeDrinks, that lists specific brands and their statements regarding gluten. Clan Thompson sells a gluten-free alcohol guide and The Essential Gluten-Free Grocery Guide lists quite a few flavored drink mixers as well.

Wine is also gluten-free, though there is also a lot of misinformation floating around about wine as well. A wine that is made from just grapes is considered gluten-free. The exception for wine is wine coolers. Most of those are made with barley malt and therefore they are NOT gluten-free. So, this holiday season has some champagne (yes, it’s gluten-free) to celebrate the many recreational beverages that are absolutely gluten-free!

References:

Have a question about the gluten-free diet which we haven’t covered yet?  You can now submit your questions here! (Note: All medical questions should be directed to your physician)

Are Turkeys Gluten-Free?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

This time of year is fun for a lot of people, but those new to the gluten-free diet can become quite confused about what is and is not gluten-free on their holiday dinner table. Having large companies share incorrect information with consumers doesn’t help things either.

In 2006, a very nice Butterball customer service representative told me that since their frozen turkeys contain corn gluten, I should avoid eating them. She suggested I buy fresh turkeys that do not contain corn gluten. At that time, I didn’t know that corn contained gluten and most importantly, I did not know that corn gluten is not one that people with celiac need to avoid. That year we bought a fresh Butterball turkey and realized that we preferred the frozen one. That corn gluten must really make the turkey juicy. Anyway, once I found out that the frozen turkey was also gluten-free, we switched back to those.

Even this year, people are confused about turkeys. So, here is the deal on the label laws regarding meats. The USDA requires that manufacturers list any grain that is added to meat – wheat, rye, barley, etc. The reason for this law was that years ago, companies added a lot of grain to meats to bulk them up if you will. It was deceptive and eventually, the practice led to a law requiring ALL grains to be included in meat labels if they were present.

The USDA law is unlike the FDA law for packaged foods where the only form of gluten that is legally required to be listed is wheat. So, read the label of any turkey brand you like. If it does not list a form of gluten on the label, it’s gluten-free. If you feel better calling the company before buying their product, please do. So far I’ve not run into plain frozen or fresh turkey with gluten, but glazed hams often contain gluten. The exception for turkeys is stuffed turkeys. Those are generally stuffed with gluten bread and you’ll see wheat on the label for those, of course.

Keep in mind that some turkeys come with gravy packets that contain gluten. The ingredients for the turkey and the ingredients for the gravy would both be on the label. Gluten gravy packets can be just thrown out – unless you find one of the newly reformulated gravy packets from Butterball. Read the exciting news about that here!

If you want to read more about the USDA guidelines, here is a Q&A article about ‘natural ingredients’. As you’ll see, in the case of meats, there will never be any form of hidden gluten. If gluten is in the product it is a flavor of any kind, it will be listed in the ingredient label as whatever form of gluten it is.

Have a question about the gluten-free diet which we haven’t covered yet?  You can now submit your questions here! (Note: All medical questions should be directed to your physician) 

Are Coffee and/or Tea Gluten-Free?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Coffee and tea do not contain gluten in their pure forms. It’s fairly hard to find a coffee with gluten in it, but you might find a flavored coffee, or a coffee drink mix that contains it. Gluten in tea is a little more prevalent, as barley is sometimes used in flavored teas. Most of the time, barley will be marked as such on a label but people have reported being told by some companies that barley is in teas that don’t list barley on the label. All the teas I’ve personally seen with barley in them, had barley listed on the label but it does not have to be called out on the label legally. Wheat or rye don’t tend to be added to teas, but wheat might be found in coffee drink mixes. If present, it would be listed on the label as required by law.

Some flavor additives at Starbucks contain gluten and the company keeps a list of what those are, at least at the corporate office. The average barista at any given location might not be able to tell you what additives contain gluten. Therefore, it’s best not to just show up and expect them to guide you regarding what is safe to order. The coffee itself at Starbucks is gluten-free.

Decaf coffee is also gluten-free, as long as it is pure decaf coffee. Again,  exceptions would be flavored decaf or decaf drink mixes. By far, you’ll find more teas with barley in them than anything else. Some companies now keep lists of gluten-free items, either on their website or readily available for customer service reps to share when customers call to inquire about it. The Bigelow website has the gluten-free status listed for each tea in the ingredients!

Some cold bottled teas contain gluten so be sure to check the ingredients on those as well. At one time, the only form of gluten found in them was barley. All SoBe and Snapple teas are gluten-free, according to the companies. The sweetened and unsweetened ice tea from the Publix deli are both gluten-free, according to their gluten-free product list.

The bottom line as always, is that you must read the label of anything before determining whether you should consume it. Coffee that is just coffee is going to say something like “100% Colombian Coffee” or simply “coffee” on the package. Teas can contain many ingredients so it’s best to check with the company or refer to whatever program you use to check for gluten-free items. Clan Thompson, The Essential gluten-free Grocery Guide and Zeer are all helpful resources.

Have a question about the gluten-free diet which we haven’t covered yet?  You can now submit your questions here! (Note: All medical questions should be directed to your physician)