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Gluten-Free Diet

Are Churches Now Offering Gluten-Free Communion?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Are churches starting to become more aware of the needs of Celiacs? In a typical communion, you eat the body of Christ (which interestingly enough contains gluten!), but for people living on a gluten-free diet, this is not an option.

Fortunately, I know of several churches here locally that have started to offer a gluten-free version of Christ’s body so that celiac church members are not left out of the ritual.

According to Health-Family.org, it looks like the Catholic Church has also started to offer gluten-free alternatives:

The Holy See has declared that some gluten is necessary for the substance to be considered as true bread. And thus a gluten-free wafer, in spite of its external resemblance, is no longer bread and thus is incapable of becoming the Body of Christ.

The sacraments are far too important to risk performing them invalidly.

Recently, however, another solution has been found thanks to the patience and perseverance of two nuns, Sisters Jane Heschmeyer and Lynn Marie D’Souza, of the Benedictine convent in Clyde, Missouri. Over two years of experiments they have developed a Communion wafer that has been approved as valid material for the Eucharist by the Holy See.

With a level of gluten content of 0.01% it is safe enough for consumption by almost all celiac suffers, according to Dr. Alessio Fasano of the University of Maryland and other medical experts.

Gluten-Free Labeling Information

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Back in January 2007, the Food and Drug Administration made some changes that were designed to help those following a strict gluten-free diet. Basically, the FDA made changes requiring more accurate labeling of products so that those on a gluten-free diet can make educated decisions while shopping.

Here is some information I ran across from the FDA regarding food labeling/reading:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published a proposed rule in the Federal Register, Docket No. 2005N-0279, titled “Food-Labeling: gluten-free Labeling of Foods” (72 FR 2795). Included in the proposed rule is a definition established by the FDA for the term “gluten-free” for voluntary use in the labeling of foods. A definition for the term “gluten-free” would assist those who have celiac disease (also know as celiac spue or gluten-sensitive enteropathy) and their caregivers to more easily identify packaged foods that are safe for persons with celiac disease to eat. Celiac disease occurs in genetically susceptible individuals and causes damage to their small intestine when they consume gluten found in “prohibited grains.” Celiac disease has no cure, but avoiding the consumption of gluten can resolve its symptoms, mitigate and possibly reverse damage, and reduce associated health risks. This proposed rule has been prepared in response to the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004, Title II of Public Law 108-282, enacted on August 2, 2004, which directs the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to propose, and later make final, a rule that defines and permits the use of the food labeling term “gluten-free.”

The FDA is proposing to define the food labeling term “gluten-free” to mean that a food bearing this claim does not contain any of the following:

  • An ingredient that is a “prohibited grain,” which refers to any species of wheat (e.g., durum wheat, spelt wheat, or kamut), rye, barley, or their crossbred hybrids;
  • An ingredient (e.g., wheat flour) that is derived from a “prohibited grain” and that has not been processed to remove gluten;
  • An ingredient (e.g., wheat starch) that is derived from a “prohibited grain” that has been processed to remove gluten, if the use of that ingredient results in the presence of 20 micrograms or more gluten per gram of food, or 20 micrograms or more gluten per gram of food.

Some additional information from the FDA regarding labeling.

A food that bears the claim “gluten-free” or a similar claim (e.g. “free of gluten,” “without gluten,” “no gluten”) in its labeling and fails to meet the conditions specified in the proposed definition of “gluten-free” would be deemed misbranded.

Currently, there is no Federal regulation that defines the term “gluten-free” used in the labeling of foods. Based upon comments FDA received during its public meeting on “gluten-free” food labeling held in August 2005 and other information available to the Agency, there is no universal understanding among U.S. food manufacturers or consumers about the meaning of a food labeled as “gluten-free.” FDA believes that establishing a definition for the term “gluten-free” and uniform conditions for its use in the labeling of foods will ensure that persons with celiac disease are not misled and are provided with truthful and accurate information.

For your reference, a document titled “Questions and Answers on the gluten-free Labeling Proposed Rule” has been prepared by FDA and is now available online.

Obviously, the change ended up being made and now you should find more accurate labeling on products found at your local grocery store.   When you are reading labels, you’ll want to not only avoid anything with gluten, but you’ll also want to avoid any foods that were processed on equipment with wheat, peanuts, etc due to cross-contamination concerns.

What Does Gluten-Free Mean?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Have you ever heard of someone mentioning they were on a gluten-free diet, but it didn’t look like they needed to lose weight? Or maybe you know someone who rarely eats in public? Even if neither of these applies to you, each day the odds improve that you will come across the term gluten-free Diet.

So, what exactly does it mean to be on a gluten-free diet? Typically this diet is associated with treating people that have Celiac Disease. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder of the small bowel that occurs in genetically predisposed people of all ages from middle infancy.  While difficult to diagnose, each day doctors are correctly diagnosing more people with the disease based on their Celiac symptoms.  Treatment of the disease typically involves being on a gluten-free diet.

What foods contain gluten?

A gluten-free diet is a diet completely free of ingredients derived from gluten-containing foods: wheat (including Kamut and spelt), barley, rye, oats, and triticale, as well as the use of gluten as a food additive in the form of a flavoring, stabilizing or thickening agent. Although most patients can tolerate oat products, there is a controversy about including them in a gluten-free diet: some medical practitioners say they may be permitted, but the Celiac Society advises against them.

What foods are gluten-free?

Several grains and starch sources are considered acceptable for a gluten-free diet. The most frequently used are maize (corn), potatoes, rice, and tapioca (derived from cassava). Other grains and starch sources generally considered suitable for gluten-free diets include amaranth, arrowroot, millet, montina, lupine, quinoa, sorghum (jowar), sweet potato, taro, teff, and yam. Various types of bean, soybean, and nut flours are sometimes used in gluten-free products to add protein and dietary fiber. In spite of its name, buckwheat is not related to wheat; pure buckwheat is considered acceptable for a gluten-free diet, although many commercial buckwheat products are actually mixtures of wheat and buckwheat flours, and thus not acceptable. Gram flour, derived from chickpeas, is also gluten-free.

Gluten is also used in foods in some unexpected ways, for example as a stabilizing agent or thickener in products like ice cream and ketchup

People wishing to follow a completely gluten-free diet must also take into consideration the ingredients of any over-the-counter or prescription medications and vitamins. Also, cosmetics such as lipstick, lip balms, and lip chap may contain gluten and need to be investigated before use.

Living on a gluten-free diet

People diagnosed with Celiac Disease will often become anti-social, preferring the comfort of their own cooking over the hassle of trying to find gluten-free foods out in the world. This also reduces the risk of cross-contamination, which is always something people on the diet need to be wary of.

As more people are either diagnosed with Celiac Disease or know someone who is, things have steadily been improving for people who want to become more social.

If you would like to find tasty and affordable gluten-free products online, Gluten-Free Resource recommends the products available at Gluten-Free Mall. I’ve purchased from all three and really enjoy the foods and products they offer.