I have celiac disease. What foods can I eat?
To facilitate food choices for people with celiac disease, foods can be grouped as follows:
- Allowed: You can consume freely, as they are naturally gluten-free
- Dangerous: Read the label carefully to confirm the list of ingredients, as they may contain gluten in their composition
- Forbidden: Do not include them in the diet, as they contain gluten in their composition, and replace them with other equivalent gluten-free foods
What foods are allowed?
The allowed foods are those that can be consumed freely, as they are naturally gluten-free:
- potato, rice, amaranth, quinoa, corn, cassava, tapioca, buckwheat, carob, arrowroot, sorghum
- sugar, honey, molasses, homemade jams and marmalades
- meat, fish, eggs
- fruits and vegetables and legumes (e.g. chickpeas, beans, broad beans, lentils, soybeans), oleaginous fruits (e.g. walnuts, pine nuts, almonds, hazelnuts) and seeds (e.g. sesame, sunflower, flaxseed, pumpkin)
- plain milk, yoghurts (natural and flavourings), cottage cheese, cottage cheese
- olive oil and vegetable oils
- salt, spices (e.g. nutmeg, peppercorns, cloves) and herbs (parsley, coriander, oregano, tarragon)
- water, tea, infusions, coffee, decaffeinated coffee beans
- wine, port wine, sparkling wine, champagne
- Fresh and dry yeast
- natural and carbonated nectars and fruit juices
What are the dangerous foods?
There are foods that should not be consumed by people with celiac disease. Foods considered dangerous are:
- cornbread
- Industrial cheeses and chunky and creamy yoghurts
- Chocolate milk, malted and flavoured
- Processed meats: minced meat, sausages, burgers, and meatballs
- pre-cooked, frozen, deep-frozen, canned, pâtés, cold cuts (e.g. ham, chorizo) and soya products
- cooking broths, curries, vinegar, pulp and tomatoes and industrial sauces (e.g. ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, chutney)
- cream, butter, margarine and industrial lard
- flavored packet fries and other savory snacks
- ice cream, fruit in syrup or candied
- Commercial Fruit Jams and Dried Figs
- Concentrated and instant juices (powdered)
- Instant desserts, jellies and chocolates
- powdered sugar (icing) and baking powder
Read the food label carefully to confirm the list of ingredients, as they may contain gluten in their composition.
What are the forbidden foods?
Prohibited foods are those that cannot be consumed, as they contain gluten in their composition:
- wheat flours and starches (such as triticale, spelt, kamut), rye, barley, oats and pasta
- bread, pastries and confectionery, biscuits and biscuits
- yoghurts with cereals
- cream cheese and commercial cheeses of unknown composition
- farinheira and alheira other sausages
- pizzas, lasagna, cannellones and ravioli
- savoury foods (e.g. patties, croquettes) and breaded products
- Delights of the sea and variants
- Beer, malt and malt extract
- industrial jams or juices with unknown thickeners
- white sauce, trade sauces, cubed or packet soup
- instant desserts, commercial ice creams of unknown composition
- Breakfast cereals
Can celiac patients consume grains, flours and starches?
You can consume grains, flours and starches, as long as they are gluten-free. Consult the list, used as a reference, to find out which options are safe, not dispensing with expert advice.
Grains, Flours & Starches – Gluten Free
- amaranth
- arrowroot
- legume flours
- buckwheat
- corn (cornstarch, corn bran)
- flaxseeds
- Millet
- Oleaginous fruit flours
- potato starch, potato starch
- quinoa
- rice
- soybean flour
- tapioca
- Teff
Grains, Flours & Starches – With Gluten
- barley
- rye
- oats
- couscous
- wheat
- kamut
- durum
- einkorn
- Graham
- Seitan
- Semolina
- spelt
- triticale
Are food products with buckwheat, quinoa or amaranth safe?
Yes. Despite its name, buckwheat has nothing to do with regular wheat, and it is not even a cereal, being completely safe.
The same goes for quinoa and amaranth, which are also gluten-free and can be consumed without any problem, as long as they have not been cross-contaminated during packaging and/or transport. Always check the label.
What is cross-contamination?
Cross-contamination is defined as the presence of gluten particles in foods, utensils, and surfaces that are originally gluten-free.
Can I consider the information provided by the food industry to be safe?
Not always. For a person who is unaware of the disease and its implications on health, it is difficult to understand the real limitations of the celiac patient, and it becomes easy to consider a product reliable that, in reality, is not.
Often, these people are unaware of the damage that ingesting a small amount of gluten can cause.
Why should I read food labels carefully?
It is very important to check the labels of the products, and especially the list of ingredients, to identify those that can possibly harm the health of celiac patients. Portuguese legislation requires all packaged products to indicate their composition. To be on the safe side, always check.
What should I look out for in the ingredients list on a label?
Before buying a product, carefully read the ingredients list on food labels. Please refer to the following list for permitted and prohibited ingredients.
Allowed ingredients
- glucose, glucose syrup
- Dextrin, Dextrose
- maltodextrin, malt dextrin
- sorbitol, maltitol and soy lecithin
- Xanthan gum, guar gum and inulin
- yeast
- E-xxx additives, except E-14xx group
Forbidden ingredients
- wheat, rye, barley and oats and their starches
- cereal
- modified starch or starch
- Vegetable Protein
- Dietary Fiber
- hydrolyzed wheat protein
- malt, malt extract and syrup
- group additive E-14xx
What precautions should I take to avoid accidental ingestion of gluten
?To prevent accidental exposure to gluten, it is recommended that:
- Do not use the same sponge for washing gluten-free and gluten-free dishes (sponges can trap crumbs from bread and cookies)
- Be wary of crumbs that can fall on gluten-free foods
- Do not put a celiac's bread in the same toaster or toaster oven that you put regular bread in. Crumbs can contaminate gluten-free bread
- Do not mix cutlery to serve gluten-free and gluten-free foods
- Wash the containers where gluten-free foods are stored thoroughly, if they have previously packed foods with gluten
- Prepare gluten-free foods first if you can't afford to make the same gluten-free meal for the whole family
- Never use the oil where you have fried foods with gluten-containing flours to prepare gluten-free foods
- Do not eat bread or any other product manufactured in common bakeries, even if it does not have gluten in its ingredients, the bread may be contaminated
- To be on the safe side, avoid buying foods in bulk (they may have suffered cross-contamination) and all those that do not contain an ingredient list
In cafes and restaurants:
- Pay attention to the consumption of fried foods, as you take extra care with the oil
- Opt for simpler, sauce-free foods such as salads, rice, and grilled meats
- Explain your celiac condition, reinforcing the idea that it is a severe food "allergy"
- Avoid drinking coffee where the brand of the product is not known, as the coffee grounds may be mixed with barley
When traveling, if possible:
- Take some gluten-free foods with you
- When booking travel with the agency or airline, request a gluten-free meal in advance
- If you book a hotel, reinforce your need to eat gluten-free meals
My son has celiac disease. What can I do to help you?
To help the child or adolescent feel confident, safe and avoid discrimination or self-exclusion/isolation, they should:
- teach the child to understand the particularities of the disease, so that he feels able to explain to others, whenever necessary, its restrictions:
- Teach the name of the disease
- Explain what it means
- Reinforce that people who have celiac disease cannot eat gluten
- Point out that gluten is in foods that have wheat, barley, rye, and oats
- Identify the foods you can and can't eat
- inform and clarify the school community about the disease and the type of diet that should be followed, so that the diet is followed correctly, including what to play with, to avoid exposure to gluten: modeling clay, homemade paint recipes, school chalk
- Communicate the situation discreetly, which should not be done, in the case of parties at friends' houses, social outings and similar situations, among friends or family, so as not to embarrass the child
- Encourage the maintenance of a healthy, varied, nutritionally balanced and, above all, tasty diet adapted to the taste and family culture of celiacs
Some guidelines that may be helpful:
- "If you eat gluten, even if it's just a little bit, it's going to hurt you"
- "If they offer you something you know you can't eat, say, 'No, thank you.'"
- "If you're not sure if you can eat a certain food, don't eat it"
- "Don't worry, we'll help you"
Can medications contain gluten?
Yes. Medicines may contain gluten in their composition, and it must be specified in the package insert. If you find it in a medicine that you need to take, ask your doctor and/or pharmacist about alternatives.
What precautions should I take with hygiene and cleaning products?
Hygiene and beauty products may contain traces of gluten, so it is advisable to read the label of shampoos, soaps, moisturizing creams and also make-up products.
However, in these cases it will only be harmful to the patient if they (accidentally) ingest these products, or if the celiac has skin sensitivity to gluten. Otherwise, the contact of gluten with the skin does not cause any problems.
Can hosts contain gluten?
The host distributed in the Eucharist is a source of gluten. However, gluten-free hosts are already manufactured.