Gluten vs Wheat free food

[Plocket]

Please could someone explain to me the difference between these two - in simple terms. One of my friends has had to change to a wheat free diet and another has changed to a gluten free diet - I want to be able to provide suitable lunches, snacks and cakes for them!

[Monarch]

As far as I am aware they are pretty similar as gluten is the protein found in wheat - you can replace with soya flour or oats or some such. You can also buy some gluten free bread, cakes, biscuits, pasta etc. in most large supermarkets. It's a bit of a pain but better than it used to be. Nice idea for a pudding is to make a crumble using oats instead of flour for the topping - a friend of mine said it was lovel to have a 'proper' pudding for a change!

[nickmo]

Hi Plocket. Look at: http://www.coeliac.co.uk/ for everything you ever wanted to know about coeliac condition which is what your thinking of.

Basically an inflamation of the small intestine that prevents the absorbtion of nutrients from food, caused by allergy to gluten found in certain foodstuffs. It is disabling and debilitating. Not a joke and can be life threatening. Tons of info on the site - follow links to what is suitable for diet etc. and support info for sufferers.

[rescuer]

I was diagnosed as a coeliac in 1979. The gluten in wheat, rye, barley and oats destroys the villa in the small intestine. it is through the villa, which are like fingers, that the body absorbs the necessary parts of the food. In my case the villa have re-grown but I must stay on the gluten-free diet for life.

Special 'gluten-free' bread has been available for a number of years but it is made from wheat flour from which most of the gluten has been removed. However some suffedrers are so sensitive to even tiny amounts of gluten that wheat free and gluten free bread and biscuits are now available. Rice flour, maize flour and similare are used. It is now over 26 years since I tasted 'normal' bread so I cannot remember what that tasted like. But what i now eat is quite acceptable.

But before going on to such a diet it is advisable to be correctly diagnosed first.

[Plocket]

Thanks to all (and they were both advised to change diet by their doctors). I'll see what I can find in the supermarkets or provide salads! I think my mum's got a recipe for a cake made without flour too...

[rescuer]

Following up my previous answer -- you will find gluten free + wheat free items in many supermarkets today. They are often to be found in a special section marked "Free From". You will find however that that they are quite expensive. A 400g loaf will be �2 or more. Sainsburys and Tesco have biscuits at 99p per packet which isn't too bad, although the equivalent in standard flour will probably be only 65p or so.

[Nummy]

a friend of mine has a gluten free diet...she buys gluten free pizza bases..and takes them to her local pizza shop who will make up pizzas for her!

Thorntons do gluten free chocs.

Actually you'd be surprised just how much food stuff will state that it gluten free!!!