Gluten-free diet

People who suffer from food allergies or specific conditions such as Celiac disease are often told to follow a gluten-free diet. This type of diet involves the elimination of all types of gluten from one’s diet. Gluten can be found as both cereals such as wheat, rye, barley, farina, spelt, matzo, graham flour, semolina, durham, kamut, kasha, and triticale or as a food additive used in many foods to thicken, flavour, or stabilise the mixtures. People following these types of diets must take care to not only avoid any of the gluten-containing products, of which there are many, but also to make sure their “safe” foods haven’t been contaminated by gluten during production.
Oats themselves might not be harmful to those allergic to gluten, but research indicates that often the factories oats are produced in are often contaminated so it is better that individuals who need to follow a gluten-free diet avoid oats. Gluten was declared as GRAS (Generally Recognised as Safe) by the U.S. government so many foods might not be identified as containing gluten. Followers of this diet generally cannot consume any type of commercial pastas, breads, or convenience foods. They also must steer clear of many salad dressings, soups, puddings, and marinades or sauces which use gluten as an additive. Even trickier is that gluten can be found as residue in many non-edible products that still come into contact with your mouth, such as play dough, stamps, toothpaste, lip-gloss and lipstick, and many medications and vitamins.