Gluten-free: Which Grains are Allowed?

Dr. Monika Pis

If you have Celiac disease, you know that you must avoid gluten at all costs to prevent health complications.  Here is a quick guide to grains that are safe and grains that you must stay away from.  Remember that products labeled "wheat-free" are not necessarily gluten-free. Therefore, read all labels very carefully.

Grains allowed:
amaranth
arrowroot
beans
buckwheat
corn
flax
garfava
millet
montina
nuts
potato
quinoa
rice
sorghum
soy
tapioca
teff.

Grains not allowed: 
Barley
Rye
Wheat (durum, eincorn, faro, graham, kamut, semolina, spelt)
Triticale 

Oats can be very easily contaminated during harvest, storage or processing.  However, some people with Celiac disease can tolerate pure gluten-free oats. To read more about oats and Celiac Disease, go to:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC523841/.  

DR. MONIKA PIS Dr. Monika Pis is the Editor in Chief of our health, safety, and nutrition sections. She is a pediatric nurse practitioner with a doctoral degree earned at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  She has provided health care to infants, children, and adolescents for close to a decade.