Gluten

  Gluten free products are advertised more and more as a healthy alternative but most people don’t understand what gluten is or if they should be worried about it.  Gluten is a protein found in healthy foods like wheat, barley, rye, and wheat varieties like spelt, kamut, farro and durum, plus products like bulgar and semolina.  In addition to being in breads and pastas gluten is used in many packaged foods, soups and sauces as a filler or as a thickening agent.  Checking the labels on processed foods is the only way to find ingredients that contain gluten.  Look for the grains mentioned above plus:  brewer’s yeast, oats, and malt.  Oats don’t contain gluten but are most often contaminated with it by being processed on the same equipment […]