Corn Free & Wheat Free Diet

For people with celiac disease, avoiding wheat is a necessary part of daily life. A wheat allergy is difficult in America, as a vast majority of consumer products contain wheat flour or wheat additives. When going off of wheat and corn at the same time, the selection of alternatives becomes yet thinner, though not impossible. Rice is your best friend, as are the dozens of forgotten alternative flours that are found around the world.

Rice

• As wheat and corn are the base of most carbohydrates in the American diet, including most pastas, cereal, bread, crackers, cookies and cakes, you will need to make use of alternative carbohydrates such as rice. Rice is a versatile alternative to wheat and corn as it can be used in a variety of ways including savory, sweet and even as a drink. Rice is the carbohydrate staple for millions of people around the world, predominately in Asia. There are endless ways to use rice flour, and it can be substituted for wheat flour in your favorite recipes. You can find rice noodles, rice pasta, rice candy, rice crackers and cakes at many supermarkets throughout the country.

Alternative Flours

• Aside from rice flour, there are dozens of alternative grains available that can be used in place of wheat or corn flour. Tapioca flour, Quinoa, potato flour, garbanzo bean flour, sorghum flour and soya flour just to name a few can be used in a myriad of recipes instead of wheat flour. When using alternative flours for baking, it is important to either know their properties well or to follow a specific recipe; most alternative flours lack the structural base of gluten (evidently) and therefore need a replacement. The usual replacement is a flour-like powder known as zanthum gum, which usually can be found alongside the alternative flours at your grocery market.

Lurkers

• Staying away from bread, pasta and corn chips won't guarantee that you are completely avoiding wheat and corn containing products, there are lurkers everywhere and you must take care when eating anything that you read the ingredients label fully, or ask (emphasis here) the waitress or waiter if there is any flour in the soup you are ordering. Before ordering a salad, ask for no croutons and politely inform them that you are allergic to wheat. The word allergy will send a signal that you are not being high-maintenance, but rather wish to not go into shock. Wheat and corn can be found under different names, including wheat starch, malt, malt flavoring, wheat and corn dextrin. Remember that all foods containing soy sauce will contain wheat, and most canned soups contain wheat or corn flours as thickener. There are corn lurkers in food as well, all corn starches, corn syrup, dextrose, glucose (found in many bottled juices), and absolutely everything that contains high fructose corn syrup, which in the packaged food industry is the most common sweetening agent used.

Increased Fruits and Vegetables

• If there is one benefit (aside from not being sick anymore for those who are gluten intolerant) to being wheat free, it is that by usual lack of alternatives in many situations you are forced to eat more fruits and vegetables; the usual foods that lack in the diets of our wheat based society. By eliminating all wheat and corn based products from your diet, you are left with very few processed and packaged foods that generally are not the most health conscious choice.