Whole Wheat / Whole Grains

[Canadian Girl]

I am very confused by something... how come we can eat gluten free whole grain products? wheat, barley, spelt.. etc are all grains.. so I am confused by what grains we CAN eat?? if something is gluten free whole grain whatever, than it's fine right????

[psawyer]

All gluten comes from grains, but not all grains have gluten. Safe grains include corn, rice and quinoa.

[tarnalberry]

I'm going to give the long winded answer that lies behind peter's answer.

All Open Original Shared Link means is that the grain has not been processed to remove the bran (shell-like covering for the grain) and germ (think of it as the yolk inside the egg). It doesn't say anything about gluten.

Gluten *technically* is the primary protein in any grass-family cereal grain. But not all glutens are the same. Wheat, barley, rye (and for some, oats) contain a gluten that, due to it's chemical composition, set off an autoimmune response in the gut. But the "glutens" in corn and rice, for instance, are different enough, chemically, that they do not do this. To use an outdated, but still good-enough, analogy - all those grains have keys, but not all of them fit the lock that triggers our immune response. Only the four that celiacs avoid have the key that fits in that lock.

Colloquially, the term gluten is used just for those four grains. But you need to be aware of the context in which the word gluten is being used. On a food label, you may well see "corn gluten", which is fine as it's the "technical" use of the word. But you might see "gluten-free" on a marketing label on the outside of a box, which refers to the colloquial term. (Though don't ever just go by that term - always, ALWAYS read the ingredients. Especially if you are avoiding oats.)

[jackay]

All gluten comes from grains, but not all grains have gluten. Safe grains include corn, rice and quinoa.

Buckwheat (be sure it is 100% buckwheat), amaranth and teff are also gluten free.

[orchid1]

I am very confused by something... how come we can eat gluten free whole grain products? wheat, barley, spelt.. etc are all grains.. so I am confused by what grains we CAN eat?? if something is gluten free whole grain whatever, than it's fine right????

Whole means unprocessed( ie it does not come packaged). Grains are grass seeds, all grass seeds have gluten(wheat, barley, rye, oates, corn, rice, millet, sorghum have gluten which is a mixture of proteins (prolamines). This site will explain things further. Open Original Shared Link

[RiceGuy]

Whole means unprocessed( ie it does not come packaged). Grains are grass seeds, all grass seeds have gluten(wheat, barley, rye, oates, corn, rice, millet, sorghum have gluten which is a mixture of proteins (prolamines). This site will explain things further. Open Original Shared Link

To be clear, corn, millet, sorghum, and rice are gluten-free, in that they do not have the specific protein that sets off the immune system in gluten-sensitive individuals. Other gluten-free grains include amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa, and teff (technically, buckwheat and some others are not considered grains, but seeds, as they do not come from the grass family).

As was stated, a whole grain is one which hasn't been processed to remove the germ or bran. Like a whole egg, as opposed to just the white part or the yoke.

<EDIT>

I checked that video, and it is quite misleading as to what grains contain the gluten we're concerned about. I would NOT recommend it.

[Canadian Girl]

Perfect that explains everything, thx so much for all your answers!!!

[haleym]

I am very confused by something... how come we can eat gluten free whole grain products? wheat, barley, spelt.. etc are all grains.. so I am confused by what grains we CAN eat?? if something is gluten free whole grain whatever, than it's fine right????

Well, theres whole grain teff, corn, rice, and other gluten free grains. Not all grains have gluten- for example, buckwheat, quinoa, corn, teff, rice, millet and others are gluten free! Yes, buckwheat has a name that may put us off but it has no gluten... I think buckwheat is actually a seed! Its confusing at first but keep researching things and the fog of uncertainty will clear.

[Hawaii78]

So, buckwheat pancakes (as long as its 100%) are ok? How about whey, like whey protein powders? I saw on a list that both were ok, but I wanted to check with people here first. Thanks.

[psawyer]

Whey itself is a dairy product, and is gluten-free. Whey protein powders may contain other ingredients besides just whey.