Allergy diet - wheat free
This document is part of the ACI Diet Specifications for Adult Inpatients. It is not to be used for patient education.
Aim
To provide a diet that excludes all wheat products.
Characteristics
Avoids all foods containing wheat or triticale (a hybrid of wheat and rye). Other grains excluded from a gluten-free diet (e.g. rye, barley, oats) are permitted on this diet.
Indications
- wheat allergy
- wheat intolerance.
Nutritional adequacy
Nutritionally adequate.
Precautions
It is not possible to provide a full list of all permitted commercial products; the following are general guidelines only. Wheat-based ingredients (eg flour and starch) are found extensively in prepared and commercial products. Product labels need to be read carefully. The following ingredients indicate the likely presence of wheat: cornflour, starch, modified starch, maltodextrin, dextrin and thickeners 1400–1450. Products labelled as low gluten, may contain gluten, or manufactured on the same line as products containing gluten, are not usually suitable. Sauces can be thickened with gluten-free products (such as xanthan gum) instead of wheat starch.
Paediatrics
Suitable for use in paediatrics when combined with an age-appropriate diet.
Specific menu planning guidelines
| Allowed | Not allowed | |
|---|---|---|
| Hot main dishes | Plain cooked beef, lamb, pork, poultry and fish, free of gluten-containing additives Casseroles prepared using maize cornflour or gums as thickening agents Eggs, legumes | Sausages Meat dishes with additives containing wheat starch, e.g. soy sauce Casseroles thickened with flour or wheaten cornflour Crumbed meat or fish, pizza, pies and pastries |
| Sauces, gravies | Gluten-free sauces or gravies | Soy sauce Gravy thickened with flour or wheaten cornflour |
| Starchy vegetables / pasta / rice | Plain boiled, roasted and mashed potato Rice, rice noodles, polenta, gluten-free pasta | Scalloped potato Regular pasta, most noodles, couscous |
| Vegetables | All others | Vegetables with thickened sauces (e.g. white sauce or cauliflower au gratin) |
| Soups | Clear soups (with gluten-free stock-cubes) Soups thickened with gluten-free flours, rice, gluten-free pasta, lentils and pulses | Most commercial soups containing thickeners, cereals or grains, e.g. noodles, pasta |
| Sandwiches | Sandwiches made on gluten-free bread | Processed meat or other fillings containing starch |
| Salads, dressings | Cheese, egg, beans, tuna, salmon Plain cooked beef, lamb, pork and poultry | Pasta salad, Waldorf salad, coleslaw Mustard, pickles, mayonnaise Check all other ingredients, e.g. roasted meats, for ingredients containing wheat |
| Breads, cereals | Gluten-free bread 100% rye pumpernickel Rice cakes Rolled oats, rice- and corn-based breakfast cereals, gluten-free breakfast cereals Psyllium, buckwheat, barley, rye, millet, amaranth, sorghum, quinoa, wild rice | All other breads (most rye breads also include wheat flour) Many commercial breakfast cereals, including regular muesli, bran cereals, semolina, wheatgerm, Weet-Bix™ Malted products, spelt, bulghur Croissants, crumpets |
| Spreads | Butter, margarine, jam, honey, peanut butter | Vegemite™, Marmite™ |
| Hot breakfast choices | All others | Sausages, baked beans, spaghetti, pancakes |
| Fruit | All | - |
| Yoghurt | All others | Yoghurt containing wheat-based ingredients |
| Desserts | Custards without cornflour thickeners, creamy rice, jelly, ice-cream, sago, tapioca | Cakes, puddings Custards made with commercial custard powder Fruit pies, pastries and crumbles |
| Milk and cheese | All others | Soy milk usually contains wheat |
| Beverages | All others | Drinking chocolate, Ovaltine®, Milo®, Aktavite® |
| Biscuits | Gluten-free biscuits only | All others |
| Miscellaneous | Cream, salt, pepper, tamari, wine vinegar, arrowroot, nuts and seeds Some highly purified wheat products: glucose, caramel colour (150), dextrose | Beverage whitener, malt vinegar, icing sugar mixture |
References
- Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy. Food allergy – other foods (soy, wheat, egg).
- Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Allergy Unit. Allergy information sheets.
- American Dietetic Association. Nutrition care manual. Chicago: ADA; 2009.
- Anaphylaxis Australia. Allergen cards. 2007.