Foods that Contain Gluten
Did you know that your favorite pasta, pizza and beer all contain gluten? Yes, even cakes and other baked goodies have gluten. Bread and pretzels, bagels and crackers, all these are foods that contain gluten. They are the usual foods which have flour that hold gluten. They are packed with gluten because they are made from wheat flour or wheat.
The raw materials of gluten are barley, rye, wheat or foods in these similar grains. Exactly, gluten is found in all components of wheat-based flours. To name some of the known sources of gluten, these are wheat bran, wheat flour, wheat germ, cookies, tortillas, muffins, cereal, pastries, and oats. Gluten is also found in most chips, salad dressings, gravy, fried foods, pasta and rice combinations, and even soy sauce. So you see? There are several foods that contain gluten.
One of the protein sources is gluten. It is usually referred to as meat substitute because gluten is often made into a meat-like food whose chewiness is actually like meat. When baked, glutens texture approximates that of meat and therefore used by vegetarians as meat replacement in their recipes.
Gluten is also a food extender and binder. It enhances flavor and acts as protein supplement for vegetarians.
Other foods that contain gluten are most baked goods and common breakfast cereals. Even in soups, gluten is used as thickener. One of the characteristics of gluten is that it makes dough rise in baked foods. Vegetarians use gluten as food supplement because it is low in fat but high in protein. Accordingly, it is high in iron as well. Gluten has other nutrients for the body too.
If you are avoiding meat for a healthy lifestyle, then eating gluten as substitute could be one of the options. Gluten also has carbohydrates to give you energy in small quantities though.
Bread gets its structure from gluten and it is a known protein source. It is gluten that makes bread to become bread, so they say. You can only make bread from flour and not from potato, rice oats or any other flour. It has to be wheat flour and that is one of the foods that contain gluten.
When you make pasta, pizza or bread, you will notice that their dough suck up water that makes kneading possible. The kneading process actually allows the dough to become manageable to be stretched and be flexible. Therefore, the wonder element that makes all these possible is gluten.
Bear in mind that the main sources of gluten are wheat, rye, barley and other grains. Most diets come from grains and wheat which are rich in gluten. So next time you eat your pasta, pizza, cookies, cakes, bread, crackers or drink your beer, think of gluten.
Actually, you can eat foods that contain gluten and foods that do not depending on your diet needs. For example, persons diagnosed with coeliac cancer can find foods that do not contain gluten. It is very easy to compare. Foods that contain gluten are rye, wheat and barley. Foods that do not are corn, rice, potato, beans and lentils with a list which you can find online.