Organic and Gluten-Free Foods for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Policy Decision
I wanted to add a link or two for spelt to ForMyTummy’s Amazon Page. Is spelt gluten-free? I had thought so, but a little research revealed that it is not. Because gluten in spelt is different from the gluten in wheat, I will include some spelt products on the Amazon Pages.
Gluten
Most of what are mentioned here as IBS-diet-worthy foods are free of the known triggers that affect us. In the case of spelt, which contains gluten, I am making an exception.
- Spelt, as a grain, is similar to wheat; therefore it has gluten.
- Spelt, as a grain, has a different kind of gluten in it.
People with celiac disease are completely unable to process anything with gluten; most of us with IBS find that restricting foods with gluten in them make our tummies happier. So if I (with IBS) can keep my diet down to 10% to 25% of
the usual gluten “load” in the average American diet, I will generally do ok. Your mileage on gluten may vary. (That’s abbreviated YMMV, in forum-speak.)
Information on Spelt
I stumbled upon a fascinating and informative web page from Doves Farm in doing research on the spelt + gluten issue. They are in the United Kingdom (UK), so their products will not make it into my Amazon Page(s). Nevertheless, their web site has a great deal of information about grains and special diets, about organic and gluten-free products.
This is important why? –Because earlier I published a recipe for tuna melt for IBS, that was built on bread made of spelt. I had assumed then that spelt was gluten-free, not classed with wheat. It turns out that it is a cousin of wheat, with differences in flavor and kind of gluten. To recap; while people with Celiac Disease are completely unable to tolerate gluten in any form, that doesn’t (necessarily) apply to people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome who are wheat intolerant.
Also a voice for organic foods
The Doves Farm site mentioned above is also an advocate for organic foods. If you are negotiating a food budget to deal with IBS, the higher cost of organic foods versus traditionally farmed foods may add a point of disagreement. Therefore, I’m not going to come down on both feet with a strong recommendation for organic foods.
Feedback
Do you agree with the policy on foods containing gluten for this site? If not, would you suggest a complete ban? A stricter ban? Let me know with a comment. Your comment will count toward the September Top Commenter award. This is a good thing.