Wheatless Rochelle

Common Questions, Part Three

This is the third and final part in my three part series of common questions about eating a gluten free and/or vegetarian diet. Go check out the Part One and Part Two posts if you missed those. Today’s common questions are all from Answers.com.

Is a gluten free diet good for you?
Certainly, if done right. Replacing white or wheat bread with gluten free bread made from rice flour is a good substitute. Even better would be avoiding the gluten free “replacement” foods and eating more fruits, vegetables, beans, and other healthy, natural foods. Just remember that rice crackers in place of Ritz crackers aren’t necessarily any more healthy. Don’t be fooled into thinking that switching to a gluten free diet and consuming lots of packaged gluten free foods is going to be magically healthy. In any case, packaged foods, whether gluten or gluten free, are going to be less healthy than eating natural, whole foods.

Is a vegetarian diet healthy?
It sure can be! As long as it’s done in a balanced way so that you get all of the necessary nutrients, a vegetarian diet can definitely be healthy. But just like any other way of eating, it can also be unhealthy if you don’t eat a well-rounded diet. Cereal in the morning, macaroni and cheese for lunch, and vegetarian pizza for dinner is a vegetarian diet but that’s definitely not a healthy, well-rounded day of food. Vegetarians, just like anyone else, must pay attention to what they are eating and make sure that all nutritional needs are being met.

Can you eat wasabi on a wheat free gluten free diet? What sauces can be eaten with a gluten free diet?
It all depends on how it’s made and what is in the wasabi and other sauces. Read the labels to see if they contain any gluten ingredients.

Can you eat sugar on a gluten free diet? Can you eat eggs on gluten free diet?
Pure cane sugar does not contain any gluten. If it’s processed in any way, you’ll have to read the labels and/or contact the company to see if any gluten ingredients were used in the processing. Pure, natural eggs are also gluten free!

Is Diet Cherry Coke gluten free? How about regular Cherry Coke? Diet Coke? Regular Coke?
It depends on what country you’re from. In the United States, Coca-Cola says that original Coca-Cola, caffeine-free Coca-Cola Classic, Coca-Cola Zero, Cherry, Coke, Diet Cherry Coke, Cherry Coke Zero, Vanilla Coke, Vanilla Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Diet Coke Plus, caffeine-free Diet Coke, Diet Coke with Splenda, and Diet Coke with Lime are all gluten-free to 20ppm.

How many people are on gluten free diets?
About 1 in 133 people have Celiac Disease and about 0.21% of adults have a wheat allergy. These people must follow a gluten free diet. Beyond that, it’s difficult to know how many people follow gluten free diets for other reasons. Some of those reasons include wheat or gluten intolerance or a diet preference.

How many people are vegetarians?
The Huffington Post has a great article from 2012 with lots of statistics about vegetarians in America. According to a Gallup poll quoted in this article, about 13 percent of adults in America identify as vegetarian. 2 percent of people consider themselves vegan. Vegetarian Times says that as of 2008, there were 7.3 million vegetarians in America. For a look at number of vegetarians around the world, check out the Wikipedia article on the topic, which has statistics from 18 different countries.

Famous people who are vegetarians? Famous people who are gluten free?
Wikipedia has a giant list of famous people who are vegetarians. Some of my favorites are Mr. Rogers, Bob Barker, and Kate Bush. The Glutenista has a list of celebrities who are gluten free (categorized by their reason for following a gluten free diet). According to that list, Zooey Deschanel and Chelsea Clinton both have wheat allergies.

Can you eat lard if you are vegetarian? Can you eat lard if you are on a gluten free diet?
Lard is pig fat. Because it’s from a pig you cannot eat lard if you are vegetarian. Lard can be eaten on a gluten free diet because it does not contain any gluten. However, lard does not contain any gluten (unless it has added ingredients in packaging) so lard can be consumed by people who follow a gluten free diet.