Grains are seeds, and besides being rich in carbohydrates, they also contain various storage proteins, to be used by the embryonic plant for future growth and development. These proteins, usually tremendously beneficial to humans, are unfortunately also occasionally responsible for producing the symptoms associated with allergy or intolerance.

Grain based storage proteins can be divided into the following categories:

Gluten, a major component of the wheat grain’s nucleus (endosperm), is also the rubbery, elastic substance found in wheat, which binds the dough in food items such as bread and biscuits. Gluten is composed of different proteins called glutenins and gliadins. (A well-known syndrome called celiac disease, which is fortunately not very common, is caused by alpha gliadin).

Prolamines are proteins found in grains like rye, barley and oats. They are also divided into sub-categories, examples being hordeins, secalins and avenins. Cross sensitivity between these different proteins occur. This means that individuals, who experience allergic symptoms caused by one type of protein, may experience the same symptoms when exposed to a different species of grain, not containing the same protein.

Cereals, breads, cakes, pastries, crackers and pasta all contain wheat. Many other products like cold meats, sauces, gravies, snack foods, soups, batter fried foods and sweets also contain wheat-based products like gluten, wheat starch, bran etc. Beverages like malt whiskey and beer must also not be forgotten.

Intolerance can be caused either by proteins contained in the wheat germ (nucleus), or by proteins contained in the outer coat. It is therefore worthwhile to check if you can eat white bread and white flour (made from the nucleus only), as opposed to whole-wheat products or bran (which contains components from the outer coating as well).

Because of the Western diet’s dependence on wheat, a wheat-restricted diet is perceived by many as severely limiting. Remember that many cultures with vast repertoires of delicious foods never eat wheat. It is therefore often easier to switch to another style of eating, such as Mexican (where cornmeal is used), or an Eastern style, (more dependent on rice, lentils and soya).

Rice cakes are excellent substitutes for bread, and rice, baked potatoes or polenta (made from cornmeal) can be used instead of wheat based bread and pasta. Sorghum and cornmeal porridge make excellent substitutes for most wheat-based breakfast cereals. (Many breakfast cereals, however, are made from cornmeal or rice, and are therefore acceptable.)

A wheat free diet is in fact not difficult to follow, but will require a lot more planning.

Gluten free bread, pasta and flour can be bought at most speciality stores, but you can easily make your own. Gluten free flour is made from a combination of other flours, such as maize flour, potato flour, soya flour, split pea flour, rice flour, rice bran, sago, carob flour, cornstarch and ground almonds. You can improvise with mixtures of your own, such as 1 part rice flour, 1 part soya flour and 1 part potato flour. (Soya flour is usually added for the protein content, although lentil flour is also acceptable.)

The web has an endless list of gluten free products that can be reached via mail order. You will also find many gluten free recipes on the web, as well as a list of speciality food suppliers in your area.

In the plant kingdom, wheat and rye are most closely related, and rye is therefore often responsible for causing the same symptoms as produced by wheat. Barley is the next closest family member, followed by rice and oats. Maize and millet are the most distant.

The following list contains the most commonly consumed grains and their ability to cross-react with wheat.

The husked and polished variety is commonly used in soups. A large portion of barley, however, is used for malting purposes, including making beer and malt based liquors and spirits. Barley is closely related to wheat in both soluble and insoluble protein fractions, and therefore shows a strong cross-reactivity with wheat.

Buckwheat is not a member of the grass family, and thus not a true cereal. The flour is baked as pancakes, used for noodles and as a component of baby foods. Buckwheat is an excellent alternative to wheat in Europe and the USA, whereas in Japan it is a major source of food allergy due to the large consumption of soba (buckwheat noodles). Be careful to distinguish buckwheat from bulgur wheat – the latter is true wheat, whilst buckwheat comes from an entirely different plant.

Maize is the only cereal of American origin (it formed the staple diet of the American Indian). It is popular as a table vegetable, either frozen or canned, but is also used for starch manufacture and distilling liquor. A relatively low degree of relation is thought to exist between maize and other cereals, although maize and rice may potentially cross-react.

Often forgotten, millet has been cultivated for at least 5000 years, and is still the staple food source of approximately one-third of the world’s population. (Mainly in India) Several species of millet exist, the more popular being common millet, Italian millet and Japanese millet. Although allergic cross-reactivity with other grains does exist, it is not well documented.

Oats is a hardy cereal grown in the cooler climates for both human and horse consumption. Oatmeal as a breakfast food has always been popular, and oats is still often a major ingredient in commercially prepared breakfast cereals. Oats appear to cross-react weakly with wheat, rye and barley.

Rice is the staple food for about half of the human race, providing about one fifth of the total food energy value consumed by man. Rice allergy is not common in the Western world, as the highest rice production and consumption take place in the Far East. Rice may cross react with rye and maize, as well as rye-pollen and wheat-pollen.

Rye is a Northern European cereal and is primarily produced in Poland, Germany and the former Soviet Union. Although it is grown as bread flour, it is usually still mixed with wheat. A small proportion is used by the distilling industry to make liquor. There is a high incidence of cross-reactivity between rye and wheat.

Sago is the starch obtained from the stem of the Southeast Asian sago palm. Once extracted, the starch is moistened and shaken to form globules, which are dried to form the characteristic small sago pearls. Cross sensitivity between sago and other cereals has not been documented, and seems highly unlikely owing to the big difference in plant structure (a tree versus a grass).