Painful inflammatory states may be the presentation of wheat allergy. A wheat gluten mechanism has been studied in rheumatoid arthritis patients. The clinical observation is that wheat ingestion is followed within hours by increased joint swelling and pain. Many other food allergens can trigger arthritis. Dr. Parke and colleagues concurred with this explanation of the gut-arthritis link in their report of three patients with celiac disease and rheumatoid arthritis.
Rice is used as the alternative to the gluten-containing cereal grains.
While the exclusion of the four cereal grains makes meal planning and cooking a new and more difficult challenge, there are many substitutes for grain and flour-based foods. Many recipes in this manual address the needs of gluten-free baking. These recipes may be unfamiliar and difficult or disappointing at first, but with perseverance tend to produce satisfactory results. Dairy and Eggs Cow's milk, dairy products and egg whites are excluded. We are concerned with the protein fraction of cow's milk, not the fat, nor lactose, the milk sugar.