Gluten-free diet Gluten-free diet A gluten-free diet (GFD) is a diet that strictly excludes gluten, a mixture of proteins found in wheat and related grains, including barley, rye, oat, and all their species and hybrids (such as spelt, kamut, and triticale). The inclusion of oats in a gluten-free diet remains controversial, and may depend on the oat cultivar and the frequent cross-contamination with other gluten-containing cereals. Gluten causes health problems for those with gluten-related disorders, including coeliac disease (CD), non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), gluten ataxia, dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), and wheat allergy. In these people, the gluten-free diet is demonstrated as an effective
Wheat gluten (food) among adherents of Buddhism. The oldest reference to wheat gluten appears in the "Qimin Yaoshu", a Chinese agricultural encyclopedia written by Jia Sixie in 535. The encyclopedia mentions noodles prepared from wheat gluten called "bo duo". Wheat gluten was known as "mian jin" by the Song dynasty (960–1279). Wheat gluten arrived in the West by the 18th century. "De Frumento", an Italian treatise on wheat from 1745, describes the process of washing wheat flour dough in order to extract the gluten. John Imison wrote an English-language definition of wheat gluten in his "Elements of Science and Art" published in 1803.