Wheat Allergy Diet for Children

General guidelines for wheat allergy

When your child has a food allergy, he or she must follow an allergen-free diet. This means your child can't have the food they are allergic to, or any products containing that food. The items that your child is allergic to are called allergens.

A wheat allergy is the immune system's abnormal response to the protein found in wheat. Wheat products are found in many foods. To stay away from foods that contain wheat, it is important to read food labels. Foods regulated by the FDA must follow the federal Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA). This requires that food labels put wheat in the list of ingredients on products that contain any wheat. Some manufacturers voluntarily include statements such as "may contain wheat" or "may be made in a facility with wheat."

When your child has been diagnosed with a wheat allergy:

Educate teachers, family, and friends about your child’s allergy. Many people don’t understand how serious food allergies can be.
Teach your child in an age-appropriate way about their food allergy and how to manage it.
Consult a registered dietitian. They can help you find healthy substitutes so your child gets all the nutrients needed to grow.
When eating out, bring “back-up” foods with you and check restaurant websites before you go,
If managing the allergy creates family stress, consider getting social and mental health support for your whole family.

The lists below may not contain all food and personal care products that could contain wheat. But they can help guide your food decisions. It is up to you to carefully read all food labels.

	Allowed	Not allowed
Drinks	Coffee, tea, fruit juices, decaffeinated coffee, carbonated drinks, all milks, cocoa	Cereal drinks, coffee substitutes Drinks made from wheat products: beer, ale, root beer Instant chocolate drink mixes
Breads & cereals	Rye crackers, rice wafers Pure corn, rice, arrowroot, barley, potato, or rye bread made without wheat flour or wheat products Cornmeal, cornstarch, soybean flour, barley flour, oat flour, rice flour, potato starch, arrowroot flour Oatmeal, cream of rice, puffed rice, or other cereals made from pure corn, oats, or rice, with no added wheat	Whole wheat, enriched, or white bread, rolls, or bread crumbs Graham or gluten bread Donuts, sweet rolls, muffins, French toast, waffles, pancakes, dumplings, bread stuffing, rusk, popovers Prepared mixes for pancakes, waffles, biscuits, breads, and rolls Cornbread, potato, or soybean bread unless made without wheat flour or wheat products Cereals made from farina, wheat, or those with wheat products or malt added Pretzels, crackers Semolina, spelt, or triticale
Desserts	Custards, Bavarian creams Oatmeal, arrowroot, rice, or rye cookies made without wheat products Cornstarch, tapioca, or rice puddings Water or fruit ices, meringues Gelatin	Cakes, pastries, commercial frosting, icing, ice cream, sherbet, ice cream cones Cookies, prepared mixes, or packaged pudding containing wheat flour Graham crackers, donuts
Eggs	Eggs made any way without wheat products	Souffles or creamed eggs made with wheat products
Fats	Butter, margarine, animal, or vegetable fats and oils, cream Salad dressings or gravy made without wheat flour or products	Any salad dressing or gravy thickened with wheat flour or products
Fruit	All fresh, canned, dried, or frozen fruits, and fruit juices	Strained fruits with added cereals
Meat, fish, poultry	Baked, broiled, boiled, roasted, or fried: beef, veal, pork, ham, chicken, turkey, lamb, or fish "All meat" hot dogs or lunch meats made without wheat flour fillers or wheat products	All breaded or floured meats, meats containing filler, such as meatloaf, frankfurters, sausage, luncheon meats, bologna, or prepared meat patties
Milk & milk products	Milk, buttermilk, yogurt, cheese, some cottage cheese	Malted milk, milk drinks containing powdered wheat cereal or products Cottage cheese with modified starch or other wheat-containing ingredients
Potatoes & substitutes	White and sweet potatoes Rice	Scalloped potatoes Noodles, spaghetti, macaroni, and other pasta products prepared with wheat or semolina flour
Soup	Clear bouillon, consomme, or broth Homemade soups made without wheat products	Cream soups unless made without wheat flour Soups with noodles, alphabets, dumplings, or spaghetti Soup thickened with wheat flour
Sweets	Corn syrup, honey, jams, jellies, molasses, sugar	Chocolates, chocolate candy containing malt, candy with cereal extract
Vegetables	All fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables, and vegetable juices	Vegetables combined with wheat products Breaded or floured vegetables
Miscellaneous	Salt, chili powder, condiments, flavoring extracts, herbs, nuts, olives, pickles, popcorn, peanut butter	Malt products, Worcestershire sauce, gravies thickened with wheat flour Monosodium glutamate (MSG), meat tenderizers containing MSG, prepared Asian food seasoned with MSG, soy sauce

How to read a label for a wheat-free diet

Don’t give your child foods that have any of these ingredients:

Bran
Bread crumbs
Bulgur
Cereal extract
Couscous
Cracker meal
Durum, Durum flours (a type of wheat)
Einkorn (a type of wheat)
Emmer (a type of farro)
Enriched flour
Farina
Flour (all purpose, bread, cake, instant, pastry, self-rising, soft wheat, steel ground, whole wheat)
Gluten
Graham flour
High gluten flour
High protein flour
Hydrolyzed wheat protein
Matzoh, matzoh meal
Pasta
Seitan
Semolina (a type of wheat)
Spelt (a type of wheat)
Sprouted wheat
Triticale (a type of wheat)
Vital gluten
Wheat bran
Wheat durum
Wheat germ
Wheat gluten
Wheat grass
Wheat malt
Wheat protein isolate
Wheat sprouts
Wheat starch
Whole wheat berries
Whole wheat flour