Is couscous gluten free? Couscous is not gluten free as it is made from semolina which is a flour derived from durum wheat which contains gluten. People that have celiac disease try to do the best job they can in avoiding eating any foods that contain gluten. because it can cause a tremendous amount of inflammatory and bloating issues.
Is couscous gluten free? Photo credit: iStock-venemama
What is gluten? Gluten is a group of proteins that is found in wheat, barley, rye, etc. This can also be found in oat products that have been cross-contaminated or processed in the same plant that has gluten containing grains.
Some of the other symptoms of people that are gluten intolerance is diarrhea, headache, constipation fatigue, tiredness, abdominal pain, etc. Some of the more severe symptoms of celiac disease are seizures, joint pain, susceptible to bone fractures, digestive issues, etc.
The semolina that is found in couscous is a wheat product and that is why couscous can never be gluten free. Some of the other alternatives to couscous in terms of dietary wise is the following:
- Quinoa
- Millett which is a cereal
- Short grain rice which is a little sticker than couscous
- Sorghum which is a cereal grain.
The only way to know if any food or couscous is 100% gluten free is checking the back of the ingredients label. And then checking to see if there is a gluten free label certification on the product.
The Bottom Line is couscous is not gluten free as it contains a wheat product called semolina which contains gluten. So, if you do have celiac disease, it is advisable to avoid eating couscous.
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References
- Shewry P. What Is Gluten-Why Is It Special? Front Nutr. 2019 Jul 5;6:101. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2019.00101. PMID: 31334243; PMCID: PMC6625226.
- Barbaro MR, Cremon C, Stanghellini V, Barbara G. Recent advances in understanding non-celiac gluten sensitivity. F1000Res. 2018 Oct 11;7:F1000 Faculty Rev-1631. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.15849.1. PMID: 30363819; PMCID: PMC6182669.
- Caio G, Volta U, Sapone A, Leffler DA, De Giorgio R, Catassi C, Fasano A. Celiac disease: a comprehensive current review. BMC Med. 2019 Jul 23;17(1):142. doi: 10.1186/s12916-019-1380-z. PMID: 31331324; PMCID: PMC6647104.
