Which Types of Rice Are Gluten-Free

Foods High in Gluten

Gluten is the name for proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye. Gluten is also added to foods as a thickening agent or to provide texture and flavor.

Gluten has a stretchy quality to it and is the ingredient that gives bread and baked goods their chewy texture. Eating whole grains like wheat, barley, and rye is linked to a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. However, gluten can cause health concerns for some.

Some people experience adverse reactions and health risks when eating foods containing gluten. The peptides found in gluten are resistant to stomach acids, which can make it hard for some people to digest. These peptides can cause various symptoms from mild indigestion to more serious health conditions.

Gastrointestinal discomfort or allergy symptoms can develop as a result of eating gluten. Many people have developed celiac disease. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder where the immune system seeks gluten as a toxic invader and attacks it, resulting in intestinal damage. People with celiac disease are at risk for developing more severe disorders due to malabsorption of vitamins and minerals.

Why You Should Avoid Gluten

If you have any symptoms of gluten-sensitivity, you may want to consider removing gluten from your diet. There are four conditions that require a strict gluten-free diet:

Celiac Disease

Long wait times are often cited as a downfall of universal healthcare systems, but wait times in America have reached a new high, too. The average time to make a physician appointment as a new patient in 15 major U.S. cities is now 24 days, up 30% in just 3 years (2014 to 2018) according to physician recruiting firm Merritt Hawkins.

About 1% of Americans have celiac disease, however, most cases go undiagnosed. People with celiac disease experience gastrointestinal symptoms like excessive gas, diarrhea, unexplained weight loss, and nutrient deficiencies.

Prolonged ingestion of gluten in people with celiac disease results in damage to the intestinal lining. This damage affects the digestive system’s ability to absorb vitamins and minerals. People with celiac disease have a high risk of developing osteoporosis, arthritis, infertility, and neurological problems.

Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS)

Some people diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome may have gluten sensitivity. It’s possible to have difficulty digesting gluten without having celiac disease. If you experience gastrointestinal symptoms after eating wheat, barley, or rye, but have tested negative for celiac, you may have NCGS and could see improvement on a gluten-free diet.

Wheat and other cereal grains can cause allergic reactions in some people. Typical allergy symptoms include:

• Itching/swelling of the mouth or throat
• Skin rash
• Coughing
• Shortness of breath
• Hives
• Vomiting/diarrhea

Keeping a food diary can help you determine if your allergy symptoms occur after eating wheat, barley, rye, or oats.

Dermatitis Herpetiformis

Dermatitis herpetiformis is a relatively rare skin reaction due to gluten sensitivity. Lesions or blisters form on the skin, most commonly on the forearms, knees, and buttocks. People experiencing dermatitis herpetiformis typically also have celiac disease as they are caused by the same antibodies.

Foods With Gluten

Foods made from wheat have the highest amounts of gluten. However, wheat flour is also commonly added to foods, so it’s important to read nutrition labels if you are avoiding gluten.

The 8 most common sources of gluten include:

1. Bread
   This includes all types of bread (unless labeled “gluten-free”) such as rolls, buns, bagels, biscuits, and flour tortillas.
2. Baked Goods
   Baked goods like cake, cookies, doughnuts, muffins, and pies contain gluten as well as pancakes and waffles.
3. Pasta
   All wheat pasta contains gluten, including spaghetti, fettuccine, macaroni, lasagne, and ravioli.
4. Cereal
   Not all breakfast cereals contain wheat, but many do, so be sure to check the nutrition labels. Also, be aware that oats are often raised and processed with wheat. Therefore, unless they are labeled gluten-free, oat products will also contain gluten.
5. Crackers
   Popular snack foods like crackers, pretzels, and some types of chips have gluten.
6. Beer
   Beer is made from malted barley, which has gluten. Some liquors have added wheat, so be sure to research the ingredients.
7. Gravy
   Gravies and ready-meals containing gravy contain gluten. Powdered gravy mixes also contain gluten unless specifically labeled “gluten-free.”
8. Soup
   Many canned and boxed soups use wheat flour as a thickening agent. Check nutrition labels to find premade soups without gluten.

Gluten-Free Alternatives

Trying to avoid gluten entirely can be very tricky at first. It’s important to read labels carefully. The best way to reduce gluten in your diet is to stay away from the foods listed above and replace them with naturally gluten-free foods such as:

• Corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas
• Fresh fruit or gelatin with whipped cream for dessert
• Zucchini noodles topped with spaghetti sauce
• Breakfast cereals made from corn or rice (but check for additives such as coloring)
• Raw veggies with dips instead of crackers
• Gluten-free beer, red or white wine, or other liquors like vodka, gin, bourbon, and whiskey
• Gluten-free gravies that use cornstarch for thickening instead of flour
• Gluten-free soups

Show Sources

Harvard School of Public Health: “Gluten: A Benefit or Harm to the Body?”

Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology: “What is Gluten?”

Journal of Food Protection: “Gluten Contamination in Foods Labeled as “Gluten Free” in the United States.”

Nutrients: “The Gluten-Free Diet: Safety and Nutritional Quality.”

StatPearls Publishing: “Gluten And Associated Medical Problems.”

Which Types of Rice Are Gluten-Free?

All forms of rice are gluten-free in their pure form. This includes brown rice, white rice, and wild rice. Rice mixes, “wheat-free” rice, and rice from certain manufacturers that produce gluten products may contain gluten.

Living without gluten requires you to be mindful of all the foods you eat. You must read labels to determine whether foods contain gluten or not. Rice is generally gluten-free, unless it’s mixed or processed with other products that contain gluten or is contaminated on equipment that processes gluten products.

You may live a gluten-free lifestyle because you have celiac disease, a wheat allergy, or non-celiac gluten sensitivity. The Mayo Clinic states that 1 in 141 people in the United States have celiac disease. Approximately 1 to 6 percent of the population has non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Another condition, eosinophilic esophagitis or EoE, is a food allergy immune disease that is triggered by a wheat allergy in some people. Any of these conditions require you to avoid consuming products containing gluten.

Rice is generally gluten-free. This includes all varieties, such as white or brown, long or short grain, and fragranced or not fragranced. There are thousands of types of rice, but only about 100 kinds are sold around the world.

As long as you purchase unprocessed rice, you shouldn’t have to worry about whether it’s gluten-free. You need to be aware of products that may contain additional components with gluten or that may be marketed as fast cooking or precooked. These rice products may not be gluten-free. If possible, look for rice packaged with a “gluten-free” label.

Rice can be a staple of a gluten-free diet. However, you should make sure to eat a variety of whole grains to ensure you get important vitamins and minerals in your diet. There are plenty of other grain options you can consume if you are gluten-free.

Another reason to limit eating large amounts of rice is the risk of arsenic consumption. A 2012 report found levels of arsenic in products containing rice. At this time there is no official statement from the U. S. Food and Drug Administration warning consumers to avoid rice and rice products. However, as a precaution, the American Celiac Disease Alliance has issued a statement recommending that those who follow a gluten-free diet eat a variety of whole grains.

Gluten-free rice

1. brown rice
2. white rice
3. wild rice

Rice in its pure form is gluten-free. This whole grain is available in many varieties, all of which differ in nutritional content and health benefits.

You may need to use a specific type of rice to follow a recipe. Some types of rice are better used for certain purposes. If you are picking a rice without a recipe in mind, choose unrefined (brown) rice to increase your meal’s nutritional content.

Here’s some nutritional information about three popular types of gluten-free rice.

Brown rice

Brown rice is packed with nutrition. It contains manganese, selenium, and fiber. Brown rice has more texture because it’s unrefined and still contains the bran and germ. These are both removed when processing white rice. Make sure to store uncooked brown rice in an air-tight container or in the refrigerator to keep it fresh.

White rice

White rice is an extremely popular type of rice, but it has been stripped of much of its nutritional value. Fiber and other vitamins and minerals are removed from white rice to create a smoother texture and prolong shelf life.

Wild rice

Technically, wild rice isn’t a rice, even though it’s marketed as one. It’s actually a grass and is gluten-free. Wild rice is more difficult to grow than rice, so it may be more expensive or mixed with brown or white rice to lower the cost. Wild rice has many vitamins and minerals, such as fiber, folate, and vitamin B-6. It’s also considered to be high in antioxidants.