A few months ago I discovered that I may have an allergic reaction to wheat products. While trying to self-diagnose the situation, I needed to know everything that was in the food I was eating. This required access to accurate and complete nutrition information. Most of the products that you can buy at a grocery store will have this information clearly spelled out for the consumer. However, if you eat at restaurants you have no way of knowing what is in your meal.
I found that a lot of fast food restaurants, at least those that are run by giant corporations, have detailed nutrition information about their products. This information can be hard to find and consumers that are concerned about nutrition must usually go on the internet and the restaurant’s website to find this information. Nutrition information for fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s or Wendy’s may be a bit difficult to find but if you spend a couple minutes searching for it you will eventually find it.
While doing research about wheat allergies I found that there are many people all over the world that are sensitive to this grain and it is difficult for them to find food that does not contain any traces of it. I was able to cut out wheat from my diet completely but found it very difficult to find a variety of wheat-free foods at my local grocery store. I live in a college town that caters to health-conscious dieters and was unable to find an impressive variety of wheat-free foods at even the most health-conscious grocers. I found this to be aggravating and very surprising.
If you are dealing with an allergy to a food product such as wheat, you will have to be very diligent when searching for nutrition information. Many byproducts of wheat have names that you would not think to look for when poring over nutrition information in selecting foods. Thank goodness that there are some food manufacturers out there that will clearly state if an ingredient such as milk, soy, peanuts, or wheat is contained in their product.
Without accurate nutrition information people who suffer from food allergies are left to roll the dice when it comes to their diet. Celiac disease is not uncommon in this country and in my experience it seems that having an available variety of wheat-free products is not something you can rely on.
