Wheat Allergies in Japan?

[RobinMask]

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[seiki]

I would say sushi is gluten free and rice noodles. I am a celiac and have found that many stores carry gluten free products here so I would assume it to be true of japan. When in doubt ask or just eat meat.

[RobinMask]

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[seiki]

I do bott eat fried food unless I make it. Stick with grilled meats. The sushi vinegar never occurred to me it never makes me sick. I haves eaten rice noodle products that said gluten free. Also the thing I miss most is french fries from burger king. I dream of three day more restraunts would know about our allergy but even doctors seem to be ignorant to it.

[RobinMask]

Originally Posted by seiki

I do bott eat fried food unless I make it. Stick with grilled meats. The sushi vinegar never occurred to me it never makes me sick. I haves eaten rice noodle products that said gluten free. Also the thing I miss most is french fries from burger king. I dream of three day more restraunts would know about our allergy but even doctors seem to be ignorant to it.

Thanks, I'll be sure to bear that in mind then

Ah, I totally agree that it's not widely enough understood. The ammount of mistakes even the 'profesionals' make -! It isn't too bad here though. We can get wheat-free food on perscription from our doctor each month, there's health shops that cater exclusively to allergy sufferers, and some chain restaurants have even started including information about which dishes are gluten-free or not on their menus. The only problem is when I go abroad . . . at which point I can't read any of the ingredients, or ask properly what's in the dish XD

[Columbine]

'i'm allergic to wheat' the sentence you want is 'komugi ni arerugi ga arimasu' or in Japanese: 小麦にアレルギーがあります. Consider printing this out or taking a written copy with you. You can then as 'osusume ha nan desu ka?' おすすめはなんですか (what do you recommend?)　and the waiter/waitress/chef can usually oblige. If you want to specifically ask 'Is this wheat/gluten free?', you can use komugi/guruten no haite imasen ka? 小麦／グルテンの入っていませんか
The specific term for Coeliac is simply セリアック病 seriakku-byou.

You will probably be able to eat kudzu/arrowroot noodles or rice noodles, but you'll have to avoid udon definitely and probably ramen too. soba are made with buckwheat.

In Japan, the vinegar used in sushi will definitely be rice based, so you may be ok with it, but be careful with soy-sauce. I hear some has it in but the one type that definitely doesn't is 'Tamari'. You'll have to be careful of soups, marinades and sauces as many will contain soy sauce.

[RobinMask]

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[Columbine]

Originally Posted by RobinMask

Thank you, Columbine!

I'll be sure to memorise those phrases and write them out just in case. You have no idea how useful they'll be! Also thank you for the advice, I'm actually rather relieved to know sushi will be okay as I was looking forward to trying it, and I'll be sure to keep an eye on the soy sauce and noodles too, to make sure I don't accidentally use the wrong ones, lol. Thanks again for taking the time to help

No problem. I have a friend who is severely allergic to a number of things, so I know how much of a problem it can be. Just be polite but clear and firm if you're eating out. There are common stories of vegetarians being given bacon or people with fish allergies being given miso because bonito flakes and preserved meats 'don't count'. It's not done maliciously, but to cover your bases make sure they KNOW it will make you really sick if you eat it.

From what the internet tells me, buckwheat allergies aren't unheard of in Japan, so you should be able to avoid that. This site: Gluten-free Travel: What Not to Eat While Traveling in Japan
might be quite useful for you, and they have print-outable explanation cards you can give to waiters and hotels and things.

I would get a native to check the text on the card first though

[steven]

I was reading through this thread and upon reading recommendations like "just eat meat" it occured to me that there are bread crumbs in "hamburger". I would be weary of anything prepared with ground meat for that reason.

I can't think of any other ones that might not be immediately obvious... but I'm sure there are plenty out there.

That website that Columbine posted seems pretty good about letting you know that it IS mixed in with a lot of things without it being apparent. So I agree that asking when eating out would be a good idea. To be honest I'm not very knowledgable about this kind of thing in English, so I couldn't be much of a help in Japanese. But I'd suggest maybe taking this to the Japanese help forum and asking if you couldn't find a website with some kind of database for foods that are safe for you (it would be in Japanese, but it would have food/brands from Japan).

[RobinMask]

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