Stay Healthy, Win Big with Celiac Resources for Athletes

Unsure what to eat to perform at your best but avoid gluten? Check out this selection of celiac websites and lists of foods and care products.

Most athletes show up needing very specific help with their diet. Sometimes they don’t know what to eat, or they have a very limited budget. And sometimes they have a medical issue that needs to be accommodated. Most often it’s food allergies, but sometimes it’s celiac disease. An athlete really has to own their choices with this disease because it’s painful and disruptive and the long-term consequences of ignoring the disease are ugly and awful. So for best results and even just showing up for training, check out the resources below.

What is Celiac Disease?

Celiac disease is a genetic autoimmune disease that causes a reaction in the small intestine.¹ About 1% of people have this disease around the world, but most aren’t diagnosed.

What foods cause this autoimmune response?

Wheat, rye, and barley contain a protein called gluten, which triggers the autoimmune response.

Where do you find these foods? Bread, pasta, cookies and other baked goods, crackers and breading on other products (onion rings, anyone?), cereal, soups and sauces (flour is a thickener), beer, some wines and wine coolers. Also check processed fruits and veggies, pre-made smoothies and packaged potatoes (coating and breading, again!).

Malt vinegar, malt flavoring or extract OR brewer’s yeast.

Most condiments. Read those labels VERY CAREFULLY. Flour is a thickener. Malt provides flavor.

Oats are iffy; it is often processed on the same equipment as other grains, including wheat. Oats also contain a protein called avenin that can cause a reaction in some people with celiac. IF you eat oats (not required!) be sure to buy the gluten-free oats.

A picture of four food items that contain wheat, barley or rye, and thus gluten. The photo contains bread, pasta, crackers and snacks, as well as a decorative wheat stalk. — These foods contain wheat, rye or barley. Usually this is in bread, but it can be in pasta, crackers, cakes and other desserts, as well as in thickeners and flavorings. Read your labels very carefully!

What can athletes with Celiac disease eat?

Any non-grain foods, in theory. So FRESH fruits, vegetables (green and starchy), legumes (beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils), nuts and seeds are all fair game – provided they aren’t breaded or in contact with any wheat, rye or barley or their byproducts. Some grains are fine, like oats, rice and corn, as are similar products like quinoa and millet.

MOST frozen fruits and veggies. Check the label, but plain foods are usually okay. If they’re breaded or coated, avoid them.

Plain, un-modified protein foods like meat, poultry and dairy are fine. For combined foods like hot dogs, sausages or breaded patties, check the label VERY CAREFULLY.

Juice, soda, sports drinks, distilled beverages and ciders, and gluten-free beer.

Some candy, for which I refer you to the CDF Gluten-Free Candy List.

Anything in the gluten-free section or gluten-free frozen foods aisle.

A photograph of 8 bowls of grains (no gluten) and beans or legumes on a cutting board. It contains rice, corn meal, quinoa, lentils, mung beans and chick peas. — These foods (rice, quinoa, lentils, chickpeas, corn and beans) are gluten-free, making them excellent starchy carbohydrate sources for athletes with celiac disease.

Do any of the other athlete sports nutrition considerations change, like when to eat or how much?

No. Athletes should still hydrate and fuel up before training or competing, hydrate and (maybe – depending on the event) fuel during, and refuel and rehydrate after.

If you DO NOT have celiac disease, should you eat a gluten-free diet?

Maybe. If you have a wheat allergy, dermatitis herpetiformis or gluten ataxia, yes.² There’s also a non-celiac gluten sensitivity and some additional autoimmune diseases that benefit from a gluten-free diet, such as Ehler’s Danlos, Hashimoto’s disease and Sjogren’s syndrome. Get medical advice first, so that you KNOW you need to avoid gluten and you can get trained on the gluten-free diet.

Celiac Disease Resources

Celiac Disease Foundation. A giant in the field, Celiac.org provides a wealth of information for athletes, friends and families, and teams that want to support someone with this disease. They also support research, run a registry, offer gluten exposure test kits, and offer a variety of advocacy opportunities. There’s a podcast, Raising Celiac, and a Facebook page, Celiac Disease Foundation.
National Celiac Association. Another well-known resource, NCA offers a wide selection of resources, support groups, and food ideas, both as recipes and as restaurant suggestions. They also have food budgeting ideas and an interactive Signs & Symptoms checker.
Beyond Celiac. This site has extensive information on living with celiac disease in men and women, across the lifespan. They also have recipes and information on dining out, labels and food laws. Beyond Celiac supports research and provides updates on the latest findings.
American Celiac Society Dietary Support Coalition. This site explains the difference between celiac disease and several other common or related issues that many people find confusing.
National Organization for Rare Disorders (search for “celiac”). There are several diseases that include “celiac” in the name, including a tropical disease. Figure out the differences here.
Shine a Light on Celiac. This site has some information, but it’s mostly a list of international celiac organizations.
Most large or university-affiliated research hospitals will also have resources and can provide local options for care.

Gluten Intolerance Group. A fantastic resource for anyone who can’t eat gluten, celiac or not. They run the “Certified Gluten Free” certification program; anything certified has less than 10 ppm gluten. They also have a validated list of places to eat called Safe Spots. They provide a HUGE number of resources for every population (including college kids, parents, teachers, foodies), kids camps, articles, research, support groups, events and more.
Teal Pumpkin Project. Many people suffer from multiple autoimmune issues like food allergies or asthma. The Teal Pumpkin Project proposes that any house with a teal pumpkin has non-food items on Halloween so that those kids with food allergies can still get a treat. The Celiac Disease Foundation (above, first in the list) partners with FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) to support inclusion and normalize asking questions and reading food labels. Join in this fall!
Find Me Gluten Free. An app and a website providing gluten-free restaurants. Available on the Apple App store and Google Play.
Gluten-Free Mall. Shopping for gluten-free foods.
Personal products, skin care and makeup. Many large stores have gluten-free options, like Ulta, Target, and Walmart. Here’s a handy article on what to look for in your gluten-free cosmetics.
Medline Plus. A medical encyclopedia run by the National Library of Medicine, with over 300 celiac links and articles freely available.
PubMed. Free database of over 38 million citations. Designed for researchers, so useful if you know how to read a scientific paper. Instructions on using this database can be found on the lower left of the front page under the head/lightbulb icon.

Reach Out!

For personalized help in eating a gluten-free diet and succeeding in your sport, contact Dr. Schubert. Also check out resources on meal planning, carbohydrate needs for athletes, chia seed pudding, whole grains (disregard anything about wheat, barley or rye!), smoothies, and overnight oats.

References

Celiac Disease Foundation. Celiac.org. Accessed on July 7, 2025.
Gluten-Associated Medical Problems. StatPearls, National Library of Medicine. Accessed July 7, 2025. Last updated on October 31, 2022.
All other websites accessed on July 7, 2025.

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