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In my last post, I talked about the reasons why you might want to go gluten-free. Today, we are chatting about the practical side: HOW to start a gluten-free diet! If you prefer learning via audio/video, check out my YouTube video below, or visit my channel.
Quick “Why”
Just as a quick low-down, there are many reasons that you might want to try a gluten-free diet. It’s not just for people who have a noticeable issue with gluten-containing grains! No one should eat modern wheat on a regular basis because it’s devoid of nutrients, and non-organic wheat is heavily sprayed with pesticides.
And by the way, gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, and is cross-contaminated on oats. Gluten is in any processed food containing those grains, including pasta, bread, and many deep-fried foods. So cutting out gluten means cutting out a lot of processed, unhealthy foods!
5 simple steps to starting a gluten-free diet
1. Purge your pantry. Some people might want to go baby steps here, like using up that sack of flour before replacing it with a gluten-free flour. But in this case, just go cold turkey! Most of your gluten-containing products are processed junk food anyway. So don’t feel bad about it!
2. Read labels. It’s very hard to entirely avoid packaged foods. So it is imperative that you carefully read ingredients and vet your food products! Words like gluten, wheat, barley, rye, and oats are obvious. But gluten hides under many different names! Check out WebMD’s list of the various names of gluten. Note that gluten-free food labeling has gotten a lot better and many GF products are clearly labeled as such. But not all are.
3. Buy as little processed food as possible. I think that was implied in #2 but I had to say it explicitly. Focus on eating real, whole food: things like non-starchy vegetables and fruit, starchy vegetables, sustainably-raised meat, wild-caught seafood, nuts and seeds, healthy fats (like grassfed butter and virgin coconut oil!), and organic, preferably grassfed, dairy.
4. Learn what grains are gluten-free. There are many grains that are gluten-free, such as rice, quinoa, millet, teff, sorghum, buckwheat (not related to wheat!), corn, and certified gluten-free oats. All of these can be made into flours. There are even flours that are free of grains, like coconut, almond, cassava, and tigernut (not a nut!) flours. Just eat grains and homemade baked goods in moderation, and stay away from packaged gluten-free foods. They are still junk foods!
5. Know how to ask questions at restaurants. I could have a whole blog post dedicated to this topic. So I’ll just say two things: first, don’t be that annoying person if your health doesn’t DEPEND on being gluten-free. This means that if you’re avoiding gluten but don’t have an actual reaction to it, don’t be super concerned about cross contamination. Just avoid the obvious forms of gluten like breaded food and buns. If you are someone who has a reaction to gluten or gluten triggers health issues, then you must be extremely careful. Ask your server detailed questions, and if she doesn’t know the answer then ask to speak with the chef. If the chef can’t fulfill your needs, don’t eat there!
Easy swaps for a gluten-free diet
Here are some easy swaps that will help you as you transition to being gluten-free. Instead of a bun, wrap your burger in lettuce. (Easier than making a gluten-free bun!) Instead of wheat pasta, make sweet potato noodles with a spiralizer. Spaghetti squash also makes a good pasta substitute. Get your chicken or fish grilled at a restaurant instead of breaded and pan-fried. Instead of cooking with soy sauce (which normally contains wheat), switch to coconut aminos which have an amazing flavor! Instead of cereal for breakfast, buy some certified gluten-free oats and make oatmeal topped with organic, grassfed yogurt and berries. The possibilities are numerous!
It’s simpler than you think
Going gluten-free is simpler than you might think. The hardest part will be mental. At first you will notice all the things you CAN’T have now that you are gluten-free. So try to focus on all the wonderful, nutritious food that you CAN have. That is most important because by cutting out gluten (mostly wheat products for Americans), you will have more room on your plate for truly healthy foods like vegetables and protein. A little bit of sacrifice now will pay dividends later as your health improves with more nutrients in your body!
If you need help with keeping track of what you eat, sign up to download my free food journal! It will help keep you accountable with your goals, and also helps you review what you ate each day and how it made you feel. Leave a comment below with your top health goal!
Music credit in video: http://audionautix.com – “Acoustic Guitar 1”, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
Disclaimer: Any information put forth on this blog is for educational and/or informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nursing advice.