Embarking on a Gluten Free Lifestyle
Embarking on a Gluten Free (GF) lifestyle can be an overwhelming challenge. There are many products out there that have hidden gluten products that will easily make you sick without warning.
What is gluten, and why does it cause problems? Gluten is the general name for the proteins found in wheat, barley, rye, and triticale. You see these proteins when you bake bread, and the dough expands but doesn’t break. You feel the texture in chewy candy, gluten is what gives those sweet treats their gummy feel. But gluten is lurking in the least obvious places possible!
Why do we need to go gluten-free? Well, there are a few reasons. Some folks are gluten sensitive. Meaning their bodies react to the proteins in a way that makes them uncomfortable, throws off the gut flora, and also can increase symptoms such as diarrhea, bloating, headaches, joint pain, fatigue, and rashes.
Others have Celiac, a known autoimmune disorder, that causes the body to attack itself after the person consumes gluten products. For long-term health, both gluten-sensitive people and celiacs benefit from a gluten-free diet. It can help keep the body’s overall inflammation lower, prevent the body from attacking the thyroid gland, and reduce abdominal bloat, brain fog, and a host of other issues. Additionally, for folks with gluten issues, the risk of gut cancers increases.
When starting a gluten-free diet, the easiest surefire way to avoid gluten contamination is to ensure you do not have gluten-based products in your home. The simplest way to do that is to buy simple foods such as basic meat, veggies, fruits, whole nuts, eggs, and milk. These are always gluten-free.
It is when we start adding on prepackaged foods that the risk increases. There is hidden gluten in so many products, and manufacturers often revamp their recipes by adding ingredients that may contain gluten. For those who find they are especially sensitive, cross-contamination is a real risk. Example: Oatmeal is gluten-free. However, Quaker Oats are milled on the same mills that process both wheat and barley grains. The mills are not cleaned between milling, thus when you eat quaker oats you are eating gluten albeit in small amounts. However, that can add up to a lot if you eat them daily.
Eating out can also pose a real risk. There are so many things that might seem simple, but are not. For example, if you order a steak or a piece of chicken you would expect that to be gluten-free. However, many restaurants use spice packets with wheat flour mixed into them to cause them to adhere to the meat. Always ask for a GF menu, and make sure when you order you say I want the GF Entrée or the GF salad, or the GF Soup. Even off the GF menu at Outback I still say I will take a GF Ribeye and the GF broccoli, and the GF salad.
It seems redundant, however, over time I have learned that some folks will not think of the croutons on a salad and bring your dish covered in gluten if you are not specific. You may also get asked, is this an allergy or a choice? While Celiac and Gluten Sensitivity are not allergies, it is very hard to explain auto-immunity to your server, so saying yes to the allergy is very important. It will let the kitchen staff know that they need to take extra caution.
I have included a few options for gluten in products that commonly contain gluten and those that have hidden gluten. It is always good to familiarize yourself with how to read nutrition labels. You will always be looking at them before you buy.
As always, if you run into questions or just need help, please feel free to reach out to me!
| Gluten Based Products | Replace With |
| All pasta | Gluten Free Pasta – Best brand is barilla |
| Bread | Schar Bread – has croissants, baguettes, hamburger buns, sliced bread, crusty rolls, Canyon Bakehouse Udi’s Are the best options for good flavor and texture. It will not taste like normal bread but it’s the least offensive of the |
| Ketchup | Heinz Annie’s The risk here is the vinegar which can be made of wheat, corn, or |
| Soy Sauce | Coconut AminosSan-J gluten free soy sauce |
| BBQ Sauce | Bone Suckin’ Sauce Stubbs Legendary BBQ sauce Sweet Baby Ray’s Gourmet Sauces Bull’s -Eye Hunts BBQ sauce KC Masterpiece Trader Joe’s (These ones are my favorite as they are also not full of fake sugars) |
| Salad Dressings | Olive garden Italian Kraft Italian Caesar salad Hidden Valley Original Ranch is GF (Not the organic)Annie’s Newman’s Own |
| Spice Blends and Spice Packets | Mix your own spices, unless the blend says GF |
| Gravy | Safest bet is to make your own GF Pioneer Brand GF McCormicks Simply Organic GF |
| Thickener | Corn starchArrowroot powderTapioca Starch Xanthan gum Potato Starch |
| Malt Vinegar | Apple Cider VinegarWhite Vinegar |
| Alcohol | Look for GF options. Careful, many distilled products, while they should be okay, are not. Bailey’s Irish Cream contains wheat, and so does Kahlua. But most liquors are distilled enough to be considered GF. Always ask before a mixed drink is made what it contains. Other things are easy to avoid such as Beer which is made from Wheat, Barley, or Rye. |
| Meats | Use real meats as much as possible. Processed meats can have gluten, and Vegan products are almost always thickened with wheat products to get their protein count up higher. |
| Vinegar | White Apple Cider |
| Ice Cream – be careful of places like DQ or Dunkin Donuts. They mix all their products in their blenders and don’t clean between they are huge sources of Gluten. | Bryers Talenti So Delicious NadaMoo! |
| Candy | Swedish Fish 3 Musketeers M&M Milky Way Snickers barsJelly Belly Jellybeans Dove Chocolate (specialty flavors may contain gluten always check) Hershey’s chocolate Tootsie Rolls Peeps All Enjoy Life candies are GF as are all of their products |
| Cereal | Cheerio’sChex Lucky CharmsGluten Free Oatmeal Gluten Free Grits |
