Category: Nutrition

Millions of people around the world are gluten intolerant and a huge proportion of them don’t even know that they are. Digestive issues such as gas, bloating and constipation are signs that you may be gluten intolerant.

What about migraines, fatigue, PCOS and PMS problems, inflammation and joint pain?

Well, they are signs of gluten intolerance too. Yet, most people just sigh and say, “Ahhh, it sucks to grow old.” No, it doesn’t. Your body just can’t handle gluten and you need to change your lifestyle.

There is no cure for this problem. You will have to change up your entire diet and eat clean and healthy. You may exercise daily, sleep well, keep stress under control and do all those healthy things the books recommend; but if your diet choices are poor, all your efforts will be otiose.

The diet itself is simple. You have a list of foods to avoid and there is a list of foods that are allowed. All you need to do is follow the basic rules. You don’t need to extrapolate from incomplete data. It’s all plain and simple. Eat foods that your body can handle.

This article will give you 5 tips to help you make the change. No doubts that it will be difficult initially, but the rewards will be sweet in the long run.
1. The most important tip is that you must change your mindset. You’d be surprised at how many people renege on their gluten-free diet plan just to eat foods that they feel they are “missing out” on.

You’re not missing anything. Sure, you may not be able to eat that yummy Chinese food that is drowning in soy sauce. But you do have options. There are other tasty foods around. You need to stop thinking about what you can’t eat and focus on what you can. This is the most crucial step in being gluten-free.

2. Look for stores that sell gluten-free substitutes. You must be well aware of what choices you have and it will take active effort on your end to procure the necessary substitutes.

You do not want to be in a situation where it is “inconvenient” to be gluten-free. Preparation is essential to live a gluten-free lifestyle. Do your legwork and homework. Get the gluten-free flours and pastas that you need to. Do what it takes to stay the course.

3. Do it yourself to cut costs. Using a lack of budget as a crutch for poor diet choices is not an option. Yes, it can get a little costly but if you do things yourself, you may be surprised at how much you can save. For example, if you’re buying expensive premade gluten-free bread mixes, you can just buy the ingredients separately and make your own bread mix. You’d have saved a sizeable chunk of change.

4. Read food labels when you shop for food. You must know the ingredients that go into the food that ends up going into your mouth.

5. Eat natural and wholesome. Foods such as meat, fish, poultry, broccoli and other vegetables are gluten-free. Adopt a Mediterranean diet style of cooking. The food will be tasty and healthy. You’ll get the best of both worlds.

These are just some of the tips that you can use to maintain a gluten-free lifestyle. It can be done and thousands of people are doing it. Rest assured that all the sacrifices and effort will pay off when you look and feel better. Once that happens, you will be motivated to keep up with the gluten-free lifestyle and live happily ever after.

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The gluten-free diet is an extremely strict diet. Unlike most other diets which have a certain degree of laxity, the gluten-free diet does not have that luxury. Most of the people on the gluten-free diet are gluten intolerant.

Even a small amount of gluten in their diet will cause symptoms such as headaches, lethargy, rashes, mood swings, inflammation, etc. None of these are worth writing home about and should be avoided.

They can be avoided if gluten is avoided. Yet, many people make mistakes and let gluten creep into their diet, either through ignorance or a lack of will-power. This article will highlight 5 of the most common mistakes that are made and how you should avoid them.

1. The first mistake that most people make is to think that products that do not list gluten as an ingredient are automatically gluten-free. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Gluten creeps into many products indirectly and you can never be 100 percent sure unless you check.

Gluten is used as a stabilizing agent in many commercial food products. Yet, since it is an agent and not a “food ingredient”, in many cases, it is not mentioned on the label.

Even healthy foods such as vitamins and supplements have been found to contain gluten.

To make matters worse, gluten need to not necessarily come in the form of food. Soaps, creams, shampoos, lipsticks, deodorants, hair sprays and other beauty products may contain gluten because of the wheat germ oil that is often used in the manufacture of these products.

2. Cross-contamination can happen at any time. Toasting gluten-free bread in a toaster that was used to toast normal bread will cause cross-contamination. You need to be watchful of the way your food is being handled and prepared. Cross-contamination often occurs in a household where one person is gluten intolerant and the rest are not.

Even the most well-meaning family members may make a mistake because it’s always the small things that matter. The devil is in the details. By double dipping a bread knife in butter, they may have inadvertently left tiny gluten containing crumbs in the butter. This is a very common example.

3. It always goes down first before it comes up. You must remember this. What does this mean? It means that when you first start the gluten-free diet, your body will react negatively. You will not feel good. You may feel sick. You may even suffer withdrawal symptoms and cravings.

You will be very tempted to throw in the towel and give up on the diet. Don’t do that. You will recover from these negative effects. Your body needs to adapt and re-adjust to the new diet.

You should recover in a few days and will come out feeling stronger, healthier and a whole brand new you. You will also notice many pre-existing conditions slowly dissipate and disappear.

4. Another mistake that many people make is going gluten-free but not adopting a healthy, well-rounded diet. Remember, the gluten-free diet only has one rule. Avoid gluten. It doesn’t concern itself with micro and macro nutrients. You however, need to watch your diet.

You want to ensure that you are getting sufficient protein, fats, carbs, vitamins and minerals… while remaining gluten-free.

5. Don’t believe everything you read, especially food labels. There are major food companies that proudly display the words “Gluten-free” on their product. In reality, due to legal loopholes, products containing 20 parts per million gluten are referred to as gluten-free. This is the harsh reality of the world today where the dollar is more important than the consumer’s health.

Therefore, the onus is on you to make sure the food you eat really is gluten-free. Keep a food journal and record down how you are feeling that day. Over time, you will notice patterns emerging and it will be easy to see what is affecting you. Then, you just need to tweak your diet.

It will take time to achieve a completely gluten-free life. This will be a challenge but rest assured that it is achievable and worth the struggle.

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