Living Gluten-Free | The Ins + Outs
I understand, the diagnosis of either coeliac disease, non-coeliac gluten sensitivity or a wheat allergy is daunting to say the very least. Being told that you need to cut all gluten out of your diet is downright horrifying. What about bread, glorious bread, or pasta with my favourite sauce….pizza??....what will I eat for breakfast now??? Can I still have my favourite snacks? How do I eat out? What happens when I go to someone’s house for a meal? I am sure that there are a million questions flying round your head….. I want you to know that I hear you. I have been there. Yes, it is a terrifying thought, but I am here to assure you that there is life after gluten! I can also guarantee that it will be a far less painful and tumultuous life filled with unexplained symptoms and mood swings.
First up, where does gluten hide itself?
Think of it as a ‘glue’ that helps keep things bound!
o In Anything containing wheat, rye + Barley
o Wheat starch, wheat bran, wheat germ, cracked wheat or hydrolysed wheat protein
o Cakes
o Cookies
o Bread
o Cereals
o Hydrolysed plant protein
o Creamed sauced food
o Avoid anything that says “multigrain”
o Crisps with flavourings
o Gravy + most sauces
o Most condiments (check packets religiously)
o Muffins
o Chocolate (many have traces of wheat)
o Pickles
o Sausages
o Soup stocks
o Tea bags (often sealed with wheat starch believe it or not!)
o Glue of envelopes (no more licking of envelopes!)
o Tarts
o Breadcrumbs on anything fried - ‘breading’
o Brown rice syrup
o Bouillon cubes
o Candy + chewing gum
o Canned soups + baked beans
o Hydrolysed vegetable
o Flavoured Tofu
o French Fries / Chips
o Cake icing
o Ice cream + frozen yoghurts
o Malt vinegar
o Cheese spread or processed cheese
o Colourings (unnamed flavouring agents, fillers, thickeners, extenders, malts, starches, dextrin, maltodextrin (usually from corn but can be from wheat)
o Salad dressings
o Deli meats + hot dogs
o Sushi rice (usually contain wheat starch to make rice sticky)
o “veggie” meats
o Medications + vitamins can contain gluten so always check the label and ask if you are not sure
Don’t Despair Just Be Aware!
Knowledge is power in this instance, so arm yourselves. You need to get good at reading the back of any packet you pick up. There are some brilliant apps out there that can help you with declaring whether a product is considered ‘safe’ from gluten, a simple search on your App Store throws up a few options to try.
The gluten-free industry is also growing very fast indeed. The number of products + choices out there is exploding. But - and this is a big but, most of them are processed foods and contain lots of ingredients that are not going to do you any favours, regardless of not containing gluten. So, try not to fall into the pitfall of exchanging one form of processed food for another.
The main focus of a ‘gluten-free diet’ is no different in many ways to simply following a whole-food, nutrient dense, naturally gluten-free way of living. This way of eating inherently eliminates processed foods, and therefore the risk of gluten contamination is lower. This includes the following as an outline:
o Whole fruits + whole vegetables (as in they are in their whole form when you buy them. They haven’t been cut, chopped or put into a different form).
o Plant based proteins such as; beans, nuts & seeds.
o Good quality meats, poultry + fish, again in their whole form. Be particularly careful with sausages and ready-made burgers as they often contain gluten products such as fillers and flavourings.
o Dairy, when tolerated.
o Gluten-free whole-grains are key – see the diagram below for your go to guide.
I believe that the key is to shift the mindset here, rather than think of this as deprivation, flip that opinion to one of abundance + creativity. There are many recipes out there from a simple google of ‘gluten-free bread recipes’ to ‘buckwheat’ recipes. Give it a go.
Eating Out
That all said, I did and still do find eating out more challenging. There is fear surrounding not having control over what goes into your food, or how your food is prepared – instead there has to be a huge degree of trust. Whilst the majority of places to eat at are realising the overwhelming need to accommodate the growing number of people with dietary requirements, there is still space for improvement.
o Joining a gluten-free local community + sharing recommendations for ‘safe’ restaurants is a great way to help yourself and others too.
o If it is not obvious that the restaurant caters for gluten-free dining, ring and have a chat with them ahead of time.
o Review the menu online prior to arriving. Many menu’s do now have a specific allergy menu, so I have found that scanning that has really put my mind at ease.
o Communicate to waiters clearly upon arrival + be on the ball and not afraid to ask questions about what is in your food.
o Avoid cross-contamination. Tip: unless a restaurant can guarantee GF and has no sharing of cooking utensils, stay away from anything that has been deep fat fried – so sadly that is French fries in particular. Whilst potatoes do not have any gluten in them, sadly the deep fat fryer could have been contaminated by other gluten including foods.
The key to dining out is to ask, ask, ask – and if you are unsure don’t risk it! I will cover being ‘glutened’ in a later blog post, but take it from me, the whole process will remain embedded on your memory and your body for quite a while!
That leads me on nicely to talking about ‘eating out at other people’s houses.’ Picture this, you have been invited to someone’s house for a dinner party, as the day approaches the host hasn’t reached out and asked if there are any dietary requirements, you start to sweat bullets that you are going to have to be ‘that guest’ – a pain in the backside - *groan! But, I promise it is far better to speak up ahead of time, as opposed to announce it on the night and throw everyone into a spin, or worse still have to sit there and be unable to eat the majority of the food. That is surely worse than politely saying something like this ahead of time: ‘I am so sorry to be ‘that’ guest, but sadly I can’t eat gluten I am afraid. Please do let me know if I can bring anything to make it easier for you and less of a hassle?’ I promise that your host will be happy that they are in the know, and are now able to provision adequately for you. You will also be able to relax and enjoy a night off from cooking!
Finally, I would like to share with you one of our family favourite recipes for a weekend breakfast/brunch – ‘Gluten-Free Coconut Pancakes’. Not only are they gluten-free, but they are also paleo, refined sugar-free + dairy-free (my daughter has a dairy allergy – I will definitely be doing some blog posts to talk about this too - watch this space!). Tip: they are even great cold in the kids’ snack / lunchboxes! (if you have any leftover that is!)
Please do ask questions in the comments below and I will of course endeavour to answer them from an integrative nutrition stance point. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I do hope that it has been in some way useful.
Love Sammy X
