Tips for Going Gluten-Free

Gluten-free living is receiving a lot of buzz. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and triticale (a wheat-rye cross). Eating even tiny amounts of gluten can damage your digestive tract and lead to symptoms such as:

• Abdominal pain and bloating
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Constipation
• Bone and joint pain
• Irritability
• Fatigue

Recently, it’s been recognized that some people have a less severe condition called gluten sensitivity. Like those with celiac disease, people with gluten sensitivity feel better when they eliminate gluten from their diet.

Whatever your reason for avoiding gluten, the abundance of gluten-free products in the marketplace makes it doable. Here are some tips for developing a gluten-free lifestyle.

Be a Food Detective

Your most important goal is to avoid any food containing wheat, barley, rye, or triticale. This means that most grain products, baked goods, pastas, cereals, crackers, cookies, and snack foods are off-limits.

Check the label on all packaged foods, even those you think are gluten-free. You may be surprised to find some form of wheat or gluten in foods like flavored potato chips, frozen French fries, imitation fish, soups, sauces, bouillon, cold cuts, soy sauce, and beer.

Get familiar with wheat’s many names and forms. These include wheat starch, modified food starch, wheat bran, wheat germ, cracked wheat, bulgur, couscous, farina, malt and malt flavoring, graham flour, durum flour, semolina, einkorn, emmer, farro, kamut, and spelt.

Go for a Healthy Balance

Now that you know what to avoid, what foods should you embrace?

• Base your healthy gluten-free diet around vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, and gluten-free whole grains.
• Low bone density is common in people with newly diagnosed celiac disease. Be sure to get enough calcium from low-fat dairy products, dark green leafy vegetables, and calcium-fortified foods. People who get little sun exposure may need a vitamin D supplement.
• Choose rice and other gluten-free grains. Quinoa, millet, buckwheat, wild rice, and amaranth are delicious. Just cook them as you would rice.
• Corn and oats can be eaten by gluten-sensitive individuals, as long as they’re “pure” and not contaminated with wheat, barley, or rye.
• Try the many gluten-free breads, baked goods, and pastas available in many natural foods stores.
• If you like to bake, experiment with rice flour, bean flours, and gluten-free baking mixes.
  Credit url:http://www.bettermedicine.com/your-guide-to-going-gluten-free/tips-for-going-gluten-free