THE REALITY OF GLUTEN FREE LIVING

Gluten is the protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. Most flours are made of wheat. So that means that the things we all love – bread, pasta, cookies, muffins, crackers, cakes (just to name few) – are full of gluten.

I have a gluten sensitivity. That means that gluten can affect me negatively. The doctor tested me for gluten sensitivity because I told him I was sick and tired of being sick and tired all the time. My biggest symptoms were brain fog, fatigue and bloating. I was tired all the time, and I felt like I was thinking through a heavy fog or a swimming pool. If you’ve never experienced brain fog, you might not get the analogy, but that’s the best way I can describe it. I honestly would have never thought that it was a gluten sensitivity.

These are things I learned on my journey with this.

Gluten sensitivity is not the same thing as celiac disease. Celiac disease is an immune disorder caused by a reaction to gluten that can cause damage to the small intestine which can then lead to your body not absorbing the nutrients it needs.

Textbook gluten sensitivity symptoms include diarrhea, stomach pain, tiredness, bloating and depression. As I mentioned, I also had brain fog. Gluten can hurt your digestive tract and cause systemic inflammation. That in turn causes these symptoms and can impact your overall health.

Once I was told that I had this sensitivity I really started looking at what I ate. I love carbs. I love bread. I love the cheesy bread sticks from the pizza place. I love burritos with flour tortillas. I love Ritz crackers. What I don’t love is feeling tired and bloated all the time. I was determined to do what it took to feel better.

So I had to change my diet. I had to start reading labels on everything because gluten is used as a thickener and binder in a lot of products. And I do mean a lot. Read some labels for yourself, and you’ll see how much is out there. Even my favorite bean burgers contained gluten.

I can’t give up carbs altogether, but I found that I can substitute gluten free carbs. There are gluten free breads, gluten free pasta, and gluten free cookies.

Here’s something else that I found out. Not all gluten free products are equal. The bread is a challenge because the loaves are small, and the bread is not soft. In my opinion, the texture is little weird. The gluten in regular bread is what makes it soft. I found a brand of gluten free bread called Udi’s that is much softer than the other brands. Udi’s also has the best gluten free hamburger and hot dog buns that I’ve found.

Gluten free pasta is not bad at all. It doesn’t really taste any different from regular pasta. The texture is a little different though. To me the gluten free spaghetti is not as tender as regular spaghetti, but it holds up well to the sauce. By contrast the elbow macaroni gets a little mushy. For some reason, it is very absorbent so it absorbs the water and sauce more than the other types of pasta. The penne pasta, though, has a good texture that is very close to regular pasta, so I use it more often. The gluten free pasta I use most often is made with rice flour. I tried a pasta brand of chickpea pasta, and I didn’t like it as well. It was very dark in color, was hard, and it smelled funny. These are just my observations from trying different products on my journey to gluten free living. I encourage you to try them for yourself. You might have an entirely difference experience.

A lot of people crave carbs and love carbs. Fortunately, not all carbs have gluten. Potato chips and tortilla chips don’t have gluten. I love chips and salsa. Salsa doesn’t have gluten. Corn tortillas don’t have gluten. We eat homemade Mexican food a few times a month. I brown up the ground turkey and eat crunchy corn tacos. None of that has gluten. Rice and potatoes don’t have gluten. We eat those with chicken on a regular basis.

One of the easiest ways to eat gluten free is to eat fresh meat and fresh vegetables. There is no gluten in fresh meat and no gluten in fresh veggies. A grilled chicken breast and steamed broccoli doesn’t contain any gluten. We make that for dinner every once in a while.

One of the other realities of gluten free living is the cost of gluten free products. They cost significantly more than regular products. The Udi’s bread, for example, is about triple the cost of regular bread. The gluten free pasta I buy is twice the cost of regular pasta. I had to rework my grocery budget to accommodate for the cost difference because gluten free eating is important to my health.

Even if you haven’t been diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity, you still might benefit from reducing your gluten. It’s not as hard as you might think.

Here are a few suggestions to reduce the gluten in your diet.

1. Check the packaging. If it says Gluten Free on the packaging itself, then that means that it was made in a gluten free environment and is safe for people with gluten sensitivity and celiac disease.

2. Check the ingredients. If it doesn’t have any wheat, barley or rye products listed, it is most likely gluten free. The manufacturer may not be able to put Gluten Free on the packaging if the product was made in an environment with other gluten products. This won’t impact a person with gluten sensitivity though.

3. Eat fresh. Buy and cook fresh meat and vegetables. Eat fresh fruit. Not only is fresh food gluten free, but it is far better for your overall health than processed food.

Once I made up my mind to eat a gluten free diet, my life changed for the better. It took a little while for my body to adapt, but once it did, the brain fog lifted, the bloating reduced, and instead of fatigue, I had energy! I feel so much better! It’s incredible the difference cutting out gluten made. Try it yourself and see what difference it makes!

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