What’s the big deal?

Gluten is a naturally occurring protein found in wheat, barely, & rye grains. It is often used as a thickener, texturizer and to add flavor to other foods. People with Celiac, Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity, and multiple other autoimmune issues, often have trouble digesting this protein and/or have very allergic reactions to consuming gluten.

Ok, I’ve had many (many) people come to me as and ask about “going gluten free”. Maybe their doctor recommended it, maybe they just received a diagnosis, or maybe they’re trying to figure out the root cause of their digestive issues. Most people have heard of gluten or people ‘being gluten free’ but really don’t know what it is or why it is. And, unless you need to be gluten free it really doesn’t make a difference. Similar to other allergens, if you aren’t sensitive then you can eat gluten. It’s definitely not a “diet” or weight loss trick. Some GF items have more calories than wheat products. But if you need it or you need to prepare food for someone that is GF, then you definitely need to know. (Flip down to the References section for more in-depth reads on gluten free diets)

What do I eat?

I have people ask me all the time, what I eat. Or, more often I get this question: “How do I go gluten-free? I LOVE bread!” If you’ve been given the advice to cut gluten from your diet, there is no halfway. You either do or you don’t. If you are told that it would be medically beneficial to do so, do it. You can’t be sort of GF. There are valid reasons why people choose to consume less gluten but those people do not have a medical necessity to remove it from their diet completely. Additionally, every time you eat something containing gluten, it takes anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months for your digestive system to fully recover. If you’re older it can take up to 2 years to heal. Let me tell you, it’s not worth it.

Additionally, GF is not a weight-loss diet, it’s not lower in calories, sugars, or starches, and it’s not ‘healthier’ unless you specifically need to remove gluten from your diet, as most people can tolerate the undigestible gluten protein. Unlike myself. Meal planning can be really easy and you can do it yourself or use a meal planning/grocery company like we do.

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Click here for a history if you care to read. You might find your life has some similarities…

Youth:

Looking back at my life, there were some large red flags that in the 80’s and 90’s were simply not looked at in the medical world. From the time I was very young, I had constant and severe bowel trouble. As I got older and was a varsity level cross-country and track athlete, I had the same bowel issues + constant fatigue + brain fog + severe acne + joint injuries and pain + very heavy, very painful periods. My hips would hurt, my knees, my ankles, everything hurt. I would often wonder why, after a night of pre-race ‘Carb Loading’ with pasta dinners and breadsticks galore – as was common – why I felt so tired. Why my body wasn’t gaining the energy that everyone else’s seemed to. I had several episodes where I became so exhausted and lightheaded that I literally passed out mid-race. Yet, at that time, as a teenage girl and a year round runner, those symptoms didn’t present as anything specific to be concerned about. I was put on daily antibiotics to help clear my skin, which it did, and told to hydrate and eat a more iron-rich diet, but neither did anything to aid in my constant gut problems.

Young Adult:

Moving into college years, I had stopped the antibiotics and my skin seemed to be ok-ish. Not great, but not as bad. But more and more, my gastrointestinal system was off. I ventured into the vegan lifestyle in a hopes of feeling better. I thought perhaps I had trouble digesting proteins and sticking to an all plant-based diet did actually seem to help. At least when I was eating whole vegetables and fruits. But vegan diets are notoriously filled with wheat based substitutes as a cheaper option to fresh fruits and veggies, and contributing to most meat replacement ingredients. I had good days and some very, very bad days and my brain fog, attention, fatigue and periods were at an all time low. Additionally, I was pushing my body more with long, intense runs, late night studying, even later nights going out, and very little sleep. Working two jobs + full time school, my stress levels were off the charts. And I paid for it. My blood sugar would plummet so low that I starting having panic attacks and passed out while on campus a number of times. My stomach hurt almost constantly between heartburn symptoms, bloating, cramping pain and general nausea.

Adult:

As you get the general idea, I’ll fast forward to being an adult, diagnosed with Hashimoto’s and then eventually ending up in the ER with a perforation in my colon that was life-threatening. After decades of eating a food that my body couldn’t process, I ended up with an auto-immune disease, large nodules on my thyroid and the villi in my intestines for the most part, not-functioning. I was losing my hair, my eyebrows, gaining weight even through training for marathons, losing muscle, and had fatigue beyond anything I had experienced before. My doctor suggested I try a GF diet only then did I truly starting digging in and ensuring my diet was 100% free from gluten, just to see.

It took awhile – 2 years to start seeing differences and improvement continues. 30+ years of irritating your gut takes even longer to heal.

My kids too?:

Then, when I noticed similar symptoms happening with my teenage daughter who is an elite swimmer – anxiety, severe panic attacks, weight loss, stomach cramping and nausea, brain fog, extreme fatigue, muscle loss – we did a diet change up: complete gluten elimination. 1 year later, a complete reversal of her symptoms. Not a coincidence and yes, it took an entire year to heal her gut. Additionally, we added in therapy to address the stress and anxiety which is often a huge part that accompanies the inflammation caused by a gluten reaction or sensitivity.

So, all in all, if any of these things sound familiar or you’ve been told by

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Going Gluten Free

• Learn to enjoy everything else in the food world that is NOT bread, cereal and pasta. Bread’s your most favorite thing in the world? Sorry, learn to have something else that will be your new most favorite thing in the world. That’s it, not really a way around it.
• Learn to cook OR find a subscription service that will prep your GF meals so that you can learn to cook. We LOVE Hungryroot meal planning – see more on that below plus a code for $50 off your first shipment. Eating out safely GF is very difficult in many areas. See A Gluten Free Gallivant for more on that.
• Refer to bullet point 1 – find new things that will be your favorite. There are lot’s of GF options out there for breads, pastas and cereals but just like bread, they are complete carbs and often GF items are filled with additional sugar, corn, or other ingredients that are not something you want to ingest.
• Prep food ahead of time or make extra portions when you make meals. This allows you to have extras for lunches, etc and you’re not scrambling to find something to eat – it’s already made.
• Learn to like vegetables, lean healthy proteins, nuts and seeds (if tolerable) and non-starchy veggies.
• Try not to just swap wheat for corn or potatoes or rice. Small amounts, yes, but don’t rely on those heavily.
• Learn to read labels even when you feel like it shouldn’t have gluten in it. You’d be surprised. Labels now are generally bolded with Contains: Milk, Wheat, Eggs or Soy, if the product indeed contains those items.

Our Go-to Gluten Free Replacement Grocery List

• Bread: Canyon Bread Company. We find ours in the frozen and shelf stable bread section of the store. They have a large variety of bread types including bagels, English muffins (these make GREAT burger buns that done fall apart!), and rolls. Honestly for the time it takes and how little we use sliced bread, buying it is well worth it vs baking your own.
• Brown Basmati Rice: leaving the whole grain adds additional fiber which GF diets often lack.
• Siete brand Almond, Chickpea, or Cassava Flour tortillas: also usually found in the frozen bread aisle. These you have to thaw slightly and cook in a skillet for 10-15 seconds but they are the best as far as texture and whole food ingredients. We go for the almond or chickpea as much as possible.
• Mission brand soft tortillas: these are shelf stable and come in plain, spinach herb and red pepper. They’re great for creating a quick wrap for lunch or on the go.
• Siete brand grain free tortilla chips – if you’re needing a chip and salsa fix. We really don’t buy these often but they are nice when you need a tortilla chip replacement and are better than the corn alternatives. The lime ones are amazing! I often fill a small sandwich baggie with some of these before we go to a Mexican restaurant. I pull out my baggie (with discretion, of course) and can nibble on them while everyone else chows down on the table chips and salsa. If you trust the establishment and know the ingredients, I often order a guac appetizer to go with them. It maintains the “group eating connection” that is a restaurant dinner experience.
• Cereal: Chex and Cheerios brands are both certified GF. However, again, limit your consumption as they’re very processed and have additional sugars and additives.
• Certified GF Oatmeal: Bob’s Red Mill and Quaker both have certified GF oats but you have to read labels to ensure what you’re getting.
• Jovial, Barilla Red Lentil, or Banza brand GF pastas: they have several varieties, you’ll have to test and see which is your favorite. Avoid corn based GF pastas – they just don’t work. We prefer Red Lentil or Chickpea pastas. The lentil varieties have significant fiber and protein and hold up under many cooking techniques. Additionally Hungryroot carries the most amazing GF fresh tortellini– I think we order them every week. They cook in 3 minutes and an are awesome. We pair them with fresh veggies and lean proteins for a whole meal in under 10 minutes.
• Tamari soy sauce: traditional soy sauce is brewed with wheat and soy, one of those hidden things. When at a restaurant, request if they have tamari and if not, request no sauce on your items.
• Apple cider vinegar: a stand in for malt vinegar and great for the digestive system.
• Pacific brand canned soups are mostly GF.

Other than that, our shopping cart is filled with all fresh and frozen veggies, fresh and frozen fruits, eggs, lean proteins like salmon and chicken, and healthy fats like coconut and extra virgin olive oil. Every meal is made with veggies and protein and then perhaps a side of fruit and maybe a starch like potatoes or rice. We also have an enormous garden and grow a significant amount of our own produce. If you have the space, grow your own.

Where’s the wheat?

The biggest and yes, most time consuming thing, is reading labels on products. It is significantly easier to purchase whole food ingredients like fresh, unprocessed veggies, meats and fruits because they contain one ingredient. Learn to read labels. If you haven’t before, it will be eye opening as to what is all in some of the “food” products out there.

• Anything containing wheat, barley, rye. The only exception to this is bourbon. The process of creating bourbon ultimately removes the gluten protein however some individuals will still have a reaction. Read here for more information on this topic from BeyondCeliac.org.
• “Modified Food Starch”
• Traditional Soy Sauce
• Thickeners and emulsifiers
• Check those shampoos, conditioners and lotions – wheat is often used to thicken them or add volume
• Canned and jarred sauces and soups, unless labeled GF
• Seasoning mixes and blends. Opt for fresh herbs or single dried herbs where you can create your own mix. Taco seasoning packets almost always contain wheat as a binder and thickener. Buy the separate spices and make your own or purchase one from a dedicated GF (DGF) company like Siete brands.
• Ice cream and processed desserts- read labels for thickeners or added things like cookies, brownies, etc.
• General whole oats. What? I know right. Oats are often cut and sifted on the same equipment as wheat and no they do not wipe down the machinery before. Purchase oats that are labeled GF or from a certified GF factory.
• Dairy free milks and coffee creamers: Oat milk, Almond milk, etc. Dairy free milks need a binder to keep them from separating – ensure the package says GF
• Cottage cheese – thickener
• Pre-cut cheese – most often has corn starch to keep the shreds separate but some brands use that fun “modified food starch” so beware
• Chocolate- fillings, binders, emulsifiers and thickeners.
• BBQ sauces and condiments: BBQ sauce is one of the largest offenders or hidden wheat. Read the labels. Stubb’s brand sauces are gluten free for most varieties.
• Sausages, flavored ground meats, burgers and faux meat products,veggie burgers, kids veggie nuggets, etc: basically any meat or veggie product that is not a whole food. You really have to read the labels on these things. Just avoid if possible and make your own. It takes about 2 minutes to make burger patties, just a few more for a black bean veggie burger.

Need help? Use Pre-Planned Meal Options!

Lately we’ve been using Hungryroot to plan and ship our groceries. It’s been a lifesaver in terms of time management. They put together a dinner plan, send me a notification that it’s ready, I look it over on my phone, swap or replace anything, and hit save. They ship my groceries and I save literally an entire day in planning and shopping and then hours each week in prepping and cooking. It. Is. The. Best.

Our Family-of-4 Hungryroot plan preps for 4 dinners a week with enough for leftovers for lunch and then additional snacks at about $160/week. (I easily spent double than that running between 3 different stores each week.) The snacks are optional and which we usually order in any high protein to-go forms like premade smoothies, bars, or other grab and go options. All of their ingredients are whole food based and you can tailor it to any diet like gluten free, dairy free, vegan, paleo or just regular I-eat-anything. There’s even Adult + Kids plans so you get a meal that satisfies both parents and kids all in one. Click below to get $50 off your first order.

Stressed now?

Don’t worry. It’s really not that hard but it does take work and dedication. However, when you start to feel good, it will be amazing. Need help? Comment below or reach out to me!

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References

What is gluten and what does it do? Selvi Rajagopal, M.D., M.P.H. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/what-is-gluten-and-what-does-it-do#:~:text=“Gluten%2520is%2520a%2520protein%2520found,together%2520and%2520give%2520them%2520shape.

Evaluation of the effect of gluten-free diet and Mediterranean diet on autoimmune system in patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10867487/#:~:text=Hashimoto’s%20thyroiditis%20is%20an%20autoimmune,Mediterranean%20diet%20reduces%20oxidative%20stress.

Celiac Disease, Overview, John Hopkins Medicine, https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/celiac-disease#:~:text=After%20you%20stop%20eating%20foods,though%20you%20may%20feel%20better.