Authors: Steve Rowland
Gluten-free diets are the main way to treat celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, but this transition can be challenging. You find gluten in so many commercial foods that it can be difficult to eliminate gluten from your diet. In addition, you will want to speak with your physician, and possibly consult a professional dietician, before you make diet changes.
Research the Requirements of Your New Diet
Educate yourself on the foods you will need to leave out of your new diet. Knowing what you can safely eat makes it easier to transition. Concentrate on the foods that you can eat, to begin your healing process.
You can find gluten free foods in your local grocery store, and in specialty stores. They may also be purchased online. Remove the temptation of gluten from your kitchen and replace the foods with healthy, gluten-free alternatives.
Vegetables, greens, eggs, poultry, fish, meat, legumes, seeds, nuts and fruit are naturally free of gluten, as long as they have not been processed, or had something added. Focus on these foods.
Increase your use of these acceptable foods, particularly fruits, greens and veggies, so that you won’t suffer from nutrient deprivation. Foods like nuts, seeds, olives, coconut and avocado will keep you from missing your old favorite foods so much. Eating nourishing foods will aid in healing the damage that gluten has caused in your gut.
Major Changes Must Be Made
Whether you have gluten sensitivity or celiac disease, you’ll need to make major changes to the way you eat. You may feel at a loss for energy, or experience aches and pains, in addition to stomach issues, so you’ll be glad to know that there is a reason for these symptoms. But it can be a bit overwhelming, too.
Your first grocery trip post-diagnosis will probably include hours of wandering aisles and reading labels! Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it. Finding the first few gluten-free versions of foods you love will be exhilarating. After a time, you’ll become accustomed to your new diet. If you’re still confused, this book will help you to make the transition to healthy, gluten-free foods.
Open Yourself to the New You
Say yes to the new choices in front of you. Sure, it may be difficult to find suitable replacements for the foods you love that are now off-limits. Since your body will not tolerate gluten, eating your old favorites will only make you feel rotten. Store brand hamburger buns or doughnuts are not worth the aftermath.
This is your new life and your new reality. You’ll feel so much better without gluten. Accept the new foods you will eat and accept your new life.
Focus on foods that are gluten-free naturally. Sweet potatoes, steaks, salads and raisins are all gluten-free and healthy choices. You will find new foods that you’ll love, and you won’t go hungry. Don’t choose unhealthy gluten foods, or you’re missing the point. A calorie laden, gluten-free muffin is still a blueberry muffin. You can find gluten-free junk food, but that’s not what you need. Although I will admit these foods did help me make the original transition! Just don’t make it a long term habit.
Humans always focus first on things they cannot eat. It’s natural. But it’s better to think about your health and about the foods you can still eat. You will feel so much better. Some of the foods you love now are gluten-free, so not everything will change. Focus on the positives and eat well.
Cheating Will Make the Transition More Difficult
There will be moments when you’re angry and there is no restaurant or store close by that sells the foods you should be eating. When you feel hungry and isolated at the same time, it’s quite tempting to eat something that you know is not healthy for you. Don’t do it.
It’s okay to feel bad once in a while and be angry with your situation. Then you need to move on, with your eyes forward. It won’t be perfect, of course. You’ll have nights when you have to work late and you come home to nothing healthy in the refrigerator. Go to the pantry, instead. If you’ve been shopping right, you can still find something for dinner. Going gluten free successfully is about planning ahead.
Inevitably, there will be times when you experience cross-contamination, where gluten comes into contact with the food you eat, usually from equipment used for both types of food. You’ll feel it soon after you eat, possibly within minutes. You may start with a headache, but stomach pains won’t be far behind. Believe it or not, this is actually how you felt constantly whilst consuming gluten regularly. The way you feel after that is over will be more than adequate to remind you why you cannot eat gluten any longer.
Are You a Cook? You Will Be
If you already cook, you may enjoy the challenge of creating new dishes. Listening to the sounds of cooking and smelling the aromas is enjoyable. If you didn’t cook before you were diagnosed with gluten sensitivity or celiac disease, you probably will afterward.
Cooking will be a path to healing. You may be hesitant to allow others to cook for you, after experiences of cross-contamination. You may learn to cook and you will probably become quite adept at creating meals that your whole family will enjoy.
Even if you’re not competent cooking before now, you will become accustomed to chopping and cleaning vegetables and taking the time to use new recipes. Cooking can become a means of concentration and you will focus on the foods before you. You can use cooking to ease the stress of the day away.
Perhaps you’re thinking that you don’t have time to take up cooking, since your life is busy. Take another look at the idea. Eating foods that you know are gluten-free is your singular path to healing. Your entire life will change, and it will be a positive change. Simply arrange your life a bit differently so that you’ll have time to cook.
People on Your Side
It’s always good to have people on your side, and this will be particularly true now. Your significant other or a close friend can help you with the cooking aspects of a non-gluten lifestyle. Together, you can find recipes on which to work, and your friends can cheer you up through the process.
If your kitchen still has gluten breads, pastas and cereals, it may be more difficult for you to make the new diet work. If your husband or wife and children don’t want to share your road to gluten-free eating, have them try it just for a week. Cook your best non-gluten dishes and see if you can win them over. Then you won’t have to worry about cross-contamination.
If you choose to eat gluten-free food in cafes or restaurants, be sure to patronize those that will not cross-contaminate your food. You may lose weight if you eat at places with cross-contamination, but your gut will certainly not thank you.
You need a solid community with you, including friends who will understand the changes you will be making, and a family who will support you. There will even be those who are there for you when you need to cry a little because someone wonders insensitively how a little flour could hurt you.
There are many support rooms where you can find people in similar situations, including forums, chat rooms and local groups. Seek out people who will let you know that you are not alone in this journey. Soon your body will thank you for the change, and you will feel so much better.
Be Patient with Yourself during the Transition
Show yourself compassion and love as you adjust to your new lifestyle. Food is an integral part of culture. When your food choices change, especially due to your health, you can feel out of sorts for a time, as your body adjusts. Give yourself extra care by going for walks, talking to old friends, getting a massage or going out dancing. Keeping a journal is helpful, so that you can note how you feel and what your energy level is like after you eat certain foods. This journal tracks what foods help you and what foods do not.
Plan Ahead for Your Meals
Prepare a list of foods you will use for meals and take it with you to the grocery store. When you arrive home, wash, cut up and prepare your foods so they will be ready to eat when you need them. This will make your new food routine easier.
Whenever you cook, make enough for leftovers and then stock your freezer with ready-to-heat meals. This will make it easier to prepare meals after a long day at work. Stock your house with tasty new foods and get rid of old foods that might otherwise tempt you. Keep the fixings for meals and healthy snacks available at home, so you won’t go out or call out for meals.
Eat Fewer Meals Out and More at Home
When you eat out, there is no easy way to see the ingredients used in preparing your meals. If you just have to have a meal out, call ahead of time and find restaurants that have choices including gluten free meals. When you are eating out, ask your server before you order a dish.
If your server is new or not knowledgeable about the foods used, you can speak to a manager. Always be polite to food service employees, while still being assertive about the types of foods you need. Thank them and let them know that you appreciate their help. This will make them more willing to help others who are also making the transition to gluten-free foods.
If you didn’t know how to cook before, you will need to, now. This doesn’t mean you have to cook well enough to win a TV show. You just need to be able to fix yourself meals that are nourishing. As you discover new cuisines and recipes, you may find that you enjoy cooking.
Keep Healthy Snacks Available
Take snacks to work with you and eat a healthy meal before you head out anywhere. Keeping foods you can snack on will stop you from eating foods that contain gluten. Substitutions make it much easier to transition to new foods, especially at the beginning.
Gluten-free bread and other foods will make it simpler to ease into your new menu. Select substitutions that are minimally processed and high in nutritive value. Read the labels on every type of food, before you make your purchases.
Gluten may be hidden in many products that you would not suspect. Gluten is even found in some body products like toothpaste!
Once you get used to reading labels, it will be easier for you, since you’ll know what you’re looking to find. Experiment with new foods, and consult your nutritionist to determine the best food choices for you.
Celebrate with the foods you can still eat. Gluten-free diets may seem restrictive when you first take them on, but there are many things you will still be able to enjoy. Unprocessed foods are the best, so avoid seasoned, breaded and marinated items, since they may contain gluten.
Learning the Safe Grains
There are grains you can still eat on a gluten-free diet. You can eat some carbohydrates. Tapioca, soy, sorghum, rice, quinoa, millet, flax, corn, buckwheat, arrowroot and amaranth are all among the grains you can still enjoy.
Use gluten-free flours, too. You may decide that you enjoy muffins, cookies and bread made with nut, potato or bean flour. You can adapt your own flour-centered recipes with gluten-free alternatives.
Remember the Foods to Avoid
Stay clear of foods that might give you problems, unless you see on their labels that they are gluten-free. Products that often contain gluten may include a wide variety of foods like seasoned vegetables, soup, snacks, seasoned rice mix, condiments, imitation seafood, lunch meats, gravy, French fries, bread, candy, baked goods and crackers.
Remember the grains you need to avoid, as well. Reading the labels is quite important. The grains you should not eat anymore include spelt, semolina, kamut, graham, durum, bulgur, farina, triticale, rye, wheat and barley.
Diversification of tastes will necessitate that you lose the local listings of Italian restaurants, since their pizzas and rich pastas will cause your stomach to react. Indian cooking is often better, and so are yogurt, legumes, rice and chickpeas.
A Stroll through the Grocery Store
After you take in everything in your local store that is gluten-free, you might be thinking that it would be better for everyone to be on a gluten-free diet. Staying away from gluten-free cakes, cookies and other types of junk foods is a healthy way to eat, even if someone doesn’t have gluten insensitivity or celiac disease.