Tips for going gluten free

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chasityh85
chasityh85 Posts: 4
in Food and Nutrition
Does anyone that has gone gluten free have any tips for someone like me who is just starting out? I have read Wheat Belly so I have a pretty good idea of what to look for and avoid, but would love any tips anyone has to offer! Are there certain GF products that you use and enjoy, products to avoid, ect? I am tracking and reading labels but feel that I can/should be doing more.
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  • brenannn
    brenannn Posts: 19
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    If you don't have celiac or an allergy, going gluten free isn't good for you.
    Cutting out processed food is defiantly good for you, but unless you have a legit medical reason for not eating gluten, whole grains are a super important part of your diet.

    Not to mention, when you finally reintroduce gluten into your diet its going to be hell on your system.

    But have at it.
  • andeey
    andeey Posts: 709 Member
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    Tip #1 - only go GF if you *need* to, it's a PITA.

    Tip #2 - if you do go GF, read all the labels ... gluten is in *everything*

    Tip #3 - go to tip #1
  • chelseasans
    chelseasans Posts: 73 Member
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    Fill up on quality protein like fish and lean meats. Make the transition slowly instead of cutting it out all at once. I would suggest cutting out white carbs first like bread pasta etc. replace crackers with tortilla chips. Then you wanna take a look at gluten hidden in things such as soy sauce and various beverages.

    It's really a commitment. It's hard at first but once you get used to it you don't even crave it.

    I was devasted when I found out I couldn't eat gluten but now I will chose a nice salad over pasta any day! (They do sell gluten free pasta however)
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    I was going to post my thoughts...but Andeey's beaten me to it!

    It's VERY hard work.
  • DaynaYvonnaBeNiceToYourself
    DaynaYvonnaBeNiceToYourself Posts: 7 Member
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    I am gluten free due to an intolerance/allergy, and have been for nearly 3 years. I have hypothyroidism and it is highly recommended to be gluten free. It depends if you like to cook a lot. You can look up gf recipes online (which is what I do), there are many on Pinterest. If you just cook meat and veggies, you don't have to worry about it much. Casseroles are where it gets you. Betty Crocker mixes are ok. I find that adding a bit (1/4 cup) of applesauce besides whatever else a bread/cake type mix calls for evens out the texture to more like normal.
  • DaynaYvonnaBeNiceToYourself
    DaynaYvonnaBeNiceToYourself Posts: 7 Member
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    gfree pasta just needs to be cooked a little longer than normal. Barilla and Ronzoni make a gfree that is ok. Be blessed and have a great day!:flowerforyou:
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    If you don't have celiac or an allergy, going gluten free isn't good for you.
    Cutting out processed food is defiantly good for you, but unless you have a legit medical reason for not eating gluten, whole grains are a super important part of your diet.

    Not to mention, when you finally reintroduce gluten into your diet its going to be hell on your system.

    But have at it.

    You're wrong about gluten free not being good for someone who doesn't have an allergy or Celiac. I suggest reading the book "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis. :smile:
  • vvvalentines
    vvvalentines Posts: 151
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    Trader Joe's has some good (cheap!) GF pasta and bread options. Their quinoa-rice pasta is similar to wheat pasta in taste and texture, and their corn pasta is pretty similar to white (though it's bright yellow, the taste difference is minimal.)

    Make sure to check labels. Most now will say "gluten free," "gluten safe," or "no gluten-containing ingredients used" (which is a weaselly way of saying "we didn't put gluten in there, but it's not our fault if there was some left over on the machinery."

    If the "wheat belly" guidelines work for you, by all means stick with it--but know that gluten sensitivities are much more rare than William Davis would have you think. The majority of people can consume wheat and other gluten-containing foods with no issues, so long as (like any other food) they are consumed in moderation as part of a diet that includes plenty of protein, moderate fat, and lots of nutrient-rich foods.
  • heaterseven
    heaterseven Posts: 16 Member
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    I also read "Wheat Belly" and have been Gluten Free since reading it. My energy was noticeably higher within 5 days and I have far less inflammation in my body. It was the best diet decision I ever made and will never go back. I have been GF for 3 years and I don't miss it one bit. About 6 months ago, i ordered a GF sandwich and the restaurant made it wrong. It killed my system for about 48 hours. That alone made me realize I'm now intolerant to Gluten since I've been off it for so long.

    My suggestion, don't cut out all grains. I eat Quinoa, Amaranth, rice and GF Oats. I was never a big pasta or bread person so that was easy, but Quinoa pasta is quite tasty. Also, stick with veggies, fruits, meats, dairy, etc. Just read your labels. Soy Sauce has Gluten in it. A lot of things do and it's usually hidden.

    Also, don't substitute your pastas and breads and baked goods for GF items, they are usually full of calories, starches, etc. Going GF is about clean eating, not trading habits.
  • aeb09
    aeb09 Posts: 424 Member
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    In addition to Wheat Belly I'd suggest reading Grain Brain by David Perlmutter. I'm not GF though I do eat a low gluten diet (as a side effect to living a ketogenic lifestyle). Labels are important - gluten can hide behind a multitude of names on the labels. I think they make apps that you can use to check if an ingredient on a label is gluten.

    http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/recipe-index I believe all her recipes are gluten free.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
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    While some people are sensitive to wheat, not everyone will benefit from giving it up. Sure if you give up all carbs, you will lose weight and probably feel better, but modern wheat is not what's making us fat. The premise of the book is just plain not correct and the author even acknowledges that if you're not dropping pounds, it's because you replaced the wheat with other carbs. That completely defeats the theory that modern wheat is the problem.
  • motivatedmartha
    motivatedmartha Posts: 1,108 Member
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    My hubbies IBS symptoms (quite severe) have been helped immeasurably by going gluten free but it is a pain! Gluten gets everywhere - from ketchup, mustard (ready made) to oxo cubes. in the UK the labels are really small so supermarket trips are a pain. However, the benefits to him outweigh the hassle and it gets easier. I cook most of our meals from scratch which helps and finding a nice gf free flour has helped with home baking etc. No luck so far with gf pasta, the one I tried he found gritty and it stayed quite hard and tough. Our nxt challenge is eating out and travelling!
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    While some people are sensitive to wheat, not everyone will benefit from giving it up. Sure if you give up all carbs, you will lose weight and probably feel better, but modern wheat is not what's making us fat. The premise of the book is just plain not correct and the author even acknowledges that if you're not dropping pounds, it's because you replaced the wheat with other carbs. That completely defeats the theory that modern wheat is the problem.

    The whole point of the book is Dr. Davis explaining that modern wheat IS the reason why so many people are obese nowadays. The wheat individuals consumed in the sixteenth-nineteenth centuries is not even close to what wheat is today. Beginning in the twentieth century, hybridization methods completely transformed wheat. Today wheat is so genetically altered. Sure, a loaf of bread thousands of years ago might look the same and taste the same but there are biochemical differences compared to a loaf of bread today. The differences in wheat protein structure cast the difference between a destructive immune response to wheat protein vs. no immune response.
  • kuolo
    kuolo Posts: 251 Member
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    Interestingly, seeing the other comments, I don't find it hard but then again I don't eat packaged food and never liked bread or pasta. There are some unexpected ones like soy sauce but you can get wheat free. Beer was the only real hardship. You can get gf flour or cornflour for using to thicken sauces instead. Substitutes? I think gf pasta is disgusting... you can bake cakes using gf flour if that's your thing and they taste exactly the same. There is an art to baking gf bread though. Lots of other grains to eat like buckwheat, quinoa, rice, oats too. I honestly don't notice it but like I said I don't eat packet stuff and we hardly ever eat out.

    And don't agree that it's a vital part of your diet, there's lots of other stuff to eat out there that's far more nutritious than bread or pasta! But of course I am assuming you are cutting out just gluten containing grains like Rye barley wheat etc not all grains?

    Yes it does get easier, I don't even notice it anymore, it's just kind of second nature, and yes it also helped my IBS too. Interestingly it seems to help me with mood stability also. I think how hard you find it will depend mainly on what you eat now ie how much you have to change plus the benefits you get ie if it's worth it to you. Good luck!
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    Interestingly, seeing the other comments, I don't find it hard but then again I don't eat packaged food and never liked bread or pasta. There are some unexpected ones like soy sauce but you can get wheat free. Beer was the only real hardship. You can get gf flour or cornflour for using to thicken sauces instead. Substitutes? I think gf pasta is disgusting... you can bake cakes using gf flour if that's your thing and they taste exactly the same. There is an art to baking gf bread though. Lots of other grains to eat like buckwheat, quinoa, rice, oats too. I honestly don't notice it but like I said I don't eat packet stuff and we hardly ever eat out.

    And don't agree that it's a vital part of your diet, there's lots of other stuff to eat out there that's far more nutritious than bread or pasta! But of course I am assuming you are cutting out just gluten containing grains like Rye barley wheat etc not all grains?

    Yes it does get easier, I don't even notice it anymore, it's just kind of second nature, and yes it also helped my IBS too. Interestingly it seems to help me with mood stability also. I think how hard you find it will depend mainly on what you eat now ie how much you have to change plus the benefits you get ie if it's worth it to you. Good luck!

    I agree with this. I don't find it hard either- except when I am having a Crohn's flareup and can only eat things like bread, soup, rice, crackers, etc. I rarely eat out so that's not an issue for me.

    I don't eat pasta. I think GF pasta is gross. Brown rice is a staple for me.

    I eat bread. My favorite brand is Udi's. There's a GF bakery near me that makes fresh bread and I buy a loaf once in a while and freeze it.

    I still eat pretzels, crackers, etc. My favorite brand pretzels & crackers are Glutino. I love Glutino's parmesan bagel chips. I eat a lot of rice cakes as well.

    I love Bob's Red Mill gluten free steel cut oats. I also keep their gluten free cornbread mix and brownie mix in my pantry.
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,300 Member
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    Foods and how they break down into sugars to be absorbed into the blood stream at some point along the digestive tract is a mine field for ways for the body to react adversly. With much of the modern medical knowledge it is easy to mistake sensitivity reactions for signs that the body is really suffering. So far I have discovered salicylates which are made by many plants to protect themselves from moulds and mildews are toxic to a greater or lesser degree to most people and cause many common ailments. We use salicylate in aspirin and we are never told it is present in other foods. I have been avoiding salicylate for about 4 years and now have developed an increasing reaction to the smells of plants, from the pollen for other smells the plants make and we use as herbs and spices. I even react to laundry powders because the scientists can make the synthetic so like the natural.

    I am now waiting to go back to our local teaching/research hospital for the results of blood tests because salicylate can upset the thyroid because of its detox function and can go on to cause problems in the kidneys, blood, and liver. Please know what you are playing with when you give up this and that, be sure what is causing your IBS, CF, FM, migranes etc. What I am saying is at the frontier of science and when many doctors leave diabetes and Thyroid problems untreated because, you are pre diabetic and fail to give advice on how to ease your system and tell you "you are in the normal range", for thyroid when you have many symptoms of hyper or hypo thyroid because their understanding of the numbers is not all it could be are we ever sure we are getting the right advice.
  • chasityh85
    chasityh85 Posts: 4
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    Thanks everyone. I have daily headaches, low energy, and a long list of other symptoms that had me thinking about GF long before I read Wheat Belly to any of those who are bashing the book. I understand it is not going to be an easy thing to do, but I feel that I will benefit. I am trying to eat whole foods but know myself in that I will never be able to go without another slice of bread, serving of pasta, piece of cake and was just looking for suggestions.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    Thanks everyone. I have daily headaches, low energy, and a long list of other symptoms that had me thinking about GF long before I read Wheat Belly to any of those who are bashing the book. I understand it is not going to be an easy thing to do, but I feel that I will benefit. I am trying to eat whole foods but know myself in that I will never be able to go without another slice of bread, serving of pasta, piece of cake and was just looking for suggestions.

    There are gluten free breads and pastas. So you are in luck. Hopefully you won't mind the taste. I don't think GF bread has a different taste but GF pasta certainly does. Bob's Red Mill has GF cake mix as well!

    http://www.bobsredmill.com/gluten-free/
  • FoxyLifter
    FoxyLifter Posts: 965 Member
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    I tried it for Lent last year.

    It's very hard and I do not recommend it.

    At my nephew's birthday party, he accidentally said his wish out loud. His wish was that he hopes that everyone enjoys the cakes. We all laughed so hard! I couldn't break a four year old's heart. I ate a piece of cake and realized that going gluten free for no medical reason was silly. I ended up losing a pound that week!

    Here's a list of what I've learned:

    ~For weight loss: calories in < calories out.
    ~For body composition: get enough protein and lift heavy.
    ~For overall health: get enough fat, micronutrients, water, rest, maybe some cardio.
    ~For your sanity: don't eliminate a whole group of foods for no medical reason.

    Moderation, variation, and no unnecessary elimination!
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
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    I do not do "gluten free" I do however avoid obvious sources of wheat. Traces of wheat don't seem to bother me, but when I include it in my diet in any measurable quantity, even in the form of "whole grain' it really does a number on my body. Without wheat I am now free of acid reflux, migraine headaches, hypothyroidism, and severe joint pain so that piece of bread or scoop of pasta is simply not worth it.

    My biggest tip would be to skip the gluten free substitutes. I don't eat any "gluten free" substitutes.. to me they are just nutritionally lacking processed foods... The only substitutions I do is maybe something like substituting quinoa for bulgur when making tabouleh. I haven't had a slice of pizza in over a year. I miss it but I see no reason to put a "gluten free" pizza crust in my body that is full of refined starches.

    Finally don't let the naysayers dissuade you from eliminating wheat from your diet. Give it a go. If you feel better, then stick with it.. if you don't see any difference, then go ahead and enjoy your bread.

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