Have you ever been bloated for no particular reason? Does it happen often? If the answer to these questions is yes, then it is time to consider whether you suffer from gluten intolerance. It’s been quite popular in recent years to let go of gluten. But does it mean you must go through a difficult process of sacrificing your favorite meals? Not always. Let’s review some of the easiest ways to substitute gluten in your diet.
Focus on the benefits
Whenever you set some goal, you first need the right motivation. Do you want to substitute gluten in your diet? Good – motivate yourself by focusing on the benefits you’ll have from it. When you eat gluten-free food, you’ll bloat significantly less, which will, as a result, improve other aspects of your life. Also, one of the most significant health benefits is the improved health of the joints and decreased swelling and pain in them. Let’s not forget that it can help you clear the clouded mind and help you focus on your daily tasks.
Don’t forget to ask for the doctor’s approval
Of course, these benefits can apply to your case only if you have some form of gluten intolerance (or celiac disease). This condition is quite common and is only found recently, so it has become pretty popular in recent years. You’ve undoubtedly seen many influencers promoting a gluten-free diet across the social network. However, as everything is as crucial as changing your diet, you must approach this carefully. When you want to invest in your health, you must ensure you won’t have the opposite effect.
The majority of the food you’re used to contains gluten, among other things. When you give that food up, you can quickly get some significant vitamin or mineral deficiency, which can have more serious consequences. So, consult your doctor or nutritionist (or both, ideally) before you take this drastic turn in your diet.
Start with the things you already use
We said that a lot of food we traditionally use contains gluten. But there are also a lot of things that don’t. So, use gluten-free foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, chicken, fish, cheese, and eggs as the foundation for your meals. These foods do not naturally contain gluten. Therefore, they are perfect to bond in your diet shift.
Following a diet that excludes gluten does not imply that grains and cereals are off-limits. There are several naturally gluten-free grains that you may include in your diet, including: quinoa, teff, amaranth, polenta, buckwheat, maize, and millet.
Simply examine the labels to ensure that you are using versions that are free of contamination. When looking for gluten-free options, you may consider substituting typical breadcrumbs with polenta crumbs, opting for gluten-free buckwheat or rice noodles and spaghetti, or baking with quinoa. It might not come out perfect at first, but with a bit of practice, it can make a huge difference. Eating well will make you feel better about yourself, and once you master the skill, you’ll feel even better.
Make a habit of checking labels
A big part of living a gluten-free life is learning how to check the labels on food for it. Because of legislation requiring the labeling of foods containing allergens, you may determine whether or not a product is safe for someone following a gluten-free diet just by reading the list of ingredients. A gluten-containing cereal must be disclosed if it is an insignificant part of the product (no matter how little you use it).
You can tell whether a product contains gluten by reading the ingredient list. Watch out for wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut, or any other grain created by cross-breeding these species. These components are often emphasized in bold.
You don’t have to be a party breaker if you substitute gluten in your diet
One of the major concerns of people with gluten intolerance is being an outsider to society. As many people start to eat gluten-free, it’s a nightmare to feel like a party breaker at every party when you have to demand something without gluten. But it’s not that big of a deal. There are a lot of drinks that you can choose from, despite what you may have heard. Cider, wine, sherry, spirits, port, and liqueurs are all OK for those on gluten-free diets.
However, beer, lagers, stouts, and ales contain gluten in variable concentrations and should be avoided. You can find beers that do not contain gluten in several grocery stores and eating establishments. But, be careful to consume only those clearly labeled as such.
Set your kitchen muses free
A kitchen is a place of creativity for a lot of people. It’s a common misconception that once you go gluten-free, you lose the freedom to pretend you’re your personal Gordon Ramsay. In reality, it’s quite the opposite. You can use this opportunity to explore new flavors and have fun combining ingredients you never used before. Because finding the correct gluten-free equivalent for your typical gluten-containing ingredients is a question of personal preference, spend some time in the kitchen getting acclimated to gluten-free flours and baking aids so that you may make the most of your gluten-free baking adventures.
Final thoughts
Once you decide to substitute gluten in your diet, you’re starting a lifelong journey. Despite what you may think at first, it can be pretty fun and easy once you get used to it. So, follow the advice we gave you above to make your first steps easier. Yes, the first steps are the slowest, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to run. So, make sure to give it a go and run freely and happily to your new life without bloating, cloudy mind, and painful joints.
Written by: Millie Stone
About the author:
Millie Stone is a nutritionist and a consultant at archstonerecovery.com. She likes to share her passion for food and healthy nutrition in her free time via the blogs she writes. Besides cooking and coming up with diet plans for her clients, she enjoys hiking with her dogs at least twice a month.