A gluten-free diet is a diet that does not include the grains wheat, barley, rye or hybrids of these grains. This includes all varieties and forms of these grains, such as spelt (a type of wheat) and malt (which is made from barley). A gluten-free diet is called a gluten-free diet because the grains that must be avoided all contain a protein called gluten. Now how you should avoid this gluten and live a more healthy life is what this article is centered on.
There are various ways of selecting the best techniques for living a gluten free life, but I would just like to focus some key points.
1. Shopping list
Now, this is the foundation on which other points rest. When you go shopping, ensure that your shopping list is full of gluten free items, such as; sweet potatoes, rib-eye steak, yellow lentils, asparagus, lamb kebabs, guacamole, spring vegetable soup, mangoes, marinated pork, rice, corn, millet, sorghum, wild rice, teff, buckwheat, quinoa and amaranth and many more gluten containing food items. All these have one thing in common, they are all gluten free.
2. Become a cook-a-holic
Now, why this is important is because when you eat out, you have no idea what’s in the food as an ingredient, so there is a high chance of getting foods that have gluten in it. However, if you already love cooking, then this won’t be a problem for you. All you need to do is to have knowledge about the nutritional class your cooking ingredients belong to.
3. Dedication
This comes in very handy when you forget to pack snacks for the road and then find yourself craving food. At this point, you will be tempted to park at the nearest gas station to get food, but then, most or all of the available snacks might not be gluten free, so instead of risking it why not just stay firm and control your craving and stay dedicated to staying gluten free. Some days, when you get back from work or classes too tired to cook and you pop open the refrigerator and see pizza, please ignore it and just go for popcorn instead.
4. Choose the right kind of company
Why stay in the company of people who have no clue what your dietary goals are? The thing is that you do more harm to your diet goals when you find yourself in the wrong kind of company. As a result, all your efforts to avoid gluten would go to waste if you eat gluten containing foods due to peer pressure. When you are happy, everything falls into place. Find suitable groups to fit in, join social communities and ensure that you only socialize with people who really know how you feel, and make these people your friends. There is no point in sulking over people who step on you over and over again.
Living a gluten free life only applies to people with celiac disease, which is a serious genetically-based autoimmune disease. When gluten is eaten by a person with celiac disease, it triggers an immune system reaction that damages the lining of the small intestine. When the lining of the small intestine is damaged, nutrients cannot be properly absorbed. Once gluten is completely removed from your diet, the intestine is able to heal. Stay conscious and live a healthy life.
image courtesy of: glutenfreegal.com.
