Gluten can be best explained as a “mixture of two proteins that are present in cereal grains.” On a normal day, this combination can be highly beneficial for your body, but recent studies have indicated that uncontrolled consumption of this substance can result in fatigue, joint pain, stomach pains and bloating, so it is recommended to minimize your consumption as much as possible. In this article, I will be showing you how you can easily do so.
1. Check your oats
Ordinarily, oats are not meant to be a gluten containing substance, but studies have shown that more often than not, oats are harvested and processed with the same equipment as the one used for wheat, and because wheat largely contains gluten – the oats harvested thereafter are easily contaminated. But then, it would be extremely difficult (if not impossible) for you to ordinarily be able to know this, so what most producers have been doing now is to label the oats they produce as ‘gluten-free’. So if you purchase oats that is not labeled ‘gluten-free’, you can reasonably infer that it has been contaminated and therefore contains some amount of gluten.
2. Avoid wheat
As I was explaining above, wheat largely contains gluten, and by wheat, I mean all forms of wheat and their by-products, ranging from: crackers, cookies, pasta, pizza crust and the list continues. Even when wheat is combined with rye or flour, it still contains some elements of gluten, so be sure to keep an eye out for it.
3. Avoid barley and malt
You see, going gluten-free calls for a lot of sacrifices, even of some of your most favorite foods. So we are talking about certain beers, whiskey, coffee substitutes, malt beverages, malt vinegars, ales, lagers and the rest of the other products that are made from grains that contain gluten. However, some of these products have been distilled so they may qualify as being gluten-free, but if it is not inscribed on it, I’ll recommend that you don’t take chances.
4. Cereals
Not all cereals contain gluten or wheat-based ingredients but a host of cereals out there do, so be sure to always check for the ‘gluten-free’ label on the cereals you purchase, but even that does not provide an absolute guarantee, because a some producers do not always put the label, but you can take an extra step by turning to the back to check the list of ingredients for anything that contains wheat or barley or gluten related ingredients.
image courtesy of: anh-usa.org.
