Without a doubt, you have a dozen in-person friends and 126 social media friends who have gone gluten-free. While the gluten-free diet was originated as a relief for sufferers of Celiac Disease, it has suddenly grown wings and has flown around the world eight times. Are we seeing an outbreak of Celiac that will soon engulf us all? We are not. But, there are enough people who claim to feel better without gluten that many people are giving it a go.
What if I Don’t Have the Foggiest How to Start?
You have come to the right place. Where other sites will overwhelm you with pages of stats and testimonials, Gildshire is here for the person who wants to dip his/her toe in the gluten-free pool. We only ask one thing, but it is an important thing. Please check with your primary care physician (a tele-doc call will work) before making a drastic change in your eating habits. That is true for gluten-free, but it is also true for Atkins, South Beach, or any other diet that isn’t simple calorie counting for weight loss. Make sure that this won’t hurt you in some way you haven’t imagined. Are we clear? Have you checked? Promise me? Then, let’s go.
How Do I Start a Gluten-Free Diet?
First, keep a food journal for a week. Don’t try to change anything just yet. That’s for next week.
At the end of the week, get out a pen. Put a plus sign beside the foods that are okay to eat on a gluten-free regimen. A minus sign goes beside the food that is not okay. So, let’s start with the positives first.
What is a Gluten-Free Diet List?
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Meat and poultry
- Fish and seafood
- Dairy
- Beans, legumes, and nuts
This delicious banana bread contains maple syrup and is part of a gluten-free diet.
How are you feeling now? Are you a little less scared knowing that those yummy things are on the plus-sign side of the ledger? Well, it gets even better because these grains and starchy foods are naturally gluten-free.
- Rice
- Cassava
- Corn (maize) What’s the difference? You’re in luck because, in the USA and Canada, corn and maize are one and the same and are meant for the plant that produces kernels used for cooking.
- Soy
- Potatoes
- Tapioca
- Beans
- Sorghum
- Quinoa
- Millet
- Kasha
- Arrowroot
- Amaranth
- Teff
- Flax
- Chia
- Yucca
- Oats
- Nut flours
What Can You Not Eat on a Gluten-Free Diet?
Surprisingly enough, the list is relatively simple. Wheat, rye, and barley are the primary foods that need to be avoided while following a gluten-free diet. Gluten is also commonly added to processed foods, such as canned and boxed items. Furthermore, some grains, such as oats, maybe cross-contaminated with gluten, depending on where they were processed. But, unless you have a wicked case of Celiac’s Disease, the danger there is minor.
Can You Lose Weight While Going Gluten-Free?
This one we can answer with a definite, um, maybe. If you currently eat baked goods and other bakery items, you will probably lose weight going gluten-free. But, that would be the case with almost any change in eating habits. Moreover, there is tons of evidence out there that gluten-free and weight loss are not the same. We lean to the “no” on this one, especially if you intend to dive into that banana bread.
That’s about the size of it, so if you decide to experiment (or jump into the deep end of the pool) with a gluten-free diet, we wish you good health. If the change makes you feel more like waking up with a smile and going to sleep with a grin, your friends at Gildshire will be glad we were here to help.
