Help! I’m gluten free. What can I eat?
The first question that you will first ask or that will be asked of you a lot is ‘What can I eat when I’m gluten free? ‘
When you first find out you need to be on a gluten free diet, it can be really difficult to know exactly what you’re able to eat and all you do know is you want to eat the very food that you can’t. When I was diagnosed twenty five years ago the shops didn’t have gluten free food in them. A few health shops may have some things but the food didn’t tend to taste very nice and was very expensive. My basics of pasta, biscuits, pizza bases, flour and bread was given to me by the doctor on prescription!
The world since then has made our lives a lot easier and even the smallest supermarkets will have food you can purchase that is suitable for your diet and online shopping means your groceries can be just a click away.
The first thing I will say to you is to please don’t panic. Please don’t worry if you think you have to be a great cook or your worried you are going to miss out on that food your craving. If you really can’t resist that item in the supermarket then simply don’t walk past it and tempt yourself. I avoided the bread and cake isle for around 10 years!
Avoiding things with wheat is obvious but it can be a lot more challenging than this. Barley, kamut, rye and spelt are also likely to cause problems. Be careful of modified food starch and barley enzymes (found in a majority of breakfast cereals). Luckily, there are alternatives that are naturally free from gluten, including quinoa, buckwheat tapioca, almond and rice. Oats are more of a grey area though. They don’t contain gluten but they can easily come into contact with it through cross contamination. A general rule of thumb? Assume that you shouldn’t eat oats unless they specifically state that they’re gluten free. This takes away any risk that they’ve come into contact with gluten. You may find you can’t tolerate even the gluten free ones.
Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, eggs, lean meats, dairy (ok so I can’t have this but you may be able to without a problem) and fish are naturally gluten free so it makes sense to have them as a large part of your diet.
There are lots of gluten free products available these days but beware as they often contain a fair amount of fat, sugar and salt. In some cases, they can be a lot like regular junk food and just as unhealthy!
Some foods and drinks are simply off limits. Common sources of gluten include wheat flour, bread, cakes, pastries, cookies, pizza, pasta and crackers. More surprisingly, beer, sausages, sauces, malt vinegar and soy sauce often contain gluten so if these are favourites of yours, look for gluten free alternatives!
Finally I would recommend getting in touch with your local coeliac society where you live. You may find it beneficial to become a member as they have tonnes of support and sometimes lists of food you can and cannot buy in your area. They will have support resources for you as well and they know what you are going through.
If you require any further information or help then please get in contact with me via the form online.
I hope you have enjoyed this information. Until next time!
Emma Alexander-Cook.
