Going Gluten Free? Here Are The 5 Foods You Need To Avoid
Until recently, gluten was only considered a problem for people diagnosed with something called Celiac disease. In the last few years, though, studies have shown that gluten can have an effect even on those of us not diagnosed as gluten allergic.
What is gluten? A component of many grass-related grains, it is a composite of storage proteins. Here’s what it can do to you: it can cause an inflammation in your guts, and worse, trigger a range of autoimmune related diseases.
Now that we know it’s not great for health, here’s a list of foods to avoid if you want to avoid gluten.
Food #1: Various Grains
Fairly straightforward: gluten is predominantly present in grass-related grains. To avoid it, you avoid these grains.
This means avoiding a number of common grain based food, such as chapatis, naan, bread, cakes, cereal, pasta, batter-fried food, and a number of pastries. Many companies claim to offer gluten-free versions of these grains, but make sure they actually are. Especially if you have a gluten allergy like Celiac disease.
Food #2: Alcoholic Beverages
Most common drinks are made from grain-based ingredients. Think whiskey, most vodkas and gin. Then there are beer and malted alcoholic drinks like wine coolers.
A number of people convince themselves that these drinks are ‘okay’ because they are distilled, but the truth is that patients suffer gluten-related problems all the same. If you drink when on a disease-enforced gluten-free diet, you’re doing yourself double damage: these drinks actually have gluten in them, and alcohol inhibits your ability to heal yourself.
Food #3: Sauces And Dressings
This includes a number of common condiments: Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, MSG, and modified food starch are all sauces that contain gluten. Even salads have dressings that contain gluten.
You’ll have to avoid all of these to steer clear of gluten.
Food #4: Sweets And Treats
Sigh, one more reason to deny ourselves candy and chocolate, as if we needed it. But that’s the truth: a number of these are made with flour or other ingredients that contain gluten.
The ‘to avoid’ list reads like the stuff of children’s nightmares: chocolate and candy that contains malt, ice creams, cake frosting and even root beer.
Food #5: Processed And Preserved Meats
The preservatives in processed meats make them a health hazard even if you ignore their gluten content. These are known to increase your cancer risk. In general, avoid processed meat cuts like salami, sausages, pepperoni, liverwurst, and pate. All of these involve grains in their manufacturing process.
The verdict is unclear on whether meat from grain-fed animals is safe for people with a gluten allergy.
There, we’ve covered most of the foods to avoid if you want to avoid gluten. If you’ve got a gluten allergy, avoid all of these will extreme caution. If you don’t indulge with care, and pay attention to the amount of gluten that goes into your body each day.
References:
https://www.glutenfreesociety.org/top-foods-to-avoid-on-a-gluten-free-diet/
