Going Gluten Free

If you are or think you may be gluten intolerant (or have the more serious form called Celiac's Disease) then you need to adhere to a strict gluten free diet. I recently spent a week gluten free. I thought that I might be gluten intolerant and so I did the diet. It's not as simple as it might sound. That's why I'm making this post to inform those about what I learned through my own research.


Alot of websites had the basics about going gluten free: No barley, wheat or rye which includes...

• Beer
• Bagels
• Bread
• Anything containing MSG

I know it sucks but they make gluten free beer and bread and so there will always be a way to cope. Or you could just find a taste for hard liquor (nevermind that's probably a bad idea).

There are lots of grains that are gluten free, here are a few.

• Quinoa
• Amaranth
• Rice
• Millet seed

If you are wondering about a specific food I bet this website can help. It has a handy dandy guide that denotes whether a food is good to eat, questionable or forbidden in a gluten free diet. It is important for someone with a gluten issue to maintain a VERY strict gluten free diet. This is because the disease is only triggered when gluten is in the system. Celiac's is an autoimmune disorder. This means that the body's immune system is attacking itself. In this case when gluten enters the intestines it causes the body to think that it is an invader. When it attacks the gluten it also damages the intestines which can lead to vitamin deficiency. Okay, get it? This is serious! Stick to the freakin' diet and you'll feel alot better.

I went to whole foods in a quest to replace the food staples that were now off limits. These included: bagels, crackers, bread and cereal. Whole foods has a special baked section dedicated to gluten free products. That's where I bought bagels and bread. I found some delicious prairie bread which has sesame, flax, sunflower and pumpkin seeds in it. The bagels have a very bready texture unlike the thick chewy texture of most bagels. Gluten free bread products will not taste exactly like wheat. The prairie bread was delicious but different. Its flavor is more obvious than most bread.

I found some great alternatives for crackers and snacks. For my crackers, which I use to eat cheese and hummus I found plenty of variety! I got two kinds: an alternative and a traditional. The alternative crackers were made of flax, sesame, poppy and some other seeds. These were not like regular crackers which are made from flour. Do not get me wrong, they are absolutely delicious and a new favorite for sure. You have to be open-minded when searching for these products. What you find may be something new and look a little bizarre. Like I said, be open-minded. The other crackers were traditional, made of some kind of flour and flavored with tomato! Yummy. The brand of these is Glutino which makes alot of gluten-free products (including cookies).

Oats and farro are two grains that are disputed. There has been alot of debate over oats and whether they contain gluten. I found a conclusion that said that oats have finally been deemed safe to eat but until the decision becomes verified I'm tempted to be wary of them. Farro has a miniscule amount of gluten but should still be avoided because no amount is a safe amount. This may be a bad analogy but would you say "I'm only going to have a little cocaine"? It's still bad for you! Just don't do it.

I'm going to end it here. If there's anything else you have questions about I will try my damnedest to find you an answer. I hope this article helps those who may be confused or just curious. I feel like alot of time when I go searching for something on the net I have a very hard time finding a source that answers all of my questions. I hope that by compiling all of what I found into a single place that I can help someone find the answers easier.