When You Are Gluten Sensitive - What to Eat and What Not to Eat!
Gluten is a group of proteins that can be found in grains. The presence of gluten in food gives it a sticky consistency. Gluten acts like glue to hold the food together and maintain their shape. Some of the grains where gluten is present are barley, rye, spelt, and the most commonly consumed grain, wheat. Gliadin and glutenin are the two primary types of proteins that are present in gluten.
Gluten sensitivity is a medical condition where your body reacts in certain ways when you consume food that has gluten. This sensitivity occurs when you grow an immune reaction from food that contains gluten like barley, wheat, rye, etc.
Gluten sensitivity can be categorized into two types. One, which is known as celiac disease and two, which is known as the non-celiac gluten sensitivity. The first kind, which is the celiac disease, is a serious disorder where eating food that contains gluten might affect your small intestine. If the condition is left untreated, the patient will not be able to absorb nutrients from their food, which can then cause various health complications. The second kind, which is known as non-celiac gluten sensitivity is slightly less complicated. While most symptoms are the same in this case, the good news is that the problem is immediately resolved when the source of gluten is removed from the food.
What Causes Gluten Insensitivity?
An inflammatory reaction by the body to gluten is what causes gluten sensitivity in a person. As mentioned earlier, gluten is a form of protein that can be found in food grains like wheat, barley, and rye. If you are sensitive to gluten, even a tiny amount of gluten in food can cause an inflammatory reaction in your body. So, anyone who is gluten sensitive must be extremely cautious about what goes inside of your food.
There are several signals that your body send out to help you understand that you are gluten sensitive.
Here are some symptoms of gluten intolerance:
Headaches
Gluten can trigger headaches – both mild ones and severe ones like a migraine. The headache episodes might get more frequent if you are not aware that you are gluten sensitive and keep consuming food that contains gluten.
Digestive Problems
Digestive problems are the most common symptom of gluten sensitivity. Most people who are gluten sensitive have complained of bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and heartburn. Some have also reported stomachache that is both mild and extremely painful. When you suffer from digestive problems due to gluten sensitivity, you can suffer from various other problems like fatigue, anemia, and weight loss that could be the result of malnutrition.
Neurological Problems
This might come as a surprise to you, but well, it is true. Gluten sensitivity can cause neurological problems in a human being. If you are gluten sensitive, you may sometimes experience a tingling sensation in your arms and legs. This tingling sensation is caused by gluten-induced peripheral neuropathy. Another neurological problem that is caused by gluten is Gluten ataxia. This condition can cause impaired coordination, as a result of which you may face difficulty in swallowing, walking and running. You may also experience slurred speech.
Gluten sensitivity may also cause medical problems like encephalitis, where there is an inflammation in the brain, which could result in seizures. If you experience a foggy brain and frequent mood swings regularly, you need to see a doctor immediately because it might be related to encephalitis.
Skin Rashes
This is another common problem that a gluten sensitive person faces. If you are sensitive to gluten, you might develop a skin condition called dermatitis herpetiformis (DH). DH causes skin problems such as the burning of the skin, bumps on the skin, red itchy skin, and itching of the skin. Gluten intolerance also causes other skin problems like chronic urticaria, also known as hives. Other skin disorders include psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis, commonly known as eczema.
And that is not all. Gluten sensitivity can also cause other health issues like Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, fertility problems, etc.
Now that you know what gluten sensitivity is, how it can trouble your body, and its symptoms, you might be wondering what all you can include in your diet, and the food items that you should avoid at all costs. Well, it's easy. You just need to avoid all food items that contain gluten in it. And while your doctor will provide you with a detailed list, we have done our best to provide you with a compact list with all the items that you can eat and the items that you must avoid at all costs.
Gluten-free Food List
Fruits and Vegetables
People sensitive to gluten can eat all sorts of fruits and vegetables. Fresh fruits and vegetables are naturally free of gluten and hence are allowed in the diet. However, you must be careful while eating processed and packaged fruits and vegetables because they sometimes contain gluten, like malt, hydrolyzed wheat protein, modified food starch, etc. However, fresh fruits like oranges, apples, bananas, kiwis, etc., and fresh vegetables like spinach, broccoli, onions, green beans, carrots, etc. are quite preferred for gluten-free meals.
If you are gluten intolerant, avoid pre-chopped, processed, canned, and dried fruits and vegetables.
Nuts and Seeds
Nuts and seeds are free of gluten, and hence very good for someone following a gluten-free diet. Nuts and seeds are a brilliant source of both fiber and protein. Some of the popular edible seeds are flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, muskmelon seeds, and sunflower seeds. Some of the edible nuts are cashews, walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds.
Cheese, Yogurt, Cream
And finally, dairy products. Yes, you can eat most dairy products like butter, cheese, cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, ghee, etc. They are all gluten-free and so, allowed on a gluten-free diet. However, if you are gluten sensitive, you must avoid malted milk drinks.
You must also check the ingredients list of ice creams, flavored yogurts, and processed cheese because some do contain traces of gluten and hence, can be harmful to your health.
Quinoa, Potato Flour, Soya Flour
Yes, it is true that in a gluten-free diet you are not allowed to eat atta, maida, barley and rye. So, if you are worried about missing out on soft chapatis, parathas, bread, cakes, and kulchas, let’s give you some good news. You can make and eat all of those and much more by using flours like almond flour, soy flour, potato flour, tapioca flour, quinoa flour, oats flour, sorghum flour, etc. These flours can be used to cook food because they are entirely gluten-free.
Fish, Meat, and Poultry
Poultry, fish, and meat are good options in a gluten-free diet. You can eat all sorts of meat (fresh lamb, beef, goat, pork, etc.), poultry (fresh turkey, chicken), seafood (fresh fish, etc.) since they are completely gluten-free. However, try to avoid cold cuts, processed meat, ready-to-eat meat, and ground meat, as these products may contain traces of gluten.
