Don’t want to read? Watch the video ABOVE instead.
People often do not show the symptoms of gluten sensitivity until get really, sick.
People with long-standing, unaddressed gluten sensitivity can end up with leaky gut or intestinal permeability, which is the official term in medicine, or with terrible intestinal disorders like ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, Celiac disease IBS, etc.
Too many times we do not realize that gluten sensitivity is an issue and its one of the most underdiagnosed health conditions today.
There are different possible reactions that people experience when they stop gluten.
Some patients can feel much better right away.
Some feel withdrawal symptoms for a few weeks and then feel better.
But some do not feel better, even after a couple of months. These clients would come back to me upset saying this gluten-free diet does not work. I say: “Not so fast, please”. There are many things to consider here.
One: How long did you stay 100% gluten-free? If we really suspect gluten sensitivity and your answer is less than 6 months of 100% gluten-free, go back to step 1.
Two: Rule out you there is no hidden gluten in your foods. Please, watch my video about Hidden Gluten coming up.
Three: Test, test, and re-test. And not just for gluten sensitivity. Please, also test for leaky gut presence to address the problem from both ends.
So, let us get to Gluten Swapping: Gluten-free means avoiding ALL foods that include gluten like wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, bulgur, couscous, semolina, and durum flour. Oats are most likely not Ok as well.
What Grains Are OK?
Buckwheat
Quinoa (technically a veggie or a seed)
Amaranth
Millet
Corn
Brown rice
Wild Rice
Arrowroot
Tapioca
Bean Flours
It is truly easier today to eat gluten-free. Many products are labeled GLUTEN FREE but with all these conveniences of gluten-free labeling, we get the marketing lure that comes along with it.
I always teach my clients that the healthiest options are whole foods. So, if you take the gluten-free whole grain like brown rice or millet for example, and make a porridge out of it, it remains whole food. The moment you make flour out any kind of grain, the less nutritious and helpful this product will become.
So, if you are swapping for gluten-free grains, your best bet is to cook it into a porridge rather than mill it or use a prepared flour for cooking.
My best tip for cooking quinoa is to use a 15-minute rule:
Once it boils, cook 5 min on high, 5 min on medium, and 5 minutes on low(simmer). Right before you finish cooking, add some Herbamaire, garlic spice, and a tiny amount of black pepper. Add some MCT oil, mix it, and turn off the stove. It will end up tender, added MCT oil will be easy to absorb (especially helpful to those with digestive problems) and it is a comforting warm meal full of protein and fiber. Of course, you can do your own tweaking adding more protein, greens, or oil according to your nutritional needs (hopefully you know what that is or working with a functional medicine practitioner like myself that can help you figure that out).
Here Are My Tips for Gluten Free Kitchen:
1)When trying to avoid gluten it sure better to cook at home, if you can.
2)Try to plan and cook for 2 to 3 days at a time. Cook your own soups and stews in larger quantities. Then package that food into small non-plastic containers, like the silicone ones, for example, and freeze for up to one month. The reason I do not recommend plastic is because of the environment and your health. When you heat up or cool off the food inside the container and the temperature changes, plastic articles pa may seep into your food.
3)Always keep raw nut butters and nut flours for quick meals. A great choice would be to use raw almond butter with apple butter on a toasted slice of whole-grain gluten free bread for a snack. And nut flours make great grain-free muffins for breakfast.
Don’t want to read? Watch the video ABOVE instead. I am keeping up with the most updated science that researches gluten-free diet and even though we are still lacking studies and reports to prove amazing benefits I want to tell the world how much better many people, my clients, my family, and myself are feeling living gluten-free.
And today I’m talking about the basics here: what is Gluten Free?And at the end, I will share what supplement can help out with gluten sensitivity.
Gluten free means staying away from following grains completely:
WHEAT
BARLEY
RYE
SPELT
KAMUT
BULGUR
COUSCOUS
SEMOLINA
DURUM FLOUR
TRITICALE (hybrid of wheat and rye)And Many OAT brands
When I try to convince my clients to go gluten-free many people are open to it. They want to feel better and they trust me. But some people just can’t imagine that they would have to stop eating their white bread, bagels, donuts, pizza, and rolls.
How can you live without all these foods? You want to tell me that I will not eat bread anymore? Well, that would be the case years ago. You couldn’t find a decent tasting bread, bagels, or pizza. But now things are looking much better. More and more companies are starting to make gluten-free products.
I still get very concerned when people tell me that they can’t give up their white bread. The reason I get worried is because there’s a phenomenon called “carbohydrate addiction”, often goes hand in hand with insulin dysregulation or blood sugar instability and it’s not very simple to get rid of.
People may be addicted to white flour more than they think. It’s almost like a chemical addiction. You may need great interventions trying to quit white flour. And the interesting part is that those that are more resistant to quitting white flour need it the most. The addicted ones are the ones that have worse gluten intolerance most of the time.
Does it mean that you have to live gluten-free forever?
Yes, in some cases it does mean that.
It takes a long time for people with severe gluten sensitivity to reset their digestive system. And you know what; so many people don’t even know that they have gluten sensitivity.
It’s still not common to get tested for gluten sensitivity. The older types of testing can come up false negative and you’d be happy to hear from your doctor that you are free to eat all the gluten you want. You are happy because you get no restrictions. The doctor is happy because he just made you happy. Everyone is happy…. Really? And it’s nobody’s fault really, the testing needs to be perfected and some doctors need additional training for gluten testing.
Some tests require you to eat a lot of gluten to test properly and often that isn’t done so you can get the false negative results. And I’ll have a separate video on gluten sensitivity and testing.
Can it be done smoothly? Can you be gluten free?
Yes, for sure. It means you have to stop eating wheat, barley, rye and oat. Also, it means you need to start avoiding hidden gluten in the restaurant. I’ll talk about hidden gluten in the videos coming up. Yes, it means you want to try to find delicious substitutes for pizza, bagels and cookies. But most importantly it means that you will start repairing and healing your intestinal lining. And that will improve your immune system health tremendously.
So say yes to gluten free bread, occasional gluten free cookies, gluten free pasta, occasional gluten free pizza, etc….And do it smart, read the ingredients and make sure there are no harmful ingredients. After all they are still starchy foods and they should be limited for someone who wants to have very healthy eating habits.
Following are the foods you need to avoid on a gluten free diet:
Wheat Starch
Cereal Binding
Couscous
Wheat Germ
Wheat Bran
Einkorn
Emmer
Filler
Farro
Graham Flour
Kamut
Malt
Malt Extract
Malt Flavoring
Malt Syrup
Oat Bran
Oat Bran
Oats, unless certified gluten free, and even those I avoid
Oat Syrup
Triticale
Spelt (Dinkel)
Semolina
These are the examples of common foods containing gluten:
Breads
Rolls
Biscuits
Cupcakes
Pastries
Cakes
Pies
Cookies
Pizza
Cereals
Ice Cream Cones
Pasta
Fried Vegetables
Stuffing
Toast
French Toast
Croissants
Croutons
Breaded Fish or other Breaded Food Products
Hamburger Buns
Bagels
Waffles
Graham Crackers
Crackers
Pretzels
Pita Bread
Corn Bread (Unless Specified GF)
French Fries (if Frozen)
It may be difficult to stop all these common foods. I understand that. But if you want to improve your immune system and gastrointestinal health you need to start today.
Please read the ingredients on the gluten free labels. Make sure there isn’t too much sugar to substitute for the taste. Not all gluten free products are good for you.
Please, note wheat-free diet doesn’t always mean gluten free diet. Make sure it says wheat-free AND Gluten Free on the packaging.
Benefits of Gluten Free:
Gluten free diet can improve symptoms of gastrointestinal disorders.
Gluten free diet can improve immune system health.
Patients on gluten free diet respond to traditional and/or alternative treatments faster.
And if you are true Celiac, this is your life. What is a gluten free life?
It means you start gluten free diet and stick to it.
I wanted to wish you all to have great health and amazing energy!
To me, Back to School time means a lot. There’s so much new growth and development around me each new school year. It’s my responsibility to make sure I keep my immune system in the best shape ever so I can serve others and be there for my wonderful family. It’s my responsibility to keep my kids healthy, prepared and focused for the new school year. That’s why I am doing all the things I’m teaching and what I am recommending. I am paying attention to my sleep, my working hours, my “me time”, my exercise, my own growth and development and my “de-stress” time and I’m taking a lot of immune system support.
If you have questions regarding immune system support during COVID-19 times and would like me to talk about anything particular in the Facebook group page, let me know.
The offer is 20% off all supplements ordered this week from both of my dispensaries:
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