Diets That Contain No Gluten

Gluten is the protein found in wheat, barley and rye. For some people, ingesting gluten causes digestive problems such as diarrhea, bloating and gas. People with Celiac Disease suffer a more severe form of gluten intolerance. In addition to digestive problems, untreated Celiac Disease typically leads to osteoporosis, anemia, fatigue, depression and neuropathy. This is most likely due to the malnutrition that results from serious, chronic digestive problems. The main treatment for Celiac Disease and gluten intolerance is a no-gluten diet.

Getting Started

• To follow a gluten-free diet, you will, of course, need to give up traditional bread, crackers, muffins, pizza, pasta and most bakery items. You must also start reading labels. Read the labels on everything in your pantry, on everything in your fridge and on everything you plan to buy at the store. Gluten ingredients can show up almost anywhere: in salad dressings and sauces, in soups and veggie burgers, even in vitamins, medicine and lipstick. The good news is that The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) requires products to identify wheat (gluten) and other common food allergens on the nutritional label. After you've thrown away half the items in your house and are certain you'll never eat again, drive to your nearest health food store and discover all the gluten-free items available to you, thanks to an increased awareness of (and a large market for) specialty food items. You will find gluten-free pasta, bread, rice flour tortillas, bread sticks, sweets, waffles, bagels, buns, pretzels, pizza, pizza dough, frozen entrees, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, burritos and more. The downside is that many of these items can cost significantly more than their gluten-based originals.

Cooking Tips

• Because restaurants are catching up more slowly than the prepared-foods market, you will probably find yourself cooking at home more often. Take your diagnosis as an opportunity to begin following nutritionist-recommended guidelines for healthy eating. Following these guidelines involves more home-cooking and far less restaurant fare whether you are gluten-intolerant or not.

  There are many ingredients to choose from when preparing gluten-free meals. Wheat, although ubiquitous in our culture, need not be the foundation of a tasty meal, and it needn't be the star of the "bread" or "grains" group that forms the base of the USDA Food Pyramid. Grains to use instead of wheat or wheat pasta include brown rice, rice noodles, quinoa, millet and buckwheat (not really a wheat). Add to your grains a healthy portion of protein such as lean meat, fish, tofu, beans or tempeh (a fermented soy bean product, meat-like in texture). Round the meal off with heart-healthy, nutrient-dense fresh or frozen vegetables. If this sounds boring, start experimenting with spices to create dishes you've never heard of from countries you'll probably never visit.

Oats

• People with Celiac Disease used to be advised to not eat oats. The National Institutes for Health now advise that a small amount of oats may be included in a gluten-free diet as long as the oats were not contaminated with wheat during processing. Talk to your doctor or nutritionist about including oats in your diet.