If you’re on a gluten free diet, chances are good that your doctor has recommended it for health reasons. You may just be suffering from a wheat allergy and you may have the more serious celiac disease where your autoimmune system does not react well to gliadin, secalin and horedin which are components of different glutens. The initial confusion you may experience when first trying to establish which products are gluten free may well have you desperately scanning the internet for a gluten free restaurant in your immediate vicinity! Scanning the internet may be a particularly good idea, by the way, as you’ll discover that living a gluten free life is not that difficult once you inform yourself of the various products and alternatives on the market.
Most of us have an inkling of the well-known cereals, such as wheat, barley and rye that contain gluten but we’re not that clued up on gluten free flavorings and you’ll need to avoid these when cooking. Standard and commonly used thickening agents are not gluten free either and you’re going to have to read the ingredients on your favorite gravy thickener. I can see you looking desperately for that restaurant again because your new eating regimen is looking daunting and dismal!
Do Not Despair On Your New Lifestyle
There are a great many starches and grains that can be used and are tolerated for those on a gluten free diet. These include maize, rice and potatoes in your commonly known food sources. Sweet potatoes and yams are also quite acceptable. If you’re worried about baking and baked goods, you’ll soon discover the lesser known products such as gram flour (which comes from chickpeas) and millet flour and various nut flours and you’ll discover some diverse and interesting recipes for your gluten free diet.
You may well find that your favorite ketchup is off bounds because the stabilizing agent contains gluten and that can indeed be a sad day in your life. You could compromise by making your own gluten free tomato relish and look upon the experience as a challenge rather than a disaster. On the subject of stabilizing agents, you may be surprised to learn that ice-cream products also need to be examined before eating. There are even certain medicines and vitamin products that are not gluten free as well as various lip glosses, balms and lipsticks. Once you’ve investigated the various products and found suitable gluten free items, this is not an insurmountable barrier at all.
All in all then, your new gluten free lifestyle can be relatively easy to cope with once you’ve done the initial investigation and research required.
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