How To Begin A Gluten-Free Lifestyle

When deciding on a new nutritional path, it’s important to remember that what is healthy for one person may not be for another. For me, I had studied about transitioning to a Gluten-Free way of eating long before I made the change myself and embraced my curiosity throughout the transition, which is especially important when your body reacts differently to any change expected. Even if you have a perfectly normal interaction with gluten, it is best to reduce the overall amount of gluten consumed daily.

What is Gluten?

While most are familiar with the term “gluten,” the understanding of it is not understood by many. Foods that contain gluten are highly processed, which typically means the food is devoid of high-quality nutrients to nourish the body. Gluten acts like a glue on the intestinal tract to “glue down” the vill, fingerlike tissue, that helps keep the intestinal tract motile and healthy. The intestinal tracts motility maintains regularity while the vill helps to absorb nutrients. Gluten contributes to inflammation not only in the gut but the entire body. One of its’ proteins, gliadin, increases gut permeability, also known as “Leaky Gut Syndrome.” As the permeability of the gut increases, it can allow unintended molecules through, so as the gut becomes more “leaky” it raises the chance for food sensitivities, autoimmune conditions, thyroid problems, malabsorption of nutrients, amongst others.

By avoiding gluten, many potential benefits include: less or no bloating, repairing of the gut lining allowing for healthy digestion, increased energy, clearer skin, and reduced chronic inflammation. Mental clarity and enhanced mood also benefit from reducing or eliminating gluten as doing so lowers the overall systemic inflammatory reaction of the body that helps to alleviate or prevent neurological conditions, since the gut and brain are deeply connected, also reducing symptoms of depression.

Eight Steps to transition to a Gluten-Free Diet

1. Discover Your Why

Before jumping right into a new way of eating, take a moment to focus on what your motivation is for wanting to remove gluten from your diet. Knowing and understanding this “why” will help everyone you are faced with the decision of whether or not to choose a meal containing gluten. Will your decision to remove gluten from your diet leave your future with peace, or stress? How can you envision the change six months from when you begin the process? Make sure to highlight what it is that you want to achieve and reflect on them throughout the entire process to help keep you centered on your path toward those goals.

2. Identify Your Support

Who is the support group that is encouraging you to make this decision? Is the nutritional shift radical from what your diet has usually consisted? As humans, we like to feel a sense of belonging, so we mirror the people around us even if it doesn’t move us toward our desires. For inevitable success, surround yourself with people that you want to be mirroring. Begin to notice how you would like to be supported and what thoughts or feelings are recognized as you imagine sharing the decision you’ve made about your health. Support can include cheering from the sidelines, sharing recipes to try, exploring Gluten-Free or gluten friendly restaurant’s. Some great resources are both the Gluten-Free Intolerance Group and the Gluten-Free Media Group that provide extensive information and research as well as continued sources on this topic.

3. Build Awareness Through Education

What is Gluten-Free and what benefits through avoidance? Build your awareness and discover which foods and products contain gluten so empowerment choices can be made about what you eat. Many foods are naturally Gluten-Free but gluten also “hides” in many unexpected places including- but not limited to- soy sauce; thick soups and sauces; alcohol; candy; even over the counter medications and lotions. Take the change as slowly as you need to, if you notice challenges arising, find a Health Coach to work alongside.

4. Shift Your Focus

When you first go Gluten-Free, it can seem to feel like all your favorite options are gone, which is simply an illusion as there are a large variety of new foods, herbs, and spices to explore. Searching out tools to utilize like books, blogs, apps and social media accounts devoted to this style of nutrition allows for instant access to quick, simple recipes to experiment with to find what you like best. Stay consistent throughout the process and even keeping a small journal where you can reflect by listing dishes you want to experiment cooking using gluten-free alternatives, or by asking yourself questions like: “what is one food that surprised me when I tried it?”, or “what is one thing I have learned about my body since making this transition?”.

5​. Restock Your Kitchen

Filling your fridge and pantry with naturally gluten-free essentials helps keep commonly used items on hand, especially spices and herbs that are used for common dishes. When purchasing condiments and other ingredients, be sure to look for gluten-free brands and check the labels. Keeping a gluten-free quick reference guide on hand when grocery shopping makes things quick and easy. ​Labels tell us where and how our food was grown, raised or caught, and what impacts this had on the environment. Labels can be easily differentiated by “certified” and “non-certified.” Companies often label naturally gluten-free items as “gluten-free” such as bottled spring water, whole cute of meat, or produce. Wheat-free does not necessarily mean gluten-free. Grains such as wheat, rye, barley, malt, or oats are off limits unless specifically marked “GF.” Choosing organic produce as much as possible reduces chemical and pesticide consumption by reviewing which fruits and vegetables are most and least sprayed with chemicals.

6​. Cook at Home

Preparing and cooking your food at home is one of the easiest ways to ensure you are eating the highest quality of food by knowing what is and what is not in your food. Before your week starts, look at your calendar and notice any opportunities in which you can prepare gluten-free meals at home. Check your social calendar to see if you have any lunch meetings or social events at restaurants and then decide how many meals you would like to eat gluten-free that week. Food prepping is immensely helpful too if you have a busy week ahead. Once you know how many gluten-free meals you want to have that week, begin to think about your cravings. Whether it is a specific dish or the flavors of a certain ethnic food, hop onto Google, or Pinterest to find an abundance of recipes for you to use. Double check your herbs and spices to make sure you are up to date and stocked on what it is you will need. If you can’t cook, there are gluten-free meal delivery options that bring homecooked meals to your door.

7​. Proceed Gradually

Honor the learning curve of this new way of eating and any challenges encountered along the way. You are learning new ways to shop by reading labels and preparing new types of meals. Each week choose how many meals you would like to eat that are gluten-free and then gradually increase the number of meals until you have reached your goal. Depending on the severity of your gluten intolerance, a tiered-down approach to slowly remove gluten from your diet is a simple and seamless way to make this transition. If its medically necessary, then a faster transition may be required. Commit to having one gluten-free meal a day and slowly increase it until all of your meals are free of gluten. Following the 80/20 rule where you strive to eat 80% of the time is a great introduction into eating Gluten-Free. For some, even eating Gluten-Free 51% of the time is an improvement for them.

8​. Create Success While Dining Out

Depending on the level of intensity of your reaction to gluten, traditional restaurants may pose as a problem. While many restaurants offer gluten-free options in their menu’s, cross-contamination may cause a reaction due to contamination throughout the kitchen. Searching out gluten-free kitchens is just as important as searching out gluten-free dishes, learn what works better for you and your body. Remember to embrace curiosity and learning as dining out during the beginning of the transition can feel daunting. Utilize apps like Yelp or Google to search “gluten-free” restaurants in your area and read reviews to gauge ones suited for you to try. Other apps like scanglutenfree.com, glutenfreetravelsite.com, findmeglutenfree.com, and glutenfreepassport.com are great apps to become familiar.

Today, a lot of restaurants respect the dietary restrictions and choices of their patrons and include gluten-free options on their menu, or their chef is prepared to make substitutions. Asking the right questions to the waitstaff of the restaurant, or by researching restaurant options before dining is best when transitioning to gluten-free.

What’s Next?

It is essential to always keep in mind is that “life happens” and there will be times when there are few Gluten-Free options available. Eating is meant to be pleasurable so if one finds themselves judging a specific food they ate, turn back to curiosity and ask yourself what it is your craving, what is it your body needs? You may find a way of eating that works right away or decides to change if entering a new phase in life that changes stress levels. Continue to listen to your body and stay curious as to which foods are going to help you achieve optimum health wherever you are at in your life.