In the past few years, a lot of people are being diagnosed with gluten intolerance. This is a condition in which a person has an allergic reaction to gluten, a group of proteins found in grains like wheat, rye, and barley. Wheat allergy, celiac disease, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity are all forms of gluten intolerance.
Gluten intolerance can be managed by following a gluten-free diet. It is the best way to control the body’s allergic reaction to gluten. Failure to do so may lead to severe discomfort and adverse health effects. Some of the most common side effects may include nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, and fatigue. Some people may also experience joint pain, skin rashes, anxiety, headache, dizziness, muscle pain, and numbness.
If you think you are gluten intolerant, you must consult a good healthcare practitioner immediately. He will perform some diagnostic tests to evaluate if you suffer from celiac disease.
Moving on, the best way to prevent the symptoms of gluten intolerance is by consuming a gluten-free diet. Here, we will look at some effective dietary tips for those suffering from this issue.
Avoid all Products Containing Wheat, Rye, and Barley
The best way to prevent any flare-up of symptoms is to avoid foods that contain gluten. This includes grains like wheat, rye, barley, wheat berries, farro, farina, triticale, kamut, and spelt. Although oats are naturally gluten-free, they may be contaminated with gluten during the processing stages.
You can replace all foods containing gluten in your diet with gluten-free substitutes. Thankfully, nowadays there are plenty of gluten-free options for bread, pasta, cereals, and crackers available in the market.
Avoid Baked Foods
Most baked goods are typically made of wheat flour or other gluten-containing grains. Thus, for people with gluten intolerance, avoiding such foods is very important to prevent symptoms. The most common baked goods that you must steer clear of include cakes, cookies, soft and hard pretzels, doughnuts, pastries, waffles, and pancakes.
Read Food Labels Carefully
The best way to avoid gluten intolerance symptoms is by consuming unprocessed, single-ingredient food items. However, if that is not possible, you must carefully read the food labels of the products you buy.
While buying processed food items, it is important to carefully go through the labels and determine if they contain gluten or not. You must avoid foods with dextrin, emulsifiers, stabilizers, corn starch, malt, and modified wheat starch.
Go For Fresh Meats, Eggs, Poultry, Fish, and Dairy Products
Animal proteins such as meat, poultry, eggs, fish, shellfish, and dairy products are naturally gluten-free. They are extremely healthy and nutritious and make for excellent meal choices but not for those with gluten intolerance.
Also, you must increase the intake of legumes, nuts, avocados, olive oil, millets, quinoa, and brown rice. You can prepare all these food items along with meat at home for a wholesome meal. But make sure to keep your storage and cooking utensils clean to avoid any cross-contamination.
Read Supplement Labels Carefully
Many times, people suffering from celiac disease have nutritional deficiencies. In such a case, the doctor may advise you to take one or more supplements to boost your health and wellbeing. Most common supplements help to eradicate nutritional deficiencies of the nutrients like calcium, iron, vitamin D, and zinc.
People who are gluten intolerant must choose their supplements very carefully. They must go through the supplement labels to ensure it does not contain gluten. You can try supplements from Orzax as they are quite effective. Besides, the company is very careful about producing gluten-free products.
Wrapping Up
With these simple dietary tips in mind, it is easy to avoid allergic reactions to foods, especially in those suffering from celiac disease. Also, it is important to watch out for gluten intolerance and cross-contamination that occurs when naturally gluten-free foods come in contact with foods that contain gluten. This can happen at restaurants or any other outside eating place.
Lastly, a gluten-free diet may offer several health benefits. Because it is light on the stomach, it may ease digestive issues, lower inflammation, boost energy levels, and even help you lose weight.