Living a gluten-free lifestyle

Written by Nancy Forrest | 31 December 2011
Posted in Health

Living a gluten-free lifestyle is a challenge amid the onslaught of wheat, barley, rye and oats in the American diet. Foods that one wouldn’t have thought would contain gluten have it as one of the main ingredients, making it doubly difficult for those with gluten intolerance when shopping for groceries or ordering from a restaurant menu. Many people who are gluten intolerant experience a chilled response from their food server or grocer when they ask probing questions about whether the dish they are ordering or the bread they are purchasing contains wheat, barley or rye, or a more acceptable alternative. But that trend is changing.

As more people discover the benefits of a gluten-free diet, more grocers and restaurants are stepping up to provide products acceptable to a growing number of gluten-free devotees. Cooking at home is made easier by a number of specialty cookbooks and magazines, along with others available in the public library and local bookstores, that can help energize the meal plans for family members with gluten intolerance and do it in a fast, flavorful and healthy manner. Many people with gluten intolerance also have eliminated casein, or milk protein, from their diet as well.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck, one of the hosts of ABC-TV’s “The View,” discovered she suffered from gluten intolerance after experiencing a series of health problems without finding a definitive diagnosis from physicians. She slowly eliminated gluten from her diet and saw her health improve substantially. In 2009, Hasselbeck wrote the book, “The G-free diet: a gluten-free survival guide,” which chronicled her health issues and how her health improved after eliminating gluten from her diet.

One in 250 people are living with celiac disease, a lifelong and dangerous intolerance to gluten-containing foods such as wheat, rye, kamut, spelt, barley and oats. An even larger percentage of the population suffers allergy, sensitivity or food intolerance to glutens without having celiac disease. Maintaining a gluten-free diet requires substantial creativity and constant and lifelong vigilance by celiacs to avoid proteins, or glutens, in their daily diet because ingestion of proteins found in cereal grains damage the small intestines and can result in abdominal cramping, anemia, low bone density and body weight, lupus, fatigue, depression, and a host of other health problems. Along with those with celiac disease, those with wheat or gluten sensitivity usually feel better on a gluten-free diet.

But adults are not the only ones who experience gluten intolerance. Many children require a gluten-free and casein-free diet in order to perform at their optimum. Many parents have to intervene nutritionally on behalf of their children in order to help them succeed and thrive. Whether an adult or child suffers from a wheat allergy, gluten intolerance, celiac disease, or just wants to enjoy the benefits of a diet free from wheat, barley and rye, there are more resources available to make that possible.

The casein-free diet, for example, is often used as an alternative therapy. The gluten-free and casein-free diet eliminates dietary intake of the naturally occurring proteins, gluten, and milk protein dairy products that are in baked goods and prepared goods. Many children experience gastrointestinal difficulties that make it hard for them to digest milk protein properly, and studies show that some children experience a reduced desire for social interaction, block pain messages and increased confusion after ingesting milk protein. Eating or drinking milk protein, which is contained in butter, cheese, yogurt, cream and ice cream, leads to high levels of protein by-products, called casomorphines; in some cases, eliminating these foods can help improve the behavior of some children.

Among the greatest concerns of parents is ensuring that their children receive adequate nutrition despite the elimination of milk protein. These parents are encouraged to supplement their child’s diet with calcium-enriched rice milk, soy milk and orange juice as alternative sources of calcium, while also using olive oil or canola oil instead of butter to further avoid milk protein in their child’s diet. Other substitutions include garnishing tacos with avocado and supplementing their diets with products made of buckwheat, a non-gluten grain.

Encouraging children and adults to make healthy, allergy-free eating choices as part of their lifestyle is the key to maintaining a gluten and casein-free diet. It also includes adults and children eating more whole foods without the use of cane sugar, refined oils or margarine, and making it easy for individuals and families to eat gluten-free and vegan without sacrificing taste.

There are many vegan substitutions for meat, dairy, eggs, gelatin and honey in cooking and baking, and these dairy-free alternatives can be adopted to address gluten and dairy intolerance, which often go hand in hand. Striking a balance is the key, while also discovering how well one can feel without all those allergens.