The gluten-free diet is the only treatment today for a celiac or gluten-sensitive person, and following a gluten-free diet means eliminating a large number of foods and taking special care with cross-contamination. It also means avoiding transgressions and accidental contamination outside the home. The gluten-free diet must always be strict, healthy, varied and balanced. We give you the keys to eliminate gluten and traces forever.
Gluten is a protein that is present mainly in wheat, barley, rye, oats (although we already find gluten-free oats on the market) and its derivatives. Thus, all foods that contain any of these cereals are not suitable for celiacs. Hence, the pastries, breads, doughs and pasta that we find daily in supermarkets are products and foods with gluten that are always prohibited in the diet of a celiac or non-celiac gluten sensitive.
Gluten-free diet
Specialists always point out that when following a gluten-free diet, celiac and gluten-sensitive people need to maintain a much more balanced diet because gluten is in all kinds of foods, many of them with a large amount of nutrients that by not being able to ingest, we are leaving to receive, such as those products made with whole grains with very important fiber contributions. We must also take into account that after the diagnosis we will need to eat better and take better care of ourselves so that our body recovers from the damage that gluten may have caused.
We should especially pay more attention to our diet if we have been diagnosed with a Marsh 3 intestine lesion, that is, with villous atrophy. In this case, many experts recommend not introducing processed foods until a few months have passed and the intestine begins to recover.
So, if a varied and balanced diet is essential to be healthy and lead a healthy life, this idea becomes even more important when we talk about celiacs and those sensitive to gluten. But we have a very important asset on our side: all natural foods such as vegetables, eggs, dairy products, fruits, meats, legumes, fish and shellfish are gluten-free by nature and as long as they have not been processed. They are suitable for celiacs. Resorting to them as a fundamental part of our diet is the most recommended for our gluten-free diet. It’s that simple: the gluten-free diet must be based on foods that naturally do not contain gluten. And now we explain the reasons.
Generic foods
These foods and many others form the group of generic foods. When making the purchase we have to know that generic foods will never contain gluten unless the label indicates otherwise. In other words, if, due to a process, some packaged beef fillets could contain gluten, it should specifically indicate this on the packaging. If you don’t put anything, it’s fit. This rule is only true when we talk about generic products. The Federation of Celiac Associations of Spain, through analytics and controls, establishes the group of generics that you can consult in the previous link.
The rest of the processed products that require labeling review and are not part of the list of generics, may only be consumed when the label explicitly states that they are gluten-free with legends such as: “gluten-free”, “suitable for celiacs”, “gluten free”. If we find the expression “low gluten”, they are not suitable. In the event that it does not indicate that they are suitable, but not the opposite either, reading the ingredients will not work, because the current regulation allows not to label traces and if a product contains traces of gluten, it is not suitable for celiacs.
In another group are the prohibited foods that are all those made with cereals with gluten such as wheat, barley, rye and their derivatives.
Whenever we want to consume foods made with gluten-free cereals, we must make sure that, in addition to being gluten-free, they are trace-free. For example, if we want to buy rice flour, it must be labeled “gluten-free”, because there may have been contamination when it was processed, packaged, transported, etc.
How to diet without gluten?
Although the basis of the diet are products that naturally do not contain gluten, we cannot forget all those products that we find on the market today adapted to the gluten-free diet of celiacs and those sensitive to gluten, because they also offer us foods such as cereals, essential in a varied diet. We are talking about pasta, pastries, bread, dough… that are worked specifically to meet our needs. However, these contain a small amount of gluten, that allowed by law, which in the vast majority of cases is 20 particles per million glutens (ppm). Despite being suitable and completely safe products, according to all the studies carried out to date, specialists always recommend not abusing them and remember that the gluten-free diet should be based on foods that naturally do not contain gluten, rather than on products made specifically for celiacs, although these are completely safe.
Dr. Rodrigo, an expert in the digestive system and celiac disease, explained it in the interview he gave to Culicidae: «the celiac diet has to be balanced, you should not abuse products made specifically without gluten and it is more advisable to take them in the breakfast”. That is, if we eat toast for breakfast, eat pasta and have pizza for dinner, although these foods contain minimal amounts, in total an amount that harms us may have been ingested, if we do this daily. So, without doing without them, introduce them in the diet in a responsible way.
It is also important to bear in mind that some brands, to somehow mask the lack of gluten, go too far with sugars and fats in their specific “gluten-free” products, so it is a good idea to read the label carefully to check what is we bought. On the other side of the scale, we have products made in a “gluten-free” artisan way, with quality flours and ingredients that will help us add nutrients and lead a healthier and more balanced gluten-free diet.
Resorting to gluten-free foods and products
And of course, resorting to gluten-free foods and products is useless if a good job is not done in the kitchen to avoid cross-contamination. This occurs when a product with gluten comes into contact with a gluten-free product, and the latter will no longer be suitable for a celiac or for a gluten-sensitive person. To learn how to avoid cross-contamination, we have prepared the Learn to Cook Gluten-Free guide. The consequences of skipping the gluten-free diet can be serious in the long term and the slightest amount of gluten damages the celiac intestine.
Dr. Ascension Marcos, an expert in nutrition and celiac disease, points out that the diet of a celiac has to be like that of any person without celiac disease. «You have to eat everything, but without exceeding, of course. It is essential that celiacs and non-celiacs consume carbohydrates, they are essential in a healthy and varied diet and yet we eat few carbohydrates and too many proteins.
It is essential, Marcos points out, to resort to natural products that originally do not contain gluten, as they are and as we have said before, fish, meat, shellfish, fruits, vegetables, legumes, dairy products, eggs… It is the basis, Marcos indicates, of the Mediterranean diet and “we are fortunate to be able to use it to improve our diet”.
Iron and folic acid in the gluten-free diet
Celiacs have problems absorbing certain nutrients and it is easy to present folic acid deficiency and especially iron deficiency, before diagnosis, although experts also point out that children and adolescents with celiac disease also have low levels of vitamin D. Folic acid is vitamin B9, a very important element for the health of our heart, our nervous system and for the formation of the fetus, which is why it is so important during pregnancy. Some gluten-free foods that provide us with folic acid are avocados, asparagus, legumes and green leafy vegetables in general.
The same thing happens with iron, it is essential and yet many times we have it low before diagnosis due to malabsorption problems caused by celiac disease, and even many celiac patients after months of a gluten-free diet still have low levels and iron deficiency anemia, the most common extra digestive symptom in celiacs. In this case we will find help in mussels, clams, Venus, scallops, cockles, lentils, oregano, bay leaf, thyme and much more.
But experts also point out that in a gluten-free diet some foods should not be missing. In addition to the natural ones already mentioned, some others are the following:
Brown rice: Contains more fiber (very important since there are many celiacs with constipation problems) than normal rice and is more natural. It also has a large number of vitamins such as vitamin A, B1, B3, and B12, proteins, minerals such as iron, sodium or potassium and slow-absorbing carbohydrates.
Quinoa: Quinoa is a seed that is prepared and consumed as if it were a cereal and is tremendously nutritious. It contains protein, fire, manganese, phosphorus, folate, copper, iron, zinc, potassium, vitamins B1, B2 and B6, calcium, vitamin B3 and vitamin E. Do you need any more reason?
Buckwheat: It is often used to prepare Breton crepes and galettes. Delicious and very nutritious.
Corn: It is our great ally, it is, together with wheat, one of the most abundant cereals, that is why many of our products are made with its flour. It is also perfect for practicing sports because it provides a lot of energy. It also has beta-carotene, fiber, carbohydrates and high amounts of vitamin B1 and B3. It also helps reduce cholesterol.
Millet: It is an alkalizing and demineralizing cereal. It contains a large amount of phosphorus, magnesium, vitamins and fiber. As for eating out, it is always necessary to take extreme precautions and ask, regardless of whether they have an allergen list, if they can avoid cross-contamination.
