What is gluten?
Gluten is a type of protein that is often found in wheat/wheat products, rye, and barley. Gluten is the substance that often acts as a “glue” to hold food together. Gluten can be found in a variety of foods including bread, baked goods, pasta, cereal, soy sauce, soups, beer, and oats.
How does gluten affect the body?
Those with an allergy or sensitivity to gluten will notice the following symptoms when they ingest a gluten-containing food(s)[1]:
- Bloating
- Diarrhea/Constipation
- Abdominal pain
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Skin problems including psoriasis, alopecia, chronic urticarial
- Depression/Anxiety
- Iron-deficiency anemia
- Autoimmune disorders
- Joint/muscle pain
- Leg/arm numbness
- Brain fog
I initially had heard of the Paleo diet which is a gluten-free, soy-free, and dairy-free diet from my mom who had tried it with success. I remember when she would tell me how much better she felt by eating this way and I figured it couldn’t hurt for me to try it as well, I mean what did I have to lose? Within the first month, I noticed a huge change especially in my face. I noticed that my body didn’t look as “inflamed” and my body was feeling a lot better than it had in years.
Over the years, I’ve noticed during the times that I’ve unknowingly ingested gluten products, I have felt a lot of bloating, horrible abdominal pain, a grayish skin tone on my face, and brain fog where I can’t think or speak clearly/easily. I often think of how during the few times that I’ve unknowingly eaten gluten and the reaction that I’ve had from it, I wonder how my body was reacting when I was eating gluten daily essentially “poisoning” my own body. Over the years that I’ve been gluten free, I’ve learned what questions to ask when eating out and what to look out for when eating any foods or beverages. A lot of the learning is simply trial and error, and of course just taking the time to learn about a gluten free lifestyle.
If you’re interested in starting your own gluten free lifestyle, I suggest the following:
- Use a Gluten free scanner app – I use GF Scanner – it will tell you if something is gluten free, contains gluten, or may potentially contain gluten (should avoid to be on the safe side)
- You may want to check out these websites for gluten free beginners guides, it should answer a lot of your questions about where you can find gluten:
https://canyonglutenfree.com/blog/82/a-beginners-guide-to-gluten-free
For gluten free recipes, you can find tons on Pinterest but I also follow these bloggers for recipe inspiration:
For gluten free recipes, you can find tons on Pinterest but I also follow these bloggers for recipe inspiration:
Cheers to your health,
Chelsea
[1] Bjarnadottir, A. (2016). The 14 Most Common Signs of Gluten Intolerance. [online] Healthline. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/signs-you-are-gluten-intolerant#section3 [Accessed 14 Feb. 2020].
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