Gluten-Free!

In case you haven't heard, in recent years, "gluten-free" is now mainstream. Twenty years ago, most people had never heard of gluten. 

While eating gluten-free is not considered a weight loss plan or a diet to lose weight, many people choose this route for various reasons, including that supposed weight loss.

Many people need to eat gluten-free, such as those with celiac disease, an autoimmune disease exacerbated by the protein gluten. People with gluten intolerance also appear to benefit from eliminating gluten.

I am not an expert in celiac disease, and there are plenty of other dietitians in this area; however, I provide an overview of the gluten-free foods most of us eat daily.

Recently, I was at a get-together in which the person kept apologizing for getting the gluten-free tortilla chips (corn tortilla chips). She kept saying that she had mistakenly bought the gluten-free corn chips. Then someone piped up and said, "aren't all corn chips gluten-free?"

I couldn't help but laugh because most corn tortilla chips are naturally gluten-free because they do not contain wheat, barley, or rye. Corn does not have gluten.

It turns out that nearly all the food at that get-together was gluten-free, including potato salad, crab salad, queso dip, pulled pork, and vegetables. The only thing that wasn't gluten-free was the bread for the pulled pork sandwich. And it turns out nobody at this gathering needed to eat gluten-free anyway. It is just my observation of how many foods were available even if someone was choosing or needing to eat gluten-free.

It is common to see things labeled as gluten-free when it isn't necessary. Many foods are naturally gluten-free.

For example, gluten-free peanut butter when there is no reason for it to have gluten.

Many ice creams are labeled as gluten-free when, for the most part, ice cream would not have gluten in it (unless it was, say, chocolate chip cookie dough where the cookie dough would have gluten).

Gluten-free yogurt and many other foods are listed as gluten-free when there would be no reason for them to have gluten.

If you haven't heard by now, gluten is a protein in wheat, barley, and rye. Sometimes oats will have gluten not because oats themselves have gluten but because of how they're grown or processed.

So, people who need to eat gluten-free cannot drink beer but can drink cider and wine if they choose. People who need to eat gluten-free would not be able to have some distilled spirits even, including bourbon, whiskey, and rye. Some vodkas may also have it.

While some people might find it "difficult" to eat gluten-free when told they have to, looking at most meals or foods, it wouldn't be that hard to obtain a gluten-free diet.

For example, one of my favorite go-to super easy dinners is salmon, brown rice, and a cooked vegetable. Not one of those things would naturally have gluten in them. Period.

Now, if I added soy sauce, then there would be gluten. But because that's not an issue for me, soy sauce is not a big deal. But, I could easily switch to tamari, which is virtually the same without gluten. 

What foods are gluten-free?

My morning smoothie, which is often almond milk, frozen fruit, Greek yogurt, and oats, is gluten-free. (Noting that if I needed to be gluten-free, I would double-check my oats to ensure it was certified gluten-free).

My afternoon snack of a cocoa rice cake with peanut butter is gluten-free.

My apple with peanut butter is gluten-free.

My chicken, beef, and pork are gluten-free.

And all fruits and vegetables are gluten-free.

Dairy is gluten-free.

And grains, except wheat, barley, and rye, are gluten-free. Grains mean that rice, quinoa, and buckwheat are gluten-free. Yes, buckwheat. (But not farro, since that is a wheat product.)

And, if someone says they need to eat gluten-free, that doesn't mean they're vegetarian.

That doesn't mean they don't eat meat (unless they are vegetarian, but that has nothing to do with gluten.) That doesn't mean they only can eat salads. It just means they can't eat gluten. 

So this means that most bread is out. Wheat flour tortillas are out. Crackers would be out unless they are rice crackers, almond crackers, or another non-wheat, barley, or rye-based cracker. 

The challenge for the individual who needs to eat gluten-free is to pay attention to what they are eating; this doesn't mean their diet is severely limited, as most people think.

And when it comes to some snack cakes like brownies, cakes, or other baked goods that are "gluten-free," when comparing them side by side with regular baked goods it is not unusual for them to be higher in calories, fat, and sugar. That is because there's added sugar and added fat in the mix there to help fix the taste, resulting in higher calories. 

So next time you reach for something that is gluten-free, don't automatically think it is healthier. Though any fruit or vegetable would be more nutritious than any pastry. The gluten-free part isn't what makes it more nutritious.