As the old adage says, you are what you eat. It’s been used in advertising campaigns to entice the public to eat their vegetables, buy more dairy products and even to sell diet products. You are what you eat – it’s what someone might say to her friend when he is about to inhale another greasy burger and fries; it is why someone eats broccoli instead of candy.
For many people, thinking this way is common sense. For people pursuing a healthy lifestyle, foods high in sugar and fat are avoided as part of that pursuit. But what about the foods like bagels which contain gluten? Should these foods be avoided by people in pursuit of good health as much as the greasy burger is avoided, or eaten in moderation? Do gluten-free foods help the body work properly?
Gluten is a protein found in foods like wheat, barley, rye and oats. This means pastas, breads, cereals, even canned vegetables and certain dairy products and condiments, all contain gluten. People with certain digestive disorders involving damage to the small intestine avoid gluten and have made gluten-free foods part of their daily lifestyle. For these people, eliminating gluten helps their bodies absorb nutrients more effectively, fending off disorders such as malnutrition, osteoporosis and possibly even infertility.
The cause of these digestive disorders is unknown, and there is no cure. Symptoms range from anemia to nausea, vomiting and fatigue. All general symptoms shared by many health disorders, but in the case of digestive disorders, all these symptoms can be managed by a gluten-free diet. Eliminating gluten allows the intestine to heal and the body to absorb the nutrients it could not absorb before.
There was a time that gluten-free foods were hard to find. Now, as more grocery stores carry a wide range of organic and healthy alternative products, gluten-free foods are becoming more widely available. Packaged foods that don’t contain gluten are labeled gluten-free, but reading labels is always a wise practice if someone wants to be sure the packaged food they are buying does not contain gluten.
For people avoiding gluten as part of a dietary program, a wide variety of foods can be enjoyed. For example, many whole foods do not contain gluten.
1) Cereals made with rice and corn, of buckwheat.
2) Pastas made from brown rice, quinoa, of millet.
3) Eggs, cream, bacon, plain meat and chicken.
4) Honey, jam and dark chocolate.
If someone is feeling sluggish, having problems with digestion or even experiencing skin disorders, their body may have sensitivities to gluten. The good news is adherence to a gluten-free lifestyle may make these problems disappear. Of course, no one should diagnose himself as having gluten sensitivities. Before pursuing a gluten-free lifestyle, always consult a physician and have a few simple tests run to determine if gluten is causing health problems. In fact, eliminating gluten from your diet before a diagnosis is made can make diagnosing a disorder aggravated by gluten more difficult.