A gluten-free diet is a health food in which all foods containing gluten are excluded from the diet. The diet is prescribed for diseases of the endocrine and nervous system, as well as pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract.
Gluten (gluten) is a complex of plant proteins (prolamins, glutenins) found in cereals like wheat, oats, rye, and so on.
Who is the diet addressed to?
Using a gluten-free diet is a prerequisite for conditions such as:
- celiac disease;
- gluten intolerance (in severe and atypical forms);
- irritable bowel syndrome;
- autism, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis;
- anemia in children under 3 years of age.
The use of gluten-free foods for gastrointestinal tract diseases and neurological pathologies can have the following consequences:
- It causes chronic inflammation of the small intestine, which results in pathogenic bacteria and toxins entering the bloodstream.
- It violates the balance of the intestinal microflora and results in increased reproduction of pathogenic bacteria.
- It disrupts digestive processes as a result of the adhesion of villi to the walls of the small intestine, which is designed to digest and assimilate proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
- Causes autoimmune diseases because the immune system releases antibodies to gluten molecules, which attack not only the gastrointestinal tract, but also gluten-like proteins in the cells of the thyroid gland, heart and nervous system. This is how autoimmune thyroiditis, type 1 diabetes mellitus, dermatitis, infertility, and early menopause occur.
The presence of gluten-containing foods in the diet is manifested by persistent stool disorders (constipation, diarrhea), flatulence, frequent edema, caries, as well as the appearance of ulcers on the oral mucosa and persistent skin rashes.
In most cases, iron deficiency anemia is caused by gluten intolerance, which is manifested by constant fatigue, brittle nails, hair loss, and lack of weight.
List of permitted and prohibited products
To maintain a gluten-free diet, two categories of food are excluded from the diet: with a lot of gluten in the composition (for example, wheat bread) and with hidden gluten (for example, mayonnaise, kettle, etc. ).
On a gluten-free diet, the following foods are excluded from the diet:
- cereals, namely wheat, rye, oats, barley;
- products of the flour of these cereals, including bread, lava, cakes, cookies, whole grain bread;
- cereals (oatmeal, rolled oats, bulgur, pearl barley);
- bran from these cereals;
- products with a small amount of wheat flour in the composition (bouillon cubes, soy sauce, buckwheat noodles, sausages and canned food, crab sticks, mayonnaise, kettle, tea bags, yogurt, ice cream);
- chocolates, store jam, caramel;
- kvass, beer and other alcoholic beverages made from cereals;
- coffee with flavors and additives, decaffeinated coffee;
- products with "traces of gluten" due to production, namely table vinegar, food starch, semolina, some types of cheeses, dry seasonings and spices, and so on.
Due to the presence of hidden gluten in food, the diet will not be effective, since inflammatory processes in the intestines do not stop even with an insignificant amount of gluten in the food. It is necessary to carefully study the composition of the product on the package. Some manufacturers label their labels as "Contains Trauten of Gluten".
If you follow a gluten-free diet, you may include gluten-free foods in your diet, namely:
- vegetables and fruits;
- legumes, soy;
- buckwheat, sorghum, quinoa, flax, rice;
- milk and dairy products of domestic production;
- meat and fish;
- seafood;
- vegetable and animal fats;
- yeast, spices, soy sauce.
Gluten Free Diet Weekly Menu
A sample menu should consist of 4 or 5 meals every 2-3 hours for a week. Dishes on a gluten-free diet can consist of cereal, vegetable, meat and cottage cheese dishes, while fruits and berries are used as snacks.
Monday
- Breakfast: cottage cheese with banana and berries, tea;
- Lunch: buckwheat soup with meatballs, pilaf, tomato salad;
- Afternoon snack: apple, 25 grams of nuts;
- Dinner: chop with vegetable salad.
Tuesday
- Breakfast: rice porridge, coffee with soy milk;
- Lunch: broccoli puree soup, gluten-free pork dumplings;
- Afternoon snack: banana, 5 pieces of almonds;
- Dinner: cottage cheese casserole with berries.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: cottage cheese pancakes and cottage banana, cocoa in almond milk;
- Lunch: tomato soup, meat balls in broth, vegetable salad;
- Afternoon snack: 3 tangerines, pumpkin seeds;
- Dinner: baked duck, fresh vegetable salad.
Thursday
- Breakfast: omelet with herbs and cheese, tea;
- Lunch: Rice soup with meatballs, gluten-free bread, baked fish with broccoli;
- Afternoon snack: 150 grams of raspberries, walnuts;
- Dinner: cheesecakes with banana, sour cream.
Friday
- Breakfast: corn tortillas with banana puree, compote;
- Lunch: fish soup, vegetable stew, baked chicken with spices;
- Afternoon snack: fruit puree with homemade yogurt;
- Dinner: cottage cheese casserole and berry sauce.
Saturday
- Breakfast: pumpkin porridge, coffee;
- Lunch: borscht, veal cabbage rolls, green salad;
- Afternoon snack: various fruits;
- Dinner: cottage cheese with honey.
Sunday
- Breakfast: hummus with bell carrots and peppers, tea;
- Lunch: okroshka on homemade kefir, fish casserole, salad;
- Afternoon snack: strawberries, currants, raspberries;
- Dinner: salad of meat, pepper and French tomatoes.
Your baby
A gluten-free diet is essential for children with celiac disease, autism and gastrointestinal diseases. For additional indications (e. g. , iron deficiency anemia and other pathologies of nutrient absorption), a gluten-free diet is prescribed for children under 3 years of age.
Gluten-free food for children is not only healthy, but also tasty, since, despite the exclusion of some flour and cereal products, many vegetables, fruits, meat and fish dishes remain in the child’s diet.
Sample menu for children for 3 days:
Day 1
- Breakfast: omelet with rice porridge, banana;
- Lunch: cheesecakes with fruit shavings, compote;
- Lunch: borscht with sour cream and gluten-free croutons, dried fruit sweets;
- Afternoon snack: chicken meatballs, fresh vegetable salad;
- Dinner: homemade cakes with honey, milk.
Day 2
- Breakfast: sweet rice casserole with banana and strawberry;
- Lunch: homemade noodles, compote;
- Lunch: buckwheat soup with meatballs, fruit jelly;
- Afternoon snack: fruit;
- Dinner: cottage cheese with nuts and honey.
Day 3
- Breakfast: millet porridge with pumpkin, compote;
- Lunch: berry jelly, gluten-free muffins;
- Lunch: soup with broccoli, zucchini and potatoes with herbs, stew, apple;
- Afternoon snack: cottage cheese casserole with orange, compote;
- Dinner: minced meat balls and rice, homemade tomato juice.
An important condition for proper digestion and movement of food through the gastrointestinal tract during a gluten-free diet is the use of plant fiber from fruits, vegetables and cereals.
Slimming
Losing weight with a gluten-free diet happens by eliminating fast carbohydrates that contain gluten from the diet. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the caloric content of products.
A gluten-free diet for weight loss will help reduce weight by 2-3 kilograms per week, provided that the daily calorie intake is optimal, there is no overeating and the following principles are met. :
- eat food 4 times a day without snacks;
- 1. Drink 5-2 liters of water a day;
- there are lots of fresh vegetables and dairy products;
- limit the use of cereals to 200 grams (raw) and high-calorie nuts to 25 grams per day;
- exclude the use of sugar, pure fructose and any sugar substitutes, as all these products stimulate increased appetite;
- do not eat 3 hours before bedtime.
After you finish the diet, limit the use of baked goods, sweets and sodas with sugar, as sugar and white flour lead to rapid weight gain.
Tasty recipes
The menu for gluten-free food usually consists of meat, vegetable and dairy dishes. To expand your diet, you can use gluten-free recipes and baked goods using a variety of gluten-free flours.
Balls of chicken breast meat with mashed potatoes
Cooking requires 1-2 chicken breast, salt, black pepper, oil for frying, 0. 5 kg of potatoes, 50 grams of sour cream for dressing.
Peel the potatoes, add water, salt and boil until tender. At this time, the breast should be washed, cut into thin slices around the fibers, remove each piece from both sides, salt and pepper.
Drain the water from the pot with the finished potatoes, add sour cream and puree to a blender. Place the mashed potatoes on plates, sprinkle with dill and start cooking the chops.
Chips are cooked in a hot skillet with butter, frying the meat on both sides for 2-4 minutes. It is important not to dry the meat, however, as the chops will be dry and tough.
Chicken meat balls are placed to the side dish immediately after cooking and serving.
Rice flour sponge cake in a slow cooker
To prepare a biscuit, you will need 6 eggs, 180 grams of sugar, 150 grams of rice flour, vanillin, lemon zest, butter or vegetable oil for lubrication.
First, it is necessary to separate the bays from the yolks and beat the yolks vigorously with sugar and vanilla for 4-5 minutes, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture doubles in size. Then, in a separate bowl, set whites down for 8 -10 minutes in dense foam. After that, add lemon zest and rice flour to the yolks and mix well with a spoon. Gradually, proteins are introduced into the dough until the mass is homogeneous.
A bowl for a grease multicooker is greased with oil, the dough is poured and placed on the baking mode for 40-50 minutes, depending on the multicooker model. Check the readiness of the biscuit with maids.
Gluten Free Corn Flour Muffins
To make muffins, you need 170 grams of corn flour, 90 grams of cornstarch, three eggs, 100 ml of milk, 100 grams of butter, 150 grams of sugar, a tablespoon of baking powder, and vanillin.
First you need to mix dry ingredients: flour, starch, baking powder. Then, in a separate bowl, you need to lay eggs, sugar and vanillin until the sugar dissolves and the foam appears, add soft butter, warm milk and beat again. Then you should mix all the ingredients until smooth and pour them into molds.
Muffins are baked in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.
For a gluten-free diet to be effective, it is necessary to completely eliminate banned foods and adhere to the principles of a lifelong diet.