5 foods to avoid when going gluten free - Lifelab Testing

5 foods to avoid when going gluten free

Last Updated: 10th November 2022 · Written by Kate Young

It can feel a bit daunting to embark on the adventure that is a gluten-free diet. Once you start paying attention you realise just how common it is and how much gluten we consume in a typical western diet. It’s not all bad news though. If you follow a few simple rules and take on a more wholefoods-oriented diet, you’ll soon be wondering how you ever ate any different. Here are a few foods you should be avoiding if you’ve discovered you have a gluten intolerance;

Avoid these if you have Gluten Intolerance

The majority of baked goods

This is probably the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a gluten-free diet. Most traditional baked goods contain gluten to some degree due to the flours used in baking them. Your best bet is to avoid baked goods entirely, from bread to cookies to cakes. This is a blessing in disguise really, as you’ll be avoiding a lot of sugary and fattening foods by doing this, steering you towards healthier options.

Cereals

A lot of cereals have wheat or oats as primary ingredients in them, so unless you know a specific brand that’s gluten-free (and not replacing those ingredients with other, equally damaging items) you’re better off avoiding cereals or risk triggering your gluten intolerance. A good alternative is to make your own granola from gluten-free oats. That way you can fully control what goes into your morning gruel.

Wheat-based Pasta

What-based pasta becomes a no-no on a gluten free diet too. You can seek out gluten-free alternatives, but we recommend having rice or potatoes as your starch of choice to make things easier and be certain you’re free from gluten (in case of any nasty product recalls!).

Pre-packaged Convenience Foods

This one can be tough on many of us. But completely eliminating pre-packaged snacks from your diet will not only help you avoid gluten, but I will also force you to shift your eating habits to healthier, wholefoods. Having less processed junk in your system will have you Feeling like a spring chicken.

Most of the Gluten-Free Aisle

Speaking of processed foods, ignore the ‘free from foods’ aisle like the plague. The vast majority of those snacks and staples are rampant with highly processed ingredients. It’s the only way they manage to mimic their gluten-inclusive cousins. Most snacks that disguise themselves as ‘healthy’ in those aisles are jam-packed with sugar or nutritionally bankrupt carbohydrates.

Whether you’re avoiding gluten due to coeliac disease, a gluten intolerance, or just because, it’s not nearly as challenging as it may first seem. In fact, the hardest part is probably the social pressure that often comes with any change in diet. If you di suspect a food intolerance though, it might not be caused by gluten, and you’ll be able to deal with the intolerance much sooner if you undertake a scientifically backed intolerance test.

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