People who have intolerance to gluten should adhere to a gluten-free diet. This condition is also known as celiac disease. Celiac disease is a chronic condition in which the intestines are hypersensitive to gluten, causing the body to react violently when ingested. It is a hereditary autoimmune disease that causes symptoms such as diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fatigue and weight loss. But people who have been diagnosed with gluten sensitivity (people who develop complaints such as abdominal pain and fatigue after eating grain products) also benefit from avoiding gluten-containing products. If you're newly diagnosed with the condition, the prospect of a strict gluten-free diet can seem daunting at first, but with the right knowledge, a gluten-free diet can be relatively easy to follow. We therefore give you tips for a gluten-free diet here.
What are gluten? Gluten is a mixture of proteins that occur naturally in products made from certain grains, such as bread, rusks, crackers, pastries, cakes and pasta such as macaroni, spaghetti and vermicelli. But it is also present in products in which a gluten-containing binding agent has been used, such as soup, sauce, sausage and prepared minced meat.
Tips
1. Gather as much information as possible. Learn all you can about the gluten-free diet. This will take time and effort, but eventually you will be able to distinguish the correct information from the incorrect.
2. Get used to reading food labels in the store. If it says 'gluten-free' or the gluten-free logo, then it is suitable for a gluten-free diet.
3. Use gluten-free substitutes. There are plenty of gluten-free substitutes for the things you already eat, so get those. Or go to a gluten-free store. At Vitadis, for example, you will find everything for gluten-free food.
4. Remember that many foods are naturally gluten-free. Think fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, cheese and eggs, so use these as the basis of your meals.
5. Get a cookbook. Buy at least one specific cookbook that focuses on this. Here you can view recipes that are exclusively gluten-free.
6. Listen to your body. Your body immediately notices if you have eaten something with gluten, so if you get complaints again, check everything you have eaten. You may have overlooked something.
