Sunday 16 March 2008

Gluten Free Tips

When you first discover that you need to avoid gluten you can only think what a major change this will be and tremble at the thought of what you need to do to change your lifestyle. Is it easy to make the change? Worry not, many people take this in their stride and live a relatively normal life. These gluten free tips will help you to make the transition easily.


1. Join a coeliac advice group: there is no need to learn everything for yourself and to travel the gluten-free journey on your own. The Internet has made possible the development of on-line support groups for many food intolerances, where ideas and experiences can be shared amongst members. Many of the problems you will face will have been encountered and conquered by Celiacs who have gone before you. Join an online support group and read their advice, or post your questions and get knowledgeable answers and gluten-free tips from people who have been Celiacs for many years.

2. Check food labels carefully. When reading the ingredients on a food item if in any doubt do not eat it. Manufacturers often subtly hide gluten in meals. Whilst many foods are labeled as gluten free some food labels such as modified starch are ambiguous and could represent wheat flour or a corn based ingredient. When in doubt leave it out!

3. Buy yourself a automated bread maker. This gluten-free advice will enable you to eat warm gluten-free bread whenever you want. Buying a bread machine means that you can explore the many gluten-free bread recipes which are available and produce bread which delights your taste buds. The main problem with many shop purchased gluten-free breads is that they are dryer than gluten containing bread and have a different texture. Using a bread machine you have the ability to experiment and fine tune the output to meet your needs.

If you are interested in joining an online debate we know of a good gluten free blog which you should check out. Also more recently a new gluten free web blog has sprung up which is worth a few moments.

Starting a gluten free diet may seem to be quite a challenge initially but that is only in the first few weeks as you change to the new regime. In a short period of time, following good gluten free tips such as these, you will find that you enjoy eating, going out to restaurants and even visiting foreign countries whilst managing to maintain a gluten free diet. One of our friends did this and has started a journal to record their gluten free tips at this gluten free site.

Check online, you will often find helpful web sites dealing with gluten free guidance. Some sites we identified were gluten free advice and gluten free guide and gluten free information.