A gluten-free diet is a healthy food in which all gluten-containing foods are excluded from the diet. The diet is prescribed for diseases of the endocrine and nervous systems, as well as for pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract.
Gluten (gluten) is a complex of vegetable proteins (prolamins, glutenins) found in cereals such as wheat, oats, rye, etc.
Who is on the diet?
The use of a gluten-free diet is a prerequisite for the treatment of diseases such as:
- abdomen?
- gluten intolerance (in severe and atypical forms).
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome;
- autism, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis.
- anemia in children under 3 years.
The use of gluten-free foods for gastrointestinal diseases and neurological pathologies can lead to the following consequences:
- It causes chronic inflammation of the small intestine, with the result that pathogenic bacteria and toxins enter the bloodstream.
- It disturbs the balance of the intestinal microflora and leads to increased reproduction of pathogenic bacteria.
- It neutralizes digestive processes as a result of the attachment of villi to the walls of the small intestine, which are designed to assimilate and digest proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
- It causes autoimmune diseases due to the fact that 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, dermatitis, infertility and premature 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 in the oral mucosa and persistent skin rashes.
In most cases, gluten intolerance causes iron deficiency anemia, which is manifested by constant fatigue, brittle nails, hair loss and weight loss.
List of allowed and forbidden products
To maintain a gluten-free diet, two categories of foods are excluded from the diet: high in gluten (for example, wheat bread) and hidden gluten (for example, mayonnaise, ketchup, etc. ).
In a gluten-free diet, the following foods are excluded from the diet:
- cereals, in particular wheat, rye, oats, barley.
- flour products of these cereals, including bread, lava, cakes, biscuits, cereal bread;
- cereals (oatmeal, wrapped oats, oatmeal, pearl);
- bran from these cereals;
- products with a small amount of wheat flour in the composition (bouillon cubes, soy sauce, buckwheat noodles, sausages and canned foods, crab sticks, mayonnaise, ketchup, tea bags, yogurt, ice cream).
- chocolates, jam shop, candy;
- kvass, beer and other cereal spirits;
- coffee with aromas and additives, decaffeinated coffee.
- products with "traces of gluten" due to production, ie table vinegar, food starch, semolina, certain types of cheese, dry spices and spices, etc.
Due to the presence of hidden gluten in the food, the diet will not be effective, since the 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 them as "Contains traces of gluten".
If you follow a gluten-free diet, you can include gluten-free foods in your diet, namely:
- vegetables and fruits?
- legumes, soybeans;
- buckwheat, sorghum, quinoa, flax, rice.
- milk and domestic milk products;
- meat and fish?
- seafood;
- vegetable and animal fats;
- yeast, spices, soy sauce.
Weekly gluten-free diet menu
A sample menu for a week should consist of 4 or 5 meals every 2-3 hours. A gluten-free diet can consist of dishes with cereals, vegetables, meat and cottage cheese, 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 pasta.
- Afternoon snack: banana, 5 pieces of almonds.
- Dinner: casserole with cottage cheese with berries.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: cottage cheese and banana pancakes, cocoa in almond milk.
- Lunch: tomato soup, meatballs in broth, vegetable salad.
- Afternoon snack: 3 tangerines, pumpkin seeds.
- Dinner: roast duck, fresh vegetable salad.
Thursday
- Breakfast: omelette 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: cheese cakes with banana, sour cream.
Friday
- Breakfast: corn tortillas with banana puree, compote.
- Lunch: fish soup, vegetable stew, cooked chicken with spices.
- Afternoon snack: fruit puree with homemade yogurt.
- Dinner: casserole with cottage cheese and berry sauce.
Saturday
- Breakfast: pumpkin porridge, coffee?
- Lunch: borscht, beef rolls, green salad.
- Afternoon snack: various fruits.
- Dinner: cottage cheese with honey.
Sunday
- Breakfast: hummus with carrots and peppers, tea.
- Lunch: okroshka in homemade kefir, fish casserole, salad.
- Afternoon snack: strawberries, raisins, raspberries.
- Dinner: French salad with meat, pepper and tomato.
For a child
The gluten-free diet is essential for children with celiac disease, autism and gastrointestinal disorders. For additional indications (for example, iron deficiency anemia and other pathologies of nutrient absorption), a gluten-free diet is prescribed for children under 3 years of age.
Gluten-free baby food can be not only healthy but also delicious, as, despite the exclusion of certain 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: omelette with rice porridge, banana.
- Lunch: cheese cakes with fruit coating, compote.
- Lunch: borscht with sour cream and gluten-free croutons, sweets of dried fruits.
- Afternoon snack: chicken meatballs, fresh vegetable salad.
- Dinner: homemade cakes with honey, milk.
Day 2
- Breakfast: casserole with sweet rice with banana and strawberries.
- 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: pot of cottage cheese with orange, compote.
- Dinner: minced meat and rice dumplings, homemade tomato juice.
An important condition for the proper digestion and movement of food through the gastrointestinal tract during a gluten-free diet is the use of fiber from fruits, vegetables and cereals.
Slimming
Weight loss with a gluten free diet occurs by eliminating fast carbohydrates containing gluten from the diet. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the calorie content of the products.
A gluten-free diet for weight loss will help to reduce weight by 2-3 kg per week, provided that the optimal daily calorie intake is optimal, there is no overeating and the following principles are observed:
- eat food 4 times a day without snacks.
- drink 1, 5-2 liters of water a day.
- there is a sufficient amount of fresh vegetables and dairy products.
- Limit the use of cereals to 200 grams (raw) and high-calorie nuts to 25 grams per day.
- Eliminate the use of sugar, pure fructose and any sugar substitutes, as all these products cause increased appetite.
- do not eat 3 hours before bedtime.
After completing the diet, limit the use of pastries, sweets and soft drinks with sugar, as sugar and white flour lead to rapid weight gain.
Delicious recipes
The menu for gluten-free foods, as a rule, consists of dishes with meat, vegetables and dairy. To expand your diet, you can use gluten-free recipes and pastries using a variety of gluten-free flours.
Chicken breast meatballs with mashed potatoes
Cooking requires 1-2 chicken breasts, salt, black pepper, oil for frying, 0, 5 kg potatoes, 50 grams of sour cream.
Peel the potatoes, add water, salt and cook until soft. At this point, the breast should be washed, cut into thin slices in the fibers, beat each piece on both sides, salt and pepper.
Drain the water from the pot with the prepared potatoes, add the cream and puree with a blender. Put the mashed potatoes on plates, sprinkle with dill and start cooking the steaks.
The steaks are cooked in a hot pan with butter, frying the meat on both sides for 2-4 minutes. However, it is important that the meat does not dry out, as the steaks will become dry and hard.
The chicken meatballs are spread on the side dish immediately after cooking and served.
Sponge cake with rice flour in a slow cooker
To make a cookie, you will need 6 eggs, 180 grams of sugar, 150 grams of rice flour, vanillin, lemon zest, butter or vegetable oil for lubrication.
First of all, it is necessary to separate the egg whites from the yolks and beat the yolks intensively with the sugar and vanilla for 4-5 minutes, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture doubles in volume. Then, in a separate bowl, beat the whites down for 8 -10 minutes in a thick foam. After that, the lemon zest and rice flour are added to the yolks and mixed well with a spoon. Gradually, proteins are introduced into the dough until the mass becomes homogeneous.
A bowl for a kitchenette is greased with oil, the dough is poured and put in baking mode for 40-50 minutes, depending on the model of the kitchenette. Check the readiness of the cookie with a match.
Gluten-free corn 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 vanilla.
First you need to mix dry ingredients: flour, starch, baking powder. Then, in a separate bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla until the sugar dissolves and foams, add softened butter, warm milk and beat again. Next, you need to mix all the ingredients until they are homogenous and empty them into molds.
Bake the muffins in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.
For a gluten-free diet to be effective, it is essential to eliminate all forbidden foods and adhere to nutritional principles throughout life.