A gluten-free diet is a healthful 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 plant proteins (prolamins, glutenins) found in grains such as wheat, oats, rye and so on.
Who is the diet suitable for?
Using a gluten-free diet is a prerequisite for treating conditions such as:
- celiac disease;
- intolerance to glutenin (in severe and atypical forms);
- irritable bowel syndrome;
- autism, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis;
- anemia in children under 3 years of age.
The use of foods with gluten for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and neurological pathologies can lead to the following consequences:
- It causes chronic inflammation of the small intestine, as a result of which pathogenic bacteria and toxins enter the bloodstream.
- It violates the balance of intestinal microflora and leads to increased reproduction of pathogenic bacteria.
- It impairs the digestive processes due to the adhesion of the villi to the walls of the small intestine, responsible for the digestion and assimilation of 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, 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 constant stool disorders (constipation, diarrhea), flatulence, frequent edema, caries, as well as the appearance of ulcers on the oral mucosa and constant rashes.
In most cases, gluten intolerance causes iron deficiency anemia, which manifests itself as constant fatigue, brittle nails, hair loss, and weight loss.
List of allowed and prohibited products
To maintain a gluten-free diet, two categories of foods are excluded from the diet: with a lot of gluten in the composition (for example wholemeal bread) and with hidden gluten (for example mayonnaise, ketchup, etc. ).
In a gluten-free diet, the following foods are excluded from the diet:
- cereals, namely wheat, rye, oats, barley;
- products from flour of these cereals, including bread, lavash, cakes, biscuits, wheat bread;
- cereals (oatmeal, oatmeal, bulgur, pearl barley);
- bran of 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, ketchup, tea bags, yogurt, ice cream);
- chocolates, jam, caramel;
- kvass, beer and other grain-based alcoholic beverages;
- coffee with flavorings and additives, decaffeinated coffee;
- products with "traces of gluten" due to production, ie 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 intestine do not stop even with an insignificant amount of gluten in food. It is necessary to carefully study the composition of the product on the package. Some manufacturers label their labels as "Contains traces of gluten".
If you follow a gluten-free diet, you can include gluten-free foods in your diet, namely:
- vegetables and fruit;
- legumes, soy;
- buckwheat, sorghum, quinoa, flax, rice;
- milk and dairy products of own production;
- meat and fish;
- seafood;
- vegetable and animal fats;
- yeast, spices, soy sauce.
Gluten-free weekly 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 based on cereals, vegetables, meat and cottage cheese, and fruits and berries are used as a snack.
Monday
- Breakfast: cottage cheese with banana and berries, tea;
- Lunch: Buckwheat soup with meatballs, pilaf, tomato salad;
- Afternoon snack: apple, 25 grams of walnuts;
- 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: ricotta and banana fritters, cocoa in almond milk;
- Lunch: tomato soup, meatballs in broth, vegetable salad;
- Afternoon snack: 3 mandarins, pumpkin seeds;
- Dinner: baked 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, baked chicken with spices;
- Afternoon snack: fruit puree with homemade yogurt;
- Dinner: Cottage cheese casserole and berry sauce.
on Saturday
- Breakfast: pumpkin porridge, coffee;
- Lunch: borscht, veal cabbage rolls, green salad;
- Afternoon snack: assorted fruit;
- Dinner: ricotta with honey.
Sunday
- Breakfast: hummus with carrots and peppers, tea;
- Lunch: okroshka on homemade kefir, fish casserole, salad;
- Afternoon snack: strawberries, currants, raspberries;
- Dinner: French salad of meat, peppers and tomatoes.
For a child
A gluten-free diet is a must for children with celiac disease, autism, and gastrointestinal diseases. 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 food for children can be not only healthy, but also tasty, since, despite the exclusion of a number of flour and grain products, a lot of vegetables, fruits, meat and fish remain in the child's diet.
Example of a children's menu for 3 days:
Day 1
- Breakfast: omelette with rice porridge, banana;
- Lunch: cheesecakes with fruit topping, compote;
- Lunch: borscht with sour cream and gluten-free croutons, dried fruit desserts;
- Afternoon snack: chicken meatballs, fresh vegetable salad;
- Dinner: homemade cakes with honey, milk.
Day 2
- Breakfast: sweet rice casserole with banana and strawberries;
- Lunch: homemade noodles, compote;
- Lunch: buckwheat soup with meatballs, fruit jelly;
- Afternoon snack: fruit;
- Dinner: ricotta with walnuts and honey.
Day 3
- Breakfast: millet porridge with pumpkin, compote;
- Lunch: berry jelly, gluten-free muffins;
- Lunch: broccoli, courgette and potato soup with herbs, stew, apple;
- Afternoon snack: ricotta casserole with orange, compote;
- Dinner: minced meat and rice balls, 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 fibers from fruits, vegetables and grains.
slimming
Weight loss on a gluten-free diet occurs by eliminating gluten-containing fast carbohydrates 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 reduce weight by 2-3 kilograms 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 per 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;
- exclude the use of sugar, pure fructose and any sugar substitute, as all these products provoke an increase in appetite;
- do not eat 3 hours before bedtime.
After completing the diet, limit the use of baked goods, sweets and sodas with sugar, as sugar and white flour lead to rapid weight gain.
Delicious recipes
The menu for gluten-free food, as a rule, 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.
Chicken breast meatballs with mashed potatoes
Cooking requires 1-2 chicken breasts, salt, black pepper, oil for frying, 0. 5 kg of potatoes, 50 grams of sour cream for seasoning.
Peel the potatoes, add water, salt and boil until tender. At this stage, the brisket needs to be washed, cut into thin slices through the fibers, beat each piece on both sides, salt and pepper.
Drain the water from the pot with the finished potatoes, add sour cream and whisk with a blender. Put the mashed potatoes on the plates, sprinkle with dill and start cooking the cutlets.
The cutlets are cooked in a hot pan 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 become dry and tough.
The chicken meatballs are placed on the side immediately after cooking and served.
Rice flour sponge cake in a slow cooker
To make 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 you need 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, the whites are blast chilled for 8-10 minutes in a thick foam. Then, add the lemon zest and rice flour to the egg yolks and mix thoroughly with a spoon. Gradually, proteins are introduced into the dough until the mass becomes homogeneous.
A bowl for a multicooker is greased with oil, the dough is poured and put on cooking mode for 40-50 minutes, depending on the model of the multicooker. Check the readiness of the biscuit with a match.
Gluten-free cornmeal 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 yeast and vanillin.
First you need to mix the dry ingredients: flour, starch, yeast. Then, in a separate bowl, you need to break down eggs, sugar and vanillin until the sugar dissolves and foam appears, add the softened butter, hot milk and beat again. Next, you should mix all the ingredients until smooth and pour 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 prohibited foods and adhere to dietary principles throughout life.