A gluten-free diet is a healthy food in which all gluten-containing foods are excluded from the diet. The diet is intended for endocrine and nervous system diseases, as well as gastrointestinal pathologies.
Gluten is a complex of plant proteins (prolamines, glutenins) found in cereals such as wheat, oats, rye, etc.
Who is the diet for?
The use of a gluten-free diet is a prerequisite for the treatment of diseases such as:
- celiac disease;
- glutenin intolerance (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 in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and neurological pathologies can have the following consequences:
- It causes chronic inflammation of the small intestine, resulting in pathogenic bacteria and toxins entering the bloodstream.
- Disrupts the balance of the intestinal microflora and causes an increase in pathogenic bacteria.
- This impairs digestive processes, as fringes stick to the walls of the small intestine to digest and assimilate proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
- It causes autoimmune diseases because the immune system releases antibodies to gluten molecules that attack not only the gastrointestinal tract, but also gluten-like proteins in thyroid, heart and nervous system cells. This results in autoimmune thyroiditis, type 1 diabetes, dermatitis, infertility and early menopause.
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 on the oral mucosa and persistent skin rash.
In most cases, gluten intolerance causes iron deficiency anemia, which manifests itself as persistent fatigue, brittle nails, hair loss and weight loss.
List of permitted and prohibited products
To maintain a gluten-free diet, two categories of food are excluded from the diet: high-gluten (such as wheat bread) and hidden gluten (such as mayonnaise, ketchup, etc. ).
The following foods are excluded from the gluten-free diet:
- cereals, namely wheat, rye, oats, barley;
- products made from flour of these cereals, including bread, lavash, cakes, biscuits, cereal bread;
- cereals (oat flakes, rolled oats, bulgur, pearls);
- bran from these cereals;
- products with a small amount of wheat flour (broth cubes, soy sauce, buckwheat noodles, sausages and preserves, crab sticks, mayonnaise, ketchup, tea bags, yoghurts, ice cream);
- chocolates, shop jam, caramel;
- kvass, beer and other spirituous beverages made from cereals;
- coffee with spices and additives, decaffeinated coffee;
- products with a "gluten footprint" for production, namely table vinegar, edible starch, semolina, certain types of cheese, dry spices and condiments, etc.
Due to the presence of hidden gluten in food, the diet will not be effective, because inflammatory processes in the intestine do not stop even with insignificant amounts of gluten in food. It is necessary to carefully study the composition of the product on the packaging. Some manufacturers label their labels with the words "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, soya;
- buckwheat, sorghum, quinoa, flax, rice;
- home-made milk and milk products;
- meat and fish;
- seafood;
- vegetable and animal fats;
- yeast, spices, soy sauce.
Weekly gluten-free diet menu
The sample menu for the week should consist of 4 or 5 meals every 2-3 hours. A gluten-free diet can consist of cereals, vegetables, meat and cottage cheese dishes, as well as fruits and berries used as snacks.
Monday
- Breakfast: cottage cheese with banana and berries, tea;
- Lunch: buckwheat soup with meatballs, pilaf, tomato salad;
- Afternoon snacks: 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 dumplings;
- Afternoon snack: banana, 5 pieces of almonds;
- Dinner: cottage cheese casserole with berries.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: cottage cheese and banana cottage cheese pancakes, cocoa almond milk;
- Lunch: tomato soup, meatballs in broth, vegetable salad;
- Afternoon snacks: 3 tangerines, pumpkin seeds;
- Dinner: roast duck, fresh vegetable salad.
Thursday
- Breakfast: omelette with greens and cheese, tea;
- Lunch: Rice soup with meatballs, gluten-free bread, fried fish with broccoli;
- Afternoon snacks: 150 grams of raspberries, walnuts;
- Dinner: cheesecakes with banana, sour cream.
on Friday
- Breakfast: corn tortillas with banana puree, compote;
- Lunch: fish soup, vegetable stew, fried chicken with spices;
- Afternoon snacks: fruit puree with homemade yogurt;
- Dinner: cottage cheese casserole and berry sauce.
on Saturday
- Breakfast: pumpkin porridge, coffee;
- Lunch: borscht, veal rolls, green salad;
- Afternoon snacks: various fruits;
- Dinner: cottage cheese with honey.
Sunday
- Breakfast: humus with carrots and peppers, tea;
- Lunch: okroshka on homemade kefir, fish casserole, salad;
- Afternoon snacks: strawberries, currants, raspberries;
- Dinner: French meat, pepper and tomato salad.
For a child
A gluten-free diet is mandatory for children with celiac disease, autism and gastrointestinal disorders. For additional indications (eg iron deficiency anemia and other malabsorption pathologies), a gluten-free diet is prescribed for children under 3 years of age.
Gluten-free foods for children can be not only healthy, but also delicious, because despite the exclusion of several flour products and cereals, a lot of vegetables, fruits, meat and fish foods remain in the child's diet.
Sample menu for children for 3 days:
Day 1
- Breakfast: omelette with rice porridge, banana;
- Lunch: cheesecakes with fruit filling, compote;
- Lunch: borscht with sour cream and gluten-free toast, dried fruit sweets;
- Afternoon snacks: chicken cutlets, 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 snacks: 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 greens, stew, apple;
- Afternoon snacks: cottage cheese casserole with orange, compote;
- Dinner: minced meat and rice meatballs, homemade tomato juice.
An important condition for proper digestion and food movement in the gastrointestinal tract during a gluten-free diet is the use of vegetable fiber from fruits, vegetables and cereals.
Slimming
Weight loss with a gluten-free diet occurs by eliminating gluten-free carbohydrates from the diet. In this case, the caloric content of the products must be taken into account.
A gluten-free diet for weight loss will help reduce weight by 2-3 kilograms per week, if there is an optimal daily calorie intake, no overeating and the following principles are followed:
- eat food 4 times a day without snacks;
- drink 1, 5-2 liters of water per day;
- there is a sufficient quantity of fresh vegetables and dairy products;
- to limit the consumption of cereals to 200 grams (raw) and the consumption of high-calorie nuts to 25 grams per day;
- exclude 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 your diet, limit your intake of pastries, sweets and carbonated drinks with sugar, as sugar and white flour cause rapid weight gain.
Delicious recipes
The gluten-free food menu, as a rule, consists of meat, vegetables and dairy dishes. To expand your diet, you can use gluten-free recipes and baked goods using a variety of gluten-free flour.
Chicken breast meatballs with mashed potatoes
Cooking requires 1-2 chicken breasts, salt, black pepper, frying oil, 0. 5 kg of potatoes, 50 grams of sour cream sauce.
Peel the potatoes, add water, salt and cook until soft. During this time, the breasts should be washed, cut into thin slices over the fibers, rub off each piece on both sides, salt and pepper.
Drain the water from the pot with the finished potatoes, add sour cream and thicken with a blender. Put mashed potatoes on plates, sprinkled with dill and start cooking chops.
Chops are prepared in a hot pan with butter, frying the meat on both sides for 2-4 minutes. However, it is important not to dry the meat as the chops will become dry and hard.
Chicken meatballs immediately after cooking, spread with the additive and serve.
Rice flour biscuit 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 peel, butter or vegetable oil.
First it is necessary to separate the whites from the yolks and vigorously whisk the yolks with sugar and vanilla for 4-5 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the volume of the mixture doubles. Then, in a separate bowl, whisk the whites for 8-10 minutes in a dense foam. Then add the lemon peel and rice flour to the yolks and mix well with a spoon. Gradually add protein to the dough until the mass becomes homogeneous.
Lubricate the multivarka bowl with oil, pour the dough and place in baking mode for 40-50 minutes, depending on the multivarka model. Check the readiness of the biscuit with a match.
Gluten - free maize flour muffins
Making muffins requires 170 grams of cornmeal, 90 grams of cornstarch, three eggs, 100 ml of milk, 100 grams of butter, 150 grams of sugar, a tablespoon of baking powder and vanillin.
First you need to mix the dry ingredients: flour, starch, baking powder. Next, beat eggs, sugar and vanillin in a separate bowl until the sugar dissolves and foam appears, add softened butter, warm milk and whipped again. Next, mix all ingredients to a homogeneous mass and pour into molds.
Bake the muffins in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.
For a gluten-free diet to be effective, banned foods must be completely eliminated and nutritional principles must be followed throughout life.