A gluten-free diet is a healthy diet where all foods that contain gluten are excluded from the diet. Diet is prescribed for diseases of the endocrine and nervous systems, as well as for pathology of the gastrointestinal tract.
Gluten (gluten) is a combination of plant proteins (prolamine, glutenin) found in grains such as wheat, oats, rye and so on.
Who is the diet for?
Using a gluten-free diet is a prerequisite for treating diseases such as:
- gluten intolerance;
- gluten intolerance (in severe and unconventional form);
- enteric syndrome;
- autism, epilepsy, MS;
- anemia in children under 3 years of age.
The use of gluten-containing foods for gastrointestinal and neurological diseases can lead to the following consequences:
- It causes chronic inflammation of the small intestine, which leads to pathogenic bacteria and toxins entering the bloodstream.
- Disrupts the balance of microflora in the gut and leads to increased reproduction of pathogenic bacteria.
- It impairs digestive processes due to adhesions in the walls of the small intestine, which are designed to digest and absorb proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
- Causes autoimmune diseases because the immune system releases antibodies against gluten molecules, which attack not only the gastrointestinal tract, but also proteins similar to gluten in thyroid, heart and nervous system cells. This is how autoimmune thyroiditis, type 1 diabetes, dermatitis, infertility and early menopause occur.
The presence of gluten-containing foods in the diet is manifested in constant constipation (constipation, diarrhea), flatulence, frequent edema, tooth decay, as well as ulcers on the oral mucosa and constant skin rashes.
In most cases, gluten intolerance causes iron deficiency anemia, which manifests itself in constant fatigue, brittle nails, hair loss and weightlessness.
List of permitted and prohibited products
To maintain a gluten-free diet, two categories of foods are excluded from the diet: high in gluten in the composition (for example, wheat bread) and with hidden gluten (for example, mayonnaise, ketchup, etc. ).
On a gluten-free diet, the following foods are excluded from the diet:
- cereals, namely wheat, rye, oats, barley;
- wheat products of these cereals, including bread, lava, cakes, cookies, cereals;
- cereals (oatmeal, rolled oats, bulgur, pearl barley);
- bran from this grain;
- products with a small amount of flour in the composition (bouillon cubes, soy sauce, buckwheat noodles, sausages and canned food, crab sticks, mayonnaise, tomato sauce, tea bags, yogurt, ice cream);
- chocolate, jam, caramels;
- kvass, beer and other alcoholic beverages made from cereals;
- flavored coffee and additives, decaffeinated coffee;
- products with "traces of gluten" for production, namely table vinegar, starch, semolina, some types of cheese, dry spices and condiments and so on.
Due to the presence of hidden gluten in food, the diet will not be effective, as the inflammatory process in the gut does not stop even with insignificant amounts of gluten in the food. It is necessary to carefully study the composition of the product on the packaging. Some manufacturers label their label as "Contains residues of gluten".
If you follow a gluten-free diet, you can include gluten-free foods in your diet, e. g. e.
- vegetables and fruits;
- legumes, soy;
- buckwheat, sorghum, quinoa, flax, rice;
- milk and dairy products of domestic production;
- meat and fish;
- seafood;
- vegetable and animal fats;
- yeast, spices, soy sauce.
Weekly gluten-free diet menu
A weekly sample sample should consist of 4 or 5 meals every 2-3 hours. A gluten-free diet can include cereals, vegetables, meat and cottage cheese dishes, and fruits and berries are used as snacks.
Monday
- Breakfast: cottage cheese with bananas and berries, tea;
- Lunch: buckwheat soup with meatballs, pilaf, tomato salad;
- Afternoon snack: apples, 25 grams of nuts;
- Dinner: chopped with vegetable salad.
Tuesday
- Breakfast: rice porridge, coffee with soy milk;
- Lunch: broccoli soup, gluten-free pork buns;
- Afternoon snack: banana, 5 pieces of almonds;
- Dinner: cottage cheese with berries.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: cottage cheese and banana cottage cheese pancakes, cocoa in almond milk;
- Lunch: tomato soup, broth meatballs, 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: cheesecakes with bananas, sour cream.
Friday
- Breakfast: corn tortillas with banana puree, compote;
- Lunch: Fish soup, vegetable broth, baked chicken with spices;
- Afternoon snack: fruit puree with homemade yoghurt;
- Dinner: cottage cheese and berry sauce.
Saturday
- Breakfast: pumpkin porridge, coffee;
- Lunch: Borscht, veal rolls, green salad;
- Afternoon snack: premium fruit;
- Dinner: cottage cheese with honey.
Sunday
- Breakfast: hummus with carrots and peppers, tea;
- Lunch: okroshka on homemade kefir, fish pot, salad;
- Afternoon snack: strawberries, currants, raspberries;
- Dinner: French meat, pepper and tomato salad.
For a child
A gluten-free diet is essential for children with gluten intolerance, autism and gastrointestinal disorders. For further evidence (for example, anemia with iron deficiency and other nutrient absorption pathologies) a gluten-free diet is prescribed for children under 3 years of age.
Gluten-free food for children can not only be healthy, but also tasty, as, despite the exclusion of a large number of wheat and cereals, a lot of vegetables, fruits, meat and fish dishes remain in the baby's diet.
Example of a menu for children for 3 days:
Day 1
- Breakfast: omelette with rice porridge, banana;
- Lunch: cheesecakes with fruit toppings, compote;
- Lunch: Borscht with sour cream and gluten-free bread cubes, dried fruit sweets;
- Afternoon snack: chicken meatballs, fresh vegetable salad;
- Dinner: homemade cakes with honey, milk.
Day 2
- Breakfast: sweet rice pot with bananas 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, apples;
- Afternoon snack: cottage cheese with orange, compote;
- Dinner: minced meat and rice dumplings, homemade tomato juice.
An important condition for proper digestion and movement of food through the digestive tract during a gluten-free diet is the use of plant fiber from fruits, vegetables and grains.
Lending
Losing weight with a gluten-free diet is done by rapidly removing gluten-containing carbohydrates from your diet. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the caloric content of the product.
A gluten-free diet for weight loss will help to reduce weight by 2-3 kilos per week, provided that the optimal daily calorie intake is optimal, there is no overeating and the following principles are respected:
- 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 kind of sugar supplement, as all these products increase appetite;
- do not eat 3 hours before bedtime.
After completing your 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 foods usually consists of meat, vegetable and dairy dishes. To enhance your diet, you can use gluten-free recipes and baked goods with a variety of gluten-free flours.
Chicken breast meatballs with mashed potatoes
To cook need 1-2 chicken breasts, salt, black pepper, oil for frying, 0, 5 kg of potatoes, 50 grams of sour cream in the dressing.
Peel the potatoes, add water, salt and boil until tender. At this time, wash the breast, cut into thin slices across the fibers, beating each piece off on both sides, salt and pepper.
Pour the water out of the pot with the finished potatoes, add the sour cream and puree with a blender. Put mashed potatoes on plates, sprinkle with dill and start cooking the chops.
Chops are cooked in a hot pan with butter and the meat is fried on both sides for 2-4 minutes. However, it is important not to dry the meat because the chops will be dry and tough.
Chicken meatballs are placed on the side dish immediately after cooking and served.
Sponge cake with rice in a slow cooker
To make biscuits, you need 6 eggs, 180 grams of sugar, 150 grams of rice flour, vanilla, lemon peel, butter or vegetable oil for greasing.
First of all, it is necessary to separate the whites from the egg yolks and beat the egg yolks well with sugar and vanilla for 4-5 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the mixture doubles in volume. Then beat the whites in a separate bowl for 8 -10 minutes in dense foam. After that, add lemon peel and rice flour to the egg yolks and mix well with a spoon. Gradually, proteins are added to the dough until the mass becomes homogeneous.
A bowl for a multi-stove is greased with oil, the dough is poured and placed in baking mode for 40-50 minutes, depending on the type of stove. Check if the biscuit is ready with a match.
Gluten-free cornmeal muffins
To make muffins, you need 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 vanilla.
First you need to mix dry ingredients: flour, starch, baking powder. Next, in a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla until the sugar dissolves and foam appears, add soft butter, warm milk and whisk again. Next, mix all the ingredients until smooth and pour into molds.
Bake muffins in a 180 degree oven for 20 minutes.
For a gluten-free diet to be effective, it is necessary to completely eliminate forbidden foods and follow the principles of the diet throughout life.