A gluten-free diet is a healthy food that does not include all gluten-containing foods in the diet. The diet is prescribed for endocrine and nervous system diseases, as well as for gastrointestinal pathologies.
Gluten (gluten) is a complex of vegetable proteins (prolamins, glutenins) found in grains such as wheat, oats, rye and others.
Who is the diet for?
Adherence to a gluten-free diet is a prerequisite for the treatment of diseases such as:
- celiac disease;
- gluten intolerance (severe and atypical forms);
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome;
- autism, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis;
- anemia in children under 3 years of age.
Consumption of gluten-containing foods for gastrointestinal diseases and neurological pathologies can have the following consequences:
- This causes chronic inflammation of the small intestine, which causes pathogenic bacteria and toxins to enter the bloodstream.
- Disrupts the balance of the intestinal microflora and increases the multiplication of pathogenic bacteria.
- The adhesion of the walls of the small intestine to the tufts for the digestion and absorption of proteins, fats and carbohydrates disrupts digestive processes.
- It causes autoimmune diseases because the immune system secretes antibodies to gluten molecules that attack not only the digestive tract, but also gluten-like proteins in thyroid, heart, and nervous system cells. This results in autoimmune thyroiditis, type 1 diabetes, dermatitis, infertility, early menopause.
The presence of gluten-containing foods in food is manifested by persistent faecal disorders (constipation, diarrhea), bloating, frequent edema, caries, as well as ulcers in the oral mucosa and persistent skin rashes.
In most cases, gluten intolerance causes iron deficiency anemia, which manifests itself in constant fatigue, broken nails, hair loss, weight loss.
List of permitted and prohibited products
To maintain a gluten-free diet, two categories of foods are excluded from the diet: those high in gluten (such as wheat bread) and those with 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 these cereal flours, including bread, lavash, cakes, cookies, cereal bread;
- grains (oatmeal, oats, bulgur, pearl barley);
- bran of these cereals;
- products containing small amounts of wheat flour (broth cubes, soy sauce, buckwheat pasta, sausages and preserves, crab sticks, mayonnaise, ketchup, tea bags, yoghurts, ice cream);
- chocolate candy, shop jam, caramel;
- kvass, beer and other alcoholic beverages made from cereals;
- coffee with flavors and additives, decaffeinated coffee;
- products with a "gluten trace" due to production, ie table vinegar, edible starch, semolina, some cheeses, dry spices and condiments, etc.
Due to the hidden gluten in the diet, the diet will not be effective because the inflammatory processes in the intestine do not stop even with insignificant amounts of gluten in the food. The composition of the product on the packaging must be carefully examined. Some manufacturers label them as "contains traces of gluten. "
If you are on a gluten-free diet, you can include gluten-free foods in your diet, namely:
- vegetables and fruits;
- legumes, soya;
- buckwheat, sorghum, quinoa, flax, rice;
- milk and home-made dairy products;
- meat and fish;
- seafood;
- vegetable and animal fats;
- yeast, spices, soy sauce.
Gluten-free diet weekly menu
The sample weekly menu should consist of 4 or 5 meals every 2-3 hours. A gluten-free diet can consist of cereals, vegetables, meat and curd dishes, and fruits and berries are used as a snack.
Monday
- Breakfast: cottage cheese with bananas and berries, tea;
- Lunch: buckwheat soup with cutlets, pilaf, tomato salad;
- Afternoon snack: apple, 25 grams of nuts;
- Dinner: Slice 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: curd cake with berries.
on Wednesday
- Breakfast: cottage cheese and banana curd 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 cutlets, gluten-free bread, fried 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 stew, fried chicken with spices;
- Afternoon snack: fruit puree with homemade yogurt;
- Dinner: curd stew and berry sauce.
Saturday
- Breakfast: pumpkin porridge, coffee;
- Lunch: borscht, veal cabbage rolls, green salad;
- Afternoon snack: assorted fruits;
- Dinner: curd with honey.
Sunday
- Breakfast: humus with carrots and peppers, tea;
- Lunch: okroshka on homemade kefir, fish stew, salad;
- Afternoon snack: strawberries, currants, raspberries;
- Dinner: French meat, pepper and tomato salad.
To the child
A gluten-free diet is essential for children with celiac disease, autism and gastrointestinal disorders. In additional indications (such as iron deficiency anemia and other nutrient uptake pathologies), children under 3 years of age should be treated with a gluten-free diet.
Gluten-free baby food can be not only healthy, but also delicious, because despite the large number of flour products and grains, a lot of 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: cheesecakes with fruit dressing, compote;
- Lunch: borscht with sour cream and gluten-free toast, dried fruit candy;
- Afternoon snack: chicken dumplings, fresh vegetable salad;
- Dinner: homemade cakes with honey, milk.
Day 2
- Breakfast: sweet rice stew with bananas and strawberries;
- Lunch: homemade pasta, compote;
- Lunch: buckwheat soup with cutlets, 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 buns;
- Lunch: soup with broccoli, zucchini and potatoes with herbs, stew, apple;
- Afternoon snack: cottage cheese casserole with orange, compote;
- Dinner: minced meat and rice dumplings, homemade tomato juice.
An important condition for proper digestion and movement of food 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 removing fast-containing carbohydrates from the diet. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the caloric content of the products.
A gluten-free diet will help you lose 2-3 kilograms of weight per week, if there is an optimal daily amount of calories, not 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 are enough fresh vegetables and dairy products;
- to limit the use of cereals to 200 grams (raw materials) and calorie nuts to 25 grams per day;
- do not use sugar, pure fructose, and any sugar substitutes, as all of these products cause an increased appetite;
- do not eat 3 hours before bedtime.
After finishing your diet, limit your use of pastries, sweets, and soft drinks with sugar, as sugar and white flour gain weight quickly.
Delicious recipes
Gluten-free menus, as a rule, consist of meat, vegetable and dairy dishes. To expand your diet, you can use gluten-free recipes and pastries using a variety of gluten-free flours.
Chicken breast cutlets with mashed potatoes
For cooking you need 1-2 chicken breasts, salt, black pepper, oil for cooking, 0, 5 kg of potatoes, 50 grams of sour cream sauce.
Peel the potatoes, add water, salt and cook until soft. At this point, the breast should be washed, cut into thin slices along the fibers, knocking out each piece on both sides, salt and pepper.
Drain the water from the pot with the finished potatoes, pour the sour cream and mash with a grater. Put the mashed potatoes in the plates, sprinkle with dill and start cooking the cutlets.
The cutlets are baked 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 cutlets will become dry and firm.
Chicken dumplings are placed next to the garnish immediately after baking and served.
Rice flour biscuit on a slow cooker
To prepare the biscuit, you will need 6 eggs, 180 grams of sugar, 150 grams of rice flour, vanillin, lemon peel, butter or vegetable oil.
First, separate the whites from the yolks and whisk the yolks vigorously with the sugar and vanilla for 4-5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the volume of the mixture has doubled. Then, in a separate bowl, beat the proteins to a dense foam for 8-10 minutes. Then we add the lemon zest and rice flour to the yolks and mix well with a spoon. Gradually add the protein to the dough until the mass becomes homogeneous.
The bowl for the multivarka is greased with oil, the dough is poured and switched on in baking mode for 40-50 minutes, depending on the multicooker model. Check the preparation of the biscuit with a match.
Gluten - free cornmeal buns
The buns require 170 grams of cornmeal, 90 grams of corn starch, 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, in a separate bowl, beat out the eggs, sugar and vanilla until the sugar has dissolved and foamed, pour in the soft butter, warm milk and beat again. Then mix all the ingredients until smooth and pour into molds.
Pancakes are baked in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 20 minutes.
For a gluten-free diet to be effective, it is essential to completely abandon prohibited foods and follow the principles of nutrition throughout life.