What Does it Really Mean to Go Gluten Free?

More and more people these days are opting for gluten-free diets, whether because of a celiac diagnosis, a wheat-sensitivity, a bid to be all-around healthier, or just to see what it's like. But what does going gluten-free really mean?

Gluten is an elastic protein that's present in wheat, rye, barley, spelt and kamut. Of all these grains, wheat is the one that tends to give people the most trouble and is present in the most things that we often reach for as a snack. Modern wheat is vastly different from the grain it used to be thanks to extensive cross-breeding; classic wheat plants used to grow to over four feet tall, while modern wheat, which is grown in the vast majority of the world’s wheat fields, stands at about two feet and balances a huge seed head on its small stem. As a result, the structure of the gluten protein in wheat is very, very different from its ancient grain form -- which, essentially, is what both spelt and kamut are. This shift in wheat's structural make-up may be to blame for the huge numbers of people having difficulties with wheat-loaded diets. We also tend to eat a lot more gluten these days than our forebears did in days past, especially since gluten can be hiding in everything
from soy sauce to candy to yogurt to lipgloss (no, really).

So what's a gluten-free gut to do? First of all, figure out what kind of gluten-free eater you are, or if you are one at all. Some of us thrive perfectly well on a wheat-full diet, despite all trends. Others would do well to simply cut back on the amount of processed wheat they're consuming. But some of us really do need to go gluten-free for good. Know what's best for your body -- not anyone else's -- by checking your resources, talking to your doctor, and tuning in to what your own body is telling you.

There's a huge difference between going gluten-free because you have celiac disease and going gluten-free because you think you'd like to cut back on your wheat consumption. Both change your diet, certainly, but the former almost always entails a much stricter eating regime than the latter, which can sometimes make room for a snack that you don't feel like skipping or for cross-contamination. If you're celiac, all of a sudden you need be able to decode the many mysterious ingredients on the back of salad dressing bottles and be vigilant for any speck of gluten that may have touched your otherwise-totally-gluten-free salad. Luckily, for the seriously celiac, there are a lot of resources on how to not only cope with your new diet but to thrive. Good places to start on the internet are Celiac.com (http://www.celiac.com) , Gluten-Free Living (http://www.glutenfreeliving.com) , and Gluten Free Girl and the Chef (http://glutenfreegirl.com/) .

Perhaps the best way to imagine your new life without gluten is to focus on all the delicious foods you get to bring into your diet that you were previously neglecting out of an unnecessary wheat loyalty. Gluten-free can be really hard if you're only thinking about what you can't eat. A lot of gluten-free products out there take your favourite wheaty snack and replace it with something that almost inevitably doesn't taste as good as the original. It's hard to make a good gluten-free pizza (though certainly not impossible)! A much easier way to start enjoying your gluten-free life is to fill your plate with good, fresh food that's naturally gluten-free. Explore your vegetables. Embrace the multitude of other grains, like amaranth, buckwheat, millet, rice, teff, and quinoa (not technically a grain but it works).

If you are attached to baking or baked goods, familiarize yourself with the many ways to bake gluten-free and keep a stash of all-purpose gluten free flour mixed up in your kitchen. A good way to bake gluten-free is to do it by weight; invest in a kitchen scale and your baking life will become much, much easier. You can make your own all-purpose flour mix at home -- because buying it in the store can be really expensive if you use a lot -- by simply mixing 7 parts of gluten-free flour of your choice with 3 parts gluten-free starch of your choice (for more instructions on that, check out this post (http://glutenfreegirl.com/2012/07/how-to-make-a-gluten-free-all-purpose-flour-mix/) ).

The most important thing about going gluten-free is knowing what works for you. Learn to ask questions about cross-contamination at restaurants, to expect ingredient lists for meals, and to really listen to how your body is dealing with whatever it is you're eating. It's a whole lot easier to be gluten-free these days, but it can still be a challenge. Luckily, every single one of our predesigned produce bins comes automatically gluten-free!