Gluten-free diet

Let's start from a fundamental consideration: the gluten free diet It is a specific diet for people suffering from celiac disease or gluten intolerance.

The gluten it is a peptide compound, essentially a protein, contained in wheat and similar cereals, as well as in their derivatives: the organism of some individuals does not manage this protein well, with more or less serious degrees of immune response to it.

According to AIC ( Italian Celiac Association ), every year 10,000 new diagnoses are registered and celiacs in Italy are approximately 600,000. However, a distinction must be made, because being sensitive or intolerant to gluten and being celiac are very different situations.

There seems to have been a real surge in cases of celiac disease in the last decade, probably due to the massive consumption of increasingly processed and manufactured products, which use gluten among the ingredients.

Celiac disease, what are the symptoms?

A real pathology, listed among the so-called autoimmune diseases, with very serious symptoms, mainly related to the digestive system but sometimes, in the worst cases, also respiratory and generalized.

Those who suffer from celiac disease initially understand it because of frequent gastrointestinal disorders that are so severe that they reduce the quality of life: abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, nausea, swelling, tiredness are just some of them.

Symptoms are varied, annoying but initially bearable, so much so that often obtaining a diagnosis is a long process that can require years of waiting and tests.

The gluten-free diet therefore becomes, a diet for life : celiacs must completely and forever eliminate gluten from their diet, as it is truly toxic to the body.

In more serious cases, it is also a good idea to pay attention to the contaminations in the family, using cutlery and pots specifically for the person affected by the disorder, and keeping food separate in the refrigerator and in the home pantry.

Scientific research is continuing to find a solution, for example, a way to intervene on the gliadin , the most toxic component of gluten, in such a way as to render it inactive at intestinal level thanks to a particular enzyme.

Sensitivity or decreased tolerance to gluten is not true celiac disease, but a milder disorder that must be managed with specific, less stringent guidelines and that affects a large number of people.

Gluten-free diet: what to eat

Today there are hundreds of alternatives on the market: specialized supermarkets and e-commerce offer a wide range of products for those who need to follow a gluten-free diet , whereas until a few years ago the supply was much more complex, the products were few and often only available in specialized shops and pharmacies.

But what to eat ? What are the foods naturally gluten free ?

• Be careful with carbohydrates : gluten-free pasta and rice (naturally gluten-free) should still be consumed in moderation, as they are high-calorie foods and increase the body's glycemic response. The same goes for leavened foods, such as gluten-free bread and pizza;
• Homemade sweets are better , since industrial gluten-free sweets are often highly processed and contain even more massive doses of fats and sugars, to compensate for the lack of gluten – which normally gives consistency to dough and helps it rise. It is better to consume homemade sweets, made with flours that are naturally gluten-free and sweetened with honey ;
• Prefer naturally gluten-free products : compared to deglutinated foods, those naturally free of the substance are certainly preferable. Ancient cereals and semi-cereals, such as buckwheat, millet, amaranth, teff and quinoa, become a good basis for the diet;
• Yes to fresh fruit and vegetables and legumes : vegetables can be consumed without problems in the gluten-free diet. Even tubers such as potatoes are a valid ally in this diet;
• Excellent smoothies and centrifuged : beware of fruit juices and industrial drinks, which often contain hidden gluten like many other industrial products. It is better to opt for fresh extracts, made at home with controlled and quality raw materials.

Learn to carefully control the industrial product labels It is essential, as you will discover that gluten is often included in the ingredient list of even the most unexpected foods!

Gluten free diet to lose weight?

The gluten-free diet was created to manage a pathology: thinking of putting it into practice without being either celiac or sensitive or intolerant to gluten, therefore, makes little sense.

There gluten free diet to lose weight , however, is now in the limelight and very fashionable: but is it really true that gluten-free products are leaner?

The wording “without” always makes you think of a less caloric product, but in the case of industrial gluten-free substitutes, this is not the case at all: they are often more processed foods, rich in fats and sugars.

So much so that people who are truly affected by celiac disease often, after years of being excessively thin due to malabsorption of nutrients at intestinal level and food deprivation, tend to gain too much weight when, after the diagnosis, they understand that they can eat gluten-free bread, pizza, pasta and sweets, exceeding the quantities.

Gluten-free diet for non-celiacs: contraindications

As mentioned above, starting a gluten-free diet without a medical diagnosis of celiac disease, intolerance or sensitivity to this substance may have contraindications.

A recent study by the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe from Valencia, in fact, compared over 600 “normal” products with their gluten-free substitute, noting that the nutritional composition is often worse in the latter, with double the fat content and little or no protein intake.

Consuming gluten-free foods without really needing them, therefore, not only does not make you lose weight but could be harmful and counterproductive, leading to ingesting too many lipids and depriving yourself of essential nutrients.

How to Substitute Gluten in Recipes

Especially for leavened products and sweet and savoury baked goods, it can be difficult at first to understand how to obtain a good result using gluten-free flours.

The latter, in fact, helps the dough to be workable and elastic: naturally gluten-free flours such as rice, corn, spelt or oat flour, tend to be less workable. The dough will be less homogeneous and will rise worse. What to do?

For example, adding a pinch of bicarbonate, or creating mixes of different flours until obtaining the right consistency. There are also interesting alternatives such as legume flour, chestnut flour or tapioca, obtained from cassava root, which is an excellent thickener.

Another great one natural thickener which helps the workability of the dough is the psyllium , an extraordinary plant with water-soluble fibre that is beneficial for the intestine, available on our e-shop.