All About Food

Thursday, September 8, 2011

The Gluten-Free Vegan Diet - Easier Than It Sounds

Recent studies indicate that 1 in 250 people living with celiac disease, lifelong, dangerous intolerance to gluten containing foods such as wheat, rye, kamut, pir, barley and zob.Čak a higher percentage of the population suffers allergy, sensitivity or food intolerance to glutens, without a full-blown celiac disease. For those following a strict vegan diet, imposing restrictions on gluten significantly reduces the already reduced menu options. But while gluten-free vegan diet requires more creativity and vigilance, it can be maintained - delicious. After years of experimentation, I decided to share what I learned.

If you were diagnosed or suspected celiac disease or wheat allergy, the severity of your symptoms will determine how much you change your diet. For celiacs, taking the proteins (glutens) found in grains damage the small intestine and can result in abdominal cramps, anemia, low bone density and body weight, lupus, fatigue, depression, and many other bolesti.Samo known treatment for celiac disease is lifelong avoidance of all glutens. On the other hand, people who suffer wheat or gluten sensitivity usually feel better on a gluten-free diet, but can grow to tolerate some forms of "prohibited grains." For example, eating durum semolina or pasta gives me a painful migraine, but I have no problem eating sprouted Ezekiel bread.

glutens can affect our health in a surprising way. Especially if you have unsuccessfully "tried everything" to treat a health problem, you may want to try a gluten-elimination diet. When you reintroduce glutens, observe your reactions. Acne, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, headache, constipation, and asthma are some of the many problems occasionally relieved by avoiding gluten.

Unfortunately, wheat and gluten-containing relatives appear in more food than you might expect. Reading labels helps only if you can identify the ingredients. Some hidden forms of gluten include:

modified food starch

textured vegetable protein

hydrolyzed vegetable protein

fillers and binders

hydrolyzed vegetable protein

malt

Most restaurants and canned soups contain flour, pasta or barley, and commercial enchilada sauce and "Spanish rice" mixes usually contain some form of wheat. At this point, all that vegetarian burgers and sausages contain wheat, but gluten-free veggie burger will supposedly be announced by mid-2004. Always check the ingredients list, even on products like Rice Chex, which uses malt as a sweetener. Kashi cereal, which contains Kashi, or buckwheat (gluten-free grain), also contains wheat.

Due to the growing demand for gluten-free processed foods, the number of companies have begun to offer nuts and rice crackers to replace traditional snacks, and many health food stores carry at least one gluten-free cereal. Mochi, Japanese rice treat, has no gluten and can often be found in the refrigerated section of natural food trgovinama.Verzija cinnamon raisin with a little "vegan butter" usually satisfies my craving for cinnamon buns. Abortion Mills also offers a wide variety of flours and gluten-free products available in most health food stores and online. After a whole foods, organic diet will not necessarily remove all the hidden glutens from your plate. If you want home baked goods, then Bette Hagmann's gluten-free gourmet belongs in your kitchen. It contains recipes for two of flour to mixture cup for cup replacement with all-purpose flour. Hagmann also offers recipes for biscuits, potpies, stews, delicious and others, usually wheat-laden treats. Unfortunately, some her recipes are vegan, and Hagmann not deal with typical vegan alternative. Food allergy survival Guide by Vesanto Melina, Jo Stepaniak and Dina Aronson offers recipes without gluten, corn, dairy products, eggs, fish, peanuts and meat, along with tips for improving their situation of food allergy. Since it may contain glutens so a vegan diet, I suggested a list of the offending food substitutes:

semolina or durum (wheat) pasta: the use of rice, corn or quinoa pasta

Udon noodles: use rice or (sometimes) soba noodles

Soy sauce: use wheat free tamari

Worcestershire sauce: use of Bragg's liquid amino acids

seitan ("wheat meat"): the use of tempeh or baked tofu

Bulgur (in tabouleh, salads and some chilis): the use of quinoa

couscous: the use of quinoa or millet

Barley: Use brown rice

Oatmeal: the use of grits

Flour tortillas (also the base for most of the "done"): Use corn tortillas

Regular Corn Bread: Use freshly ground meal of quinoa flour instead of

Flour for frying: use rice flour or corn flour

Thickening for soups: the use of arrowroot, potato starch, corn starch

In some cases, people seem to tolerate certain types of glutens and are experiencing symptoms from others. Those allergic to wheat can eat spelled, kamut or rye, for example, (although most "rye bread" contains plenty of wheat). Germination of grains increases the availability of enzymes that support digestion, and combining different grains reduces the impact of any allergen. For this reason, moderate allergy sufferers can sometimes enjoy tortillas and bread from a mixture of sprouted grains. If so, you're in for a treat, because Ezekiel products-most popular brand of sprouted bread delicious-taste. They are also more closely resemble the texture and density of bread, compared to a completely gluten-free frozen bread.

Eating in restaurants is a special challenge for the gluten-free vegan. Like to eat as a vegan is not challenging enough! Little planning can make the difference between just eat a salad without croutons! Or enjoy a meal with everyone else. Ethnic restaurants tend to give the most options.

Specifically, Thai food usually relies on rice noodles or rice, wheat pasta instead of the typical Italian fare. (Ask for a raisin without fish sauce.) Indian food offers another relatively safe haven, so long as the non-fried appetizers and abstain from the enticing range of breads. (Watch out for ghee or clarified butter). Ask in advance if the teff-based Ethiopian engineers contains wheat flour. If not, you can SOP-vegetarian platter just like all the other festivities. Chinese food unfortunately contains a lot of wheat, if you opt for plain steamed vegetables and garlic sauce. All the soy sauce is probably out, unless the cook uses wheat free tamari. The Mexican restaurant, you can order a vegetarian meal with corn tortillas and no cheese. Watch out for the rice, though. Besides the restaurant offering fresh brown rice, then they probably used a mixture of modified food starch or flour. (Also, ask if they put the fat in refried beans.) If all else fails, you can probably create your own "food" by ordering several sides of vegetables without butter.

What happens if someone calls you to dinner? I personally used to fear this, especially if the host is not vegan or celiac disease. It's one thing to search menu option and play-off is usually quite another to look like a rude guest or a picky eater. Close friends know and accept my peculiar diet, but acquaintances rarely understand its guidelines. I usually explain that I'm vegan, and then offer to bring something substantial. If they convince me that it is not necessary, then I mention some food sensitivity and extend the offer to the other to bring food.

If they still want to serve the entire meal, it helps to make menu suggestions, not a list of things that can not or will not eat. For example, "I can eat any type of rice pasta, any vegetables, beans or any dish as long as you use a wheat free soy sauce". After a few more details, people often hit the "perfect menu ideas, how that sound?" If it sounds good, I recommend you go with him. If it really does not work, then it helps to be clear about the potential izmjenama.Lakše make your diet seem less imposing than it becomes that you or anyone else.

Over the years, I have personally struggled with more than a gluten allergy. In varying degrees, I also used to react to soy, corn and most nuts. However, I continued to eat an incredibly wide array of vegetables and grains. Once you are familiar with the ingredients, it becomes easier to focus on the delicious dishes you can eat. When you discover how well you feel, without all those allergens, you are bound to experience a new level of dining pleasure!