7 Tips on Starting a Gluten Free Diet
Sorghum Tapioca Bread
1. Before you start, pay attention to the amount of wheat you eat
Are you eating some form of wheat very day? At every meal? Don’t beat yourself up about it or feel guilty. Just notice. Is your diet is well-balanced? Do you eat a variety of foods? If not, and you suspect wheat is a problem, ask your doctor if it’s reasonable to test for Celiac Disease* while you’re still eating wheat. Once you get off wheat, the Celiac test is not accurate.
2. Shop for Gluten Free Food
Looking for gluten free foods for the first time can be exhausting for some people. It’s like you’re using brain muscles you’ve never used before – they tire easily. So don’t think you can conquer the world on your first trip to the health food store. (I know this from experience.) But I promise, it does get easier. 😉
The first time I walked into a health food store to look for gluten free items, I was overwhelmed. I felt like I was an injured fighter, hunting for food. I say “injured” because I was sad and overwhelmed to have to be doing this in the first place. And part of me was a bit whiny. Why me? I say “fighter” because I felt like I was fighting all kinds of opposition to get my kids healthy. I was determined to tackle this gluten free monster for my children’s health. I use the word “hunting” because I had to study all of the items on every aisle. I read every word on every food label that I thought might be safe. After a while, reading labels became a labor of love for me and for my child.
Thankfully, hunting is easier these days because there are more gluten free foods and now I know which ones are safe and which ones are not.
3. Introduce gluten free foods before eliminating gluten
Try gluten free foods at home, and decide which ones your child likes best. Tasting gluten free foods will help their pallet get used to the flavor of wheat-free flour before you have to eliminate it completely. That way there’s less worry about what your child will eat when the time comes to give away your wheat products. And, it’s much better than going cold turkey.
The best places to buy gluten free foods: Amazon.com, Whole Foods Grocery Store, Trader Joe’s Grocery Store, various websites.
4. Start Gradually
When you’re starting a gluten free diet, go easy on yourself and/or your loved one by starting gradually, especially if a child is involved. Again, don’t try to go cold turkey by eliminating all of your wheat intake at once. This type of approach will not produce lasting change. Start by cutting down a little bit at a time. This is especially important if you are starting a gluten free diet for someone who is resistant to going gluten free.
If you try to go cold turkey and just jump to starting the GF diet, you may encounter problems. Trust me, the gradual approach is a much more trauma-free approach.
The person going on the gluten free diet has to believe it will help or he/she will not be able to stay on it. If you are starting a gluten free diet for a loved one, be sure to allow the person to take responsibility for their own health.
5. Start reducing the amount of wheat you eat…
…by either reducing the amount (one slice of bread instead of two) or see if you can eliminate the wheat in one meal, like dinner, for example. For our family, dinner was the easiest meal to eliminate wheat altogether.
6. Begin substituting gluten free items in place of wheat/gluten items
Have you found a gluten free bread you like? Great! Start making your sandwiches with that instead of wheat bread. You can even use it to make garlic bread for dinner every now and then.
7. Have them pick the date they’ll start the gluten free diet
After a 4-8 weeks of trying new foods, ask your child to pick a start date. This allows them to have some control over their situation. Surprisingly, most kids will actually pick a date within a month or two. If you’re worried they’ll pick a date six months out, then give them an outer limit on the date. For example, tell them, “You get to choose any date to start before __x date__.”
Obviously, this only works if you have the luxury to postpone your start date. Celiac patients may need to start as soon as they are diagnosed or very soon after.
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Many blessings to you as you start your gluten free journey.
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