7 Mistakes You’re Making On Your Gluten-Free Diet
If you've recently adopted a gluten-free diet to improve your health, or someone you know has, don't make these common mistakes! Just like any meal plan, there's a way of doing it that's healthy and not so healthy. In my 8 years' experience, here are my top mistakes to avoid.
Replacing Processed Foods with Gluten-Free Processed Foods
This is a big mistake I see people making all the time. They think that just because something is labeled “gluten-free", it's healthy. Those gluten-free donuts really aren’t any healthier than regular donuts, in fact they may even contain more fillers and additives! Now I definitely enjoy a gluten-free donut from time to time from a bakery, but it's not something that should be a regular part of our diet.
Focusing on “Gluten-Free Foods” Instead of Whole Foods
If the majority of your diet is coming from a package, this is not a recipe for health. The majority of the foods we eat shouldn't have ingredient lists, they should BE the ingredients. There are no ingredients in a cucumber, it's just a cucumber and of course, it's naturally gluten-free.
Being Fooled By Gluten-Free Marketing
It's tempting when you're feeling like you're missing your favourite bread for breakfast to just have gluten-free bread everyday instead. Marking companies are geniuses when it comes to convincing consumers something is good for them, but you’re smarter than that! Always look at the ingredient list for sugars, hydrogenated oils and fillers to assess the quality of the food, don’t just make decisions based on the front of the box.
Not Knowing The Hidden Names for Gluten
I was shocked when I learned about how many ingredients could be gluten! Marketing companies know gluten is highly addictive, so they put it in almost everything. A few common names that may be gluten-derived include:
Hydrolyzed proteins
Modified food starch
Natural flavours
Whey protein concentrate
Yeast extract
Enzymes
Emulsifiers
Colouring
Caramel colour
Citric acid
Glucose syrup
I’ll be going over a lot more hidden names for gluten, sugars and how to shop for healthier foods in my Shop Like A Nutritionist Grocery Shopping Tour!
Not Watching for Cross-Contamination
You may not have a full-blown allergy to gluten, but you should tell your server you do when eating out. This will help lessen the chance of cross-contamination and exposure to gluten. For more info, read 9 Tips for Eating Healthy When Dining Out. I also encourage my clients to be aware of cross contamination in their homes if someone else doesn’t eat gluten-free, such as not cleaning surfaces or cutlery after using them with gluten-containing foods.
Thinking of it as a Fad Diet
Eating gluten-free for many people, including myself, has become a way of life. I believe that it could benefit nearly everyone. The key is choosing to look at eating healthier as a lifestyle, not a fad diet to fall off of.
Going Gluten-Free at the Expense of Your Mental Health
There's always a mental-emotional aspect when we remove something from our diet; grief would even be a term we could use. It can be challenging to work through this at first and there may be times we slip up and give in. Overtime it gets a lot easier, especially as you start to feel better! But if removing gluten entirely is harming your mental health, take a more balanced approach and do what works for you.
If you’re ready to take the confusion out of grocery shopping and learn to Shop Like A Nutritionist, send me an email to learn more about the grocery tours I’ll be providing!
Asher Kleiber
Registered Holistic Nutritionist™
