Following are some great tips from JJ Virgin on how to make better eating choices and eliminate gluten from your diet:
So I’ve convinced you that not only do you not need gluten, you’re also way better off without it, in my last blog.
But I don’t want to leave you hanging. Once you’re ready to give gluten-free eating a try (I’m asking for at least three weeks), these five strategies will make the transition much easier.
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Don’t do it halfway. You can’t do just a little gluten. To eliminate leaky gut and inflammation, reduce symptoms, and trigger fast fat loss, you’ve got to remove it 100% from your diet for 21 days. I promise you the effort will repay dividends.
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Don’t fall into the gluten junk trap. Savvy manufacturers have leaped onto the anti-gluten bandwagon with gluten-free cookies, crackers, and numerous other foods. A cookie is a cookie, period, and most of these foods come loaded with as much sugar as their gluten-containing equivalents.
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Careful with the “legal” grains. Oatmeal, for instance, is naturally gluten free but often processed with gluten-containing grains. Always look for the gluten-free symbol on the package. Better yet, buy whole foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and lean protein, which nature packaged as naturally gluten free.
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Be aware of gluten traps. You know whole wheat bread has gluten. But gluten also hides in strange places, like luncheon meats, mustard, and pickles. Read your labels, learn the traps, and again, always look for the gluten-free symbol.
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Make lateral shifts. You don’t need to deprive yourself when you remove gluten. Instead, find smart alternatives for the gluten-containing foods you used to enjoy. For instance, swap pasta for quinoa pasta or spaghetti squash. Brown rice wraps or Romaine lettuce can replace wheat wraps. For baking, try almond or coconut flour instead of wheat or rye flour. And if you’re craving pizza, melt a little goat cheese and tomato sauce on a Portobello mushroom.
