Adapting to a Gluten-Free Life

Whether it is you or a loved one in your household, there is definitely a learning curve to living and adapting to a gluten-free life.

For one thing, keeping your kitchen contamination-free is extremely important if you have celiac disease, or a gluten sensitivity. There may be those in your family that don’t have a problem with gluten. So there could be gluten in your cooking and food prep environments. The best way to ensure that you are not accidentally exposed to gluten is to store any foods that have gluten in a separate pantry, refrigerator or freezer.

Wash chopping blocks and cutting boards regularly, and designate specific kitchen tools and accessories for gluten-free activities only.

Get started adapting to a gluten-free diet by doing a purge of your pantry, refrigerator and freezer. Make sure you clear your desk and vehicle of snacks and treats which contain gluten. Talk with your family and friends about your new dietary approach, and have them join you if at all possible. Don’t start tomorrow, start today.

The easiest way to avoid gluten when shopping is to start reading food labels diligently. Remember, wheat-free does not necessarily mean gluten-free. Print out the list of foods you can and cannot eat which we discussed earlier. Keep this on you at all times.

Apps That Can Help

Another simple way to make shopping for gluten-free foods a snap is to use the following apps:

 

• Allergy & Gluten Free Diet Tracker by Fooducate

This is an easy to use tool that allows you to scan a product’s barcode with your smart phone or tablet to see if it contains gluten.

 

• The Gluten-Free Scanner

This is another database which allows you to simply scan the barcode of food, medication, cosmetics or anything else you are concerned may have gluten. Health researchers, nutritionists and registered dietitians maintain the massive database which currently contains more than 500,000 products.

 

• ShopWell

This app gives you access to more than 400,000 products, and all you have to do is scan a barcode. One really neat feature of this application is the option to have ShopWell suggest foods that would fit into your particular lifestyle.

 

• Is That Gluten Free?

Another searchable database which allows you to filter by categories, brands, ingredients or keywords.