Before getting to the heart of the matter, allow me a quick reminder on Santé Nature Innovation: what you are reading is a free newsletter, which is brought to you almost as often as you want. I do my best to inform you but I am also obliged to remain a generalist, so as not to annoy readers who do not feel concerned. If you are personally touched by the subject on which I wrote, you cannot be satisfied with my letters. You will miss important things, perhaps vital for you. You could also unintentionally influence your loved ones badly, or leave them with incomplete and therefore dangerous information.
So try by any means to go further: on the Internet first but also in bookstores. Most health topics are covered by specialists, in monthly publications or BOOKS, who will tell you a hundred times more than I do. On gluten, there are still tons to tell and that's why those interested in the subject should buy the book by nutritionist Julien Venesson "Gluten, how modern wheat poisons us". Many of you know Julien Venesson, who is very involved in the Alternative Wellness magazine... He is a gluten specialist and provides training for professionals. His book costs 15.70 euros (a misery!) And tells you everything about gluten sensitivity tests, food intolerance tests, gluten-related diseases (physical, but also mental), how to cure them, etc. , etc.
The long list of prohibited foods
Gluten is found in cereals: wheat, oats, barley, rye, mainly, which is memorized thanks to the hoof trick. The letters of the word hoof correspond to the first letter of the name of the most widespread gluten-rich cereals:
S: Rye
A: OATS
B: Wheat
O: Barley
T: Triticale (a hybrid of rye and wheat)
The complete list of cereals containing gluten can be found in Chapter 3 of Julien Venesson's book. So you find gluten in bread, flour, cookies, cakes, pastries, pasta, burgers, pizza, breaded meat and fish, potato croquettes, sausages, sauces, cube broth, seasonings, malt vinegar, but also in preparations and thickeners containing flour or starch (which is almost always the case).
In practice, you will, therefore, be obliged not only to avoid the above foods but also to give up cooked dishes and canned vegetables in a steamer, which almost always contain gluten or traces of gluten.
Regarding foods to avoid, there is so much that a frightening question arises: "But what am I going to eat, then ?? "
How to enjoy gluten-free
It is very simple! Caviar, foie gras, lobster, smoked salmon and shellfish at all meals! All washed down with Champagne or a good Château-Lafite.
No, I'm kidding of course. But it was to emphasize an essential point: the tastiest, refined, strong-tasting foods do not usually contain GLUTEN. Which is great news that will hopefully decide as many people as possible to try the gluten-free diet, at least for a time (12 weeks), to see if their health and energy levels are improving ( which will happen in many cases)?
When you think about it, the flour and the starch don't taste. Gluten-rich foods don't have a lot either. What gives them taste is the sugar that we add to it and the toasted taste that we get by baking them (bread crust, pastries, caramelization, etc.). But if you followed my recent letter on aging, you know that this toasted taste is a sign of the presence of glycated proteins, which are very unhealthy because they age the skin, arteries, and vital organs (eyes, kidneys, etc.).
Eating gluten-free means eating fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, artisanal meats, eggs, fish and seafood, oils, pulses, dried fruits and nuts of all kinds (nuts from Grenoble, hazelnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts ...), butter, cheese, peanuts if you are not allergic.
Of course, you are probably used to consuming all these products accompanied by-products containing gluten. But believe my experience, it is very good to eat meat accompanied by a green salad or green beans rather than pasta, or cheese and cold meats without bread.
On the other hand, there are still several gluten-free foods rich in carbohydrates and therefore filling, to accompany your meals if you really starve: potato, rice, corn, etc., which I do not recommend however because their glycemic index is generally high (eating them is almost like crunching sugar cubes as they quickly turn into glucose in your stomach, and raise your blood sugar). If you eat it, choose semi-complete basmati rice, sweet potatoes, and buckwheat, which are interesting foods if you do regular physical activity.
You also have a whole range of unusual food products, which are mainly sold to people eating gluten-free: quinoa, millet, soy products for the most common.
But beware, do not fall into the frequent trap of wanting to replace your bread with gluten-free bread, your pasta with gluten-free pasta, your pastries with gluten-free pastries, etc.
A regrettable, frequent and costly mistake
This is indeed a very common mistake made by beginners of the gluten-free diet. Gluten, as we said, these are proteins that allow bread, buns, and cakes to take a soft, puffy and crispy appearance. It is thanks to gluten that bread is good to eat.
Gluten-free bread, pastries, and cookies are sold commercially today, but they are VERY BAD and horribly expensive. For me, it is on the verge of a scam. When you start a gluten-free diet, the first step is simply to convince yourself, as I tried to do in the previous section, that you don't NEED BREAD, PASTA, CAKES, AND COOKIES to live.
Foods rich in essential nutrients that are healthy and tasteful are mostly gluten-free anyway. It is true that we are in the habit, firmly established for dozens of generations, of always having gluten at our table. But the fact is, it is absolutely not necessary. Eating gluten-free is therefore above all a question of psychological modification, a change in the way of seeing life and food.
The proof: many of you are convinced that the best breakfast (to taste) is to eat pastries with café au lait, or cereals with orange juice and a bowl of Nesquik for children.
Well I pretend that you will feast a lot more, and you will feel much better, and your children too, if you choose instead to prepare for your breakfast a beautiful tray with:
* half an avocado with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper;
* two boiled eggs;
* a banana, an apple, or an orange;
* green tea;
* and supplement with nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, and prunes or dark chocolate if you are still hungry.
As far as I am concerned, I go much further in unusual foods (in France) for breakfast because I also eat breakfast regularly:
a well-seasoned sliced tomato with mozzarella, basil, rapeseed oil, olive oil, and Modena vinegar;
* olives ;
* a slice of raw ham
* smoked fish (herring, mackerel, etc.)
* a spoonful of honey or even peanut-butter (peanut butter)
* eggplant or peppers in oil
* an omelet with mushrooms, onions, bacon, peppers…
But it is probably useful to specify that I work a lot, which takes me a lot of energy, and that I am often in cold and rainy regions, where we necessarily eat more. On the other hand, I circulate in all weathers by bike and my favorite leisure is walking, especially in the mountains when I have the opportunity.
All this to say that when you start eating gluten-free, the first thing you will notice (besides feeling better, most likely) is that you will eat much more varied and tasty things.
If you are afraid of lacking imagination for your meals, Julien Venesson's book contains many tips for eating gluten-free, concretely, in the long term.
But I hope I have already convinced you of the interest, and the pleasure, of trying.
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