Hold the Crouton

For week 2 of National Nutrition Month I have been on the gluten-free diet. A gluten-free diet is currently the only form of treatment for Celiac Disease. In Celiac Disease a person has an immune response to the protein gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, and barley products. When a person with Celiac consumes a product containing gluten it can cause intestinal discomfort similar to lactose intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome. Due to how similar it is to these disorders, Celiac is commonly misdiagnosed. It is believed that as many as 1 in 4 Americans have a gluten intolerance such as Celiac Disease.

The havoc that Celiac can wreak on one's digestive tract is not limited to gas, bloating, and the big D. The immune response to gluten damages cells of the digestive tract. When this damage occurs, it can make it difficult for the intestine to do it's job, which is to absorb nutrients. If Celiac goes untreated it can lead to anemia, soft bones, arthritis, and dry, itchy skin. Sounds like a blast, right?

When a person with Celiac begins a gluten-free diet, it's not like a switch is flipped and they are magically cured. It can take at least 2 to 8 weeks for their digestive issues to subside. If the person developed any of the problems listed above, it can take months or years for those issues to be resolved. The key is to identify Celiac Disease as the problem early on in order to avoid having to resolve any accompanying issues too.

Being gluten-free isn't as easy as looking at the label for wheat, barley, or rye. Products, such as modified food starch or hydrolyzed vegetable protein, can be made from wheat, corn, soy, or a combination of these. Oats are considered to be a safe grain, however oats are commonly processed in plants that also process the gluten containing grains. It is important to read the packaging to make sure that the oats are gluten-free. I found the Celiac Sprue Association has a comprehensive list of food and food products commonly found on labels. Their list gives these foods a red, green, or yellow light to signify their safety consideration for a gluten-free diet.

My first endeavor while on the gluten-free diet was to go grocery shopping. Typically it takes me about an hour in the grocery store to do my shopping. With having to read all the labels (and an awkward conversation concerning locker room etiquette with a former gym member) my trip to the store took an hour and a half. I suppose this time would go down as I became more familiar with the products I was looking at and price comparing. Leading into my grocery bill, it came in at about $10 more than my usual bill.

This week I've been on the move as well. My first adventure was meeting a friend from class for lunch. She was kind enough to allow me to select where we went for lunch. After what happened at Qdoba, I decided to take a look at restaurants that had posted nutritional information. I would have went for sushi, since the main grain involved is rice. However, soy sauce, contains gluten. I'm the type of person who requires wasabi and soy sauce for my sushi, so that option was out. I ended up choosing Chin's Asia Fresh, which does list on their site what entree and sauce options are gluten free. Fortunately I made my decision before I arrived at the restaurant because this information is not readily available at the restaurant.

The next day I headed to Chicago for an internship interview. Since it was a three hour drive and I was close to 3 Floyds (one of my favorite brew pubs), I decided to stop by and pick up a bomber for my boyfriend. While there I decided to get lunch as well. I decided on Green's (Gluten-Free) Triple and their Beet Soup (minus the crouton). Green's Gluten-Free Triple was my first taste of a gluten-free beer. Besides the water, hops, and yeast always found in the brew, it contained buckwheat, rice, sorgum, and millet. Surprisingly, but probably shouldn't have been, it tasted more like a cider than a triple.

Do you know what else is gluten-free? Shamrock Shakes!!!!! Note: I looked that up before I left for my Chicago Trip in the off chance I finally broke down and got my first one of the season.

For dinner last night I tried out a quinoa spaghetti instead of my usual whole wheat. I tried one piece plain and it had a texture similar to ramen. It didn't taste too far off from regular pasta either. I did notice, however, that I had a hard time twirling it on my fork. That kind of made it hard to eat. Some of it also formed a clump after it had been drained as it sat out for a bit. When I bit into that clump it had different texture that was undesirable, so the one piece that was easy to get on a fork was inedible. I would have the pasta again, however the pasta draining to putting sauce on it time will have to be quicker.

Today I am midway through the week and this morning I ran out of my gluten-free cereal. Now the one I had first chosen wasn't bad, but I thought why did I not just pick up Rice Krispies when I was at the store last time? While at the grocery store I checked the Rice Krispies' label today to see if they were gluten-free. Looking at the box you would think, "It's puffed rice, how could it not be gluten-free?" Upon further investigation I noticed that it contained "malt flavoring" which is derived from barley. I would have the nix the Rice Krispies and opt for the organic, gluten-free option in the natural food aisle.

When it comes to the lunches and snacks that I typically pack, it now takes more space to get the same amount of grains. It takes 3 rice cakes to equal one crunchy granola bar. The snack bars I picked up by Enjoy Life are actually pretty tasty. They have a texture and taste pretty similar to a Clif bar. Now for the cons, first they are a $1.50 more than what I usually pay for my crunchy granola bars. They also only contain 5- 1 ounce bars per package rather than the 8- 1 ounce bars I get when I buy granola bars. When I went to get more cereal for this week I ended up getting another box of bars. With the additional bananas I needed it added another $10 to my grocery bill for the week. That puts the gluten free diet at about the same as the DASH diet when it comes to grocery cost.

This week has been a little more difficult than the DASH diet. It definitely takes more planning when it comes figuring out meals and snacks. I also find it hard to know what is considered safe when I go out to restaurants unless I do my research before hand. This week I have one more trip to Chicago planned for a conference. The breakfast there is going to be sponsored by Kellogg's, I wonder if there will be anything there I could eat?