Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, and some people cannot digest it. Bloating, gas, and diarrhea are the most common symptoms of this sensitivity. Rarely, it can also cause unexplained headaches.

Our bodies always show us the truth and the problems.

Until about a year ago, I thought that gluten-free diets were just another trendy diet, except for those with celiac disease, until I started having severe indigestion problems. I didn’t have a confirmed gluten sensitivity from a doctor’s diagnosis or tests, but I experienced a lot of bloating, especially in the evenings. I noticed that these indigestion problems disappeared on their own after I started a low-carbohydrate diet and eliminated wheat derivatives from my life. I did tests on myself. The days when I felt “bloated like a drum” on days I ate gluten-containing foods returned. On days when I ate gluten-free, I felt extremely light and comfortable. I repeated this test many times, and since I got the same result every time, I reduced gluten intake to the lowest possible level in my life.

Wheat, barley, and rye are now so prevalent in our diets that it can be difficult to eliminate them. Bread, pastries, all kinds of cakes, cookies, crackers, bagels, pies – everything contains gluten because it’s all made with flour derived from grains. Whether the flour is whole wheat or whole rye doesn’t matter. Gluten is inherent in the grain itself, so whether it’s whole wheat or refined doesn’t change the gluten content.

So how do we deal with this?

Just like with sugar, we can adapt our diet by using alternatives to wheat derivatives. I mostly use almond flour and coconut flour. Since I’ve almost completely eliminated bread, I can make everything else I want with these flours. Quinoa and its flour, buckwheat and its flour, corn flour, and teff flour (which is new to our country) are also alternatives. You can make almost anything with these flours. Of course, there’s a difference in taste, but they add wonderful new flavors to my life.

And as I always say, instead of dwelling on the things I can’t eat and constantly complaining about it, it makes me feel better to be grateful for the hundreds of options I can eat and to be thankful for them. You can make such wonderful dishes with all the vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts that nature offers us. We just need to be open to experimenting in the kitchen.

My almond and cocoa cake recipe, which I make completely gluten-free and without refined sugar, tastes amazing, and in my opinion, is even tastier than a regular cake made with flour.

The detailed recipe is here.

This article was published on www.hthayat.com on January 18, 2017, and is a quote from the site.