Even with products like gluten-free pizza crusts, how hard is it to go gluten-free? Are there any health risks with going gluten-free?
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Gluten-Free Pizza Crusts and Common Sense
How hard is it to go gluten-free? Gluten is present in a lot of foods in the US. Most people think of gluten as being something that's found only in bread. However, gluten is found in a lot of different products.
For example, normal pasta has gluten in it, as does soy sauce. Gluten is also found in some binding agents like bread crumbs, and even some candies. In fact, because wheat is found in a lot of foods that are part of an average American's diet, going gluten-free requires adopting a whole new diet. Most breads, breakfast cereals, crackers, conventional pastas, and pastry goods would have to go. Processed foods would also have to be eliminated from your diet too because they are made with trace amounts of gluten too.
Are There Any Health Risks with Going Gluten-Free?
Are there any health risks with going gluten-free? Any time you start getting rid of whole types of foods that you've eaten before, you run the risk of nutritional deficiencies. Look at people who are used to being more omnivorous switching to a vegan diet for example. Without supplementing their diet with some sort of protein and iron source such as lentils, they can run the risk of anemia and immune deficiencies. The same problem holds true for switching to a gluten-free diet.
Some products that are labeled as being gluten-free are often short of vital nutrients such as calcium, zinc, magnesium, fiber, and other things as well. So, if you're switching to a gluten-free diet, make sure it is under the orders of your doctor or dietitian. Eating a healthy gluten-free diet is all about being attentive to what you're eating. The problem with going gluten-free is that it is pretty much an all or nothing scenario
Eliminating some gluten from your diet isn't an option, like cutting back on fatty foods or sugar. For people with gluten-sensitivity, the smallest amount of gluten can cause intestinal damage. You also have to watch out for another problem in the area of gluten-free products: price gouging.
A lot of gluten-free pasta and bread for example cost a lot more than the equivalent products that have gluten in them, sometimes as much as three times the cost. So remember, being gluten-free doesn't mean being dumb. Check with your doctor to see if you need to be gluten-free, and buy products that are quality such as gluten-free pizza crusts.
Read another article on this subject here.
