Top Ten Reasons To Go Gluten Free

Top Ten Reasons To Go Gluten Free

This was written in the fall of 2012 as I reflected on the reasons, other than a diagnosis of Celiac Disease, that one might want to eat a gluten-free diet. We posted the list one item at a time, but I wanted it available in total since it makes an interesting case for a life change. Remember, if you aren’t battling Celiac Disease or severe gluten-intolerance, you can experiment for a day, a week, a month or a year. Variety is the spice of life. Have fun with this direction if it’s a path you choose to explore. And remember:

Pots and Pans are easier to clean! You might not consider this a list topper, but I think of it every time I’m washing cake pans, skillets, or mixing bowls. GF batters and sauces rinse off much more easily than conventional flour does: Yes!
Feel better! GF food is easier for everyone to digest. And, you might find that some other pesky symptoms ebb.
Exposure to a variety of ethnic foods! Many foreign diets include little or no wheat: Thai, Persian, South American, Native American, Japanese …. Have fun expanding your culinary horizons!
Learn about the variety of flours available and commonly used in the rest of the world! Garbanzo bean, quinoa, flax seed, mesquite, sorghum are only a few of the flours you can buy locally or on line.
Lose weight! Many might put this closer to the top. As one eats less conventional bread by skipping rolls and butter before dinner, eating salad instead of a sandwich, or using steamed chard or spaghetti squash instead of pasta, the pounds come off quite easily.
Support small business! A lot of the companies producing GF crackers, cookies, and flours are local independent entities.
Develop Empathy! You discover what it feels like to be in the minority when you decline the restaurant rolls, birthday cupcakes, “Casual Friday” office pizza, game-day beer or doughnuts. It results in the determination to be inclusive in a variety of situations, not all relating to food.
Everyone can come to dinner at your house! If about 1% of the population has Celiac Disease and a higher percentage has gluten intolerance or sensitivity, you can be proud and comfortable knowing that everyone will be accommodated at your dining room table. (Still check for lacto, ovo, vegan, and nut preferences/ allergies.)
Savor the joy and satisfaction of preparing food from “Scratch!” The best GF muffins you eat will be warm out of your oven! We all eat too much pre-packaged commercially produced food. Go “whole” – you may find yourself also going “local” and “organic”, and that’d be good for the local economy and world ecology.
Enjoy the satisfaction of learning and practicing something new! We forget that education is life-long. Because food is elemental to our daily lives, altering one’s diet has immediate consequences. Cooking and eating GF will be easier than learning the violin. And the results will taste better!

22 thoughts on “Top Ten Reasons To Go Gluten Free”

I love this post! I absolutely adore well stated positive angles to coeliacs disease, and this is one of the better lists I’ve encountered. Brilliant!

I will share 🙂

-Kristine

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Great list! I especially like #7 though I enjoy the benefits of #1 🙂 It is true, much less scrubbing. I guess missing the sticky factor – gluten – helps!
-Dana

I love the item about easier to clean pots and pans!

Excellent information. Celiac disease runs in my family, so I too have wheat issues. It’s also interesting how wheat (at least in the US) was bred differently starting in the 1950’s, which may be a contributing factor as to why so much wheat intolerance is occurring today.. Thanks for the post!

“Develop empathy”–funny but true! Suddenly I understand why my friend with a peanut allergy always shows up places saying he “ate beforehand.” A lot of people talk about getting to skip the lengthy kneading process when baking bread, too. As a lazy baker, this appeals to me.

Thank you for stopping by Ancestreats and liking our “Chocolate Jammie” cookie recipe. We’ve shared this list with our twitter fans because of it’s unique perspective, especially #3. We encourage you share a recipe via our site. Our community would love to learn about more gluten-free family favorite recipes.

I’ve been cooking/baking gluten-free since I started dating my husband (he’s gluten-intolerant but doesn’t have Celiac’s disease) seven years ago and I wholeheartedly agree with all of these reasons!

I love #3, and it is definitely my #1 reason. While I am simply trying to maintain a low gluten diet, since taking on a pescatarian diet I have certainly expanded my dining options to include many ethnic foods, and I also love trying to add in new ingredients to our diet, it really makes heading into the kitchen every night a bit of an adventure.
Another one to add to your list: cut down on your time in the grocery store. I shop along the edge of the store (vegetables, fruits, dairy, eggs, fish counter) with only a few ventures into the main aisles. While my friends bemoan the crowded aisles of the local stores I find bliss sifting through new vegetables or herbs to try and am out of the store in no time.

LOVE #7! I am not personally gluten-free but I went GF for a month so I could empathize with clients/patients who do not eat gluten, and I really saw how challenging it can be. From dinners at friends’ houses to traveling (i.e. airports), I felt like I had to learn a whole new way of living. Great list!

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Thanks for liking my posts. You’ll be pleased to know my Why Gluten-free post is scheduled to go live tomorrow with a reference to these top 10 reasons to go Gluten free 🙂