Celiac Awareness Month, and how bad is gluten really? 

It’s  Celiac Awareness Month. At this stage I’ve written 4 x Best Selling books which all have one thing in common… they discuss gluten as a major contributor to many many health issues and provide recipes and solutions to enjoy foods without gluten. 

Have this knowledge that I’m about to share with you so that you won’t have to be a victim to gluten side effects.  

Celiac Disease Awareness Month increases the public's knowledge of the autoimmune disorder celiac disease. Celiac disease is when the small intestine is hypersensitive to gluten, leading to difficulty in digesting food and it can lead to many serious and painful symptoms. 

Whether or not you have celiac disease I believe it is best to avoid gluten as much as possible. Treat gluten like a special occasion even if you can tolerate it. I do not have celiac but when I hit rock bottom with my health 14 years ago I cut gluten completely from my diet because it takes a lot of energy from the body to digest gluten. I needed all my strength to heal. Now I have gluten once or maybe just twice per month and that is the perfect balance for me. 

Eating gluten daily can be damaging for your health unless it is high-quality sprouted non-GMO certified organic gluten, and you have a digestive system that’s able to process it.  

Let’s first get some facts straight about gluten. 

• Gluten has changed dramatically over the last 60 years thanks to GMO farming
• If you are even wondering what gluten is it’s wheat, rye, and barley
• Did you know gluten is what our ancestors lived off and loved? It filled up the Native Americans hence the word gluten… it acts like glue in the gut. But now we have so much food at every corner we just don’t need it 
• Gluten is naturally in flour which is used to make breads, cakes, cookies muffins but it’s also used as a filler in candy, shampoo, supplements, medications, canned food, pickles, spices and more. Read your labels! 
• Gluten can wreak havoc on your digestive system. It’s one of the top 4 usual suspects contributing to all your health problems. That’s right. Try cutting down gluten and watch your health problems dissolve away
• Gluten is inflammatory to the body even if you have the perfect digestive system 
• Eating gluten can lead to acne, psoriasis, brain fog, anxiety, and even depression. Before I started this natural life I ate gluten every day and was bloated, had digestive issues, and was so tired all the time 
• Gluten is naturally occurring in nature so when I say eat as natural as possible it can apply but the rule with gluten is it has to be from a good source, organic non-GMO gluten! Don’t just put low-quality gluten into your body, you are asking for trouble! Make a deal with yourself that you will only consume the best gluten possible from here on 

Gluten is just unnecessary these days we have so many better alternatives. But I get it gluten can taste amazing freshly baked bread mmm I get it that’s amazing. I personally enjoy gluten as I mentioned once or twice a month but it’s high quality so I don’t feel guilty that it’s doing damage. Treat gluten like a special occasion and you will be right. Do not eat gluten every single day like a sandwich or you are asking for trouble. I’m telling you it’s best to be avoided. People with celiac obviously cannot have any gluten because it’s just too painful for them. And please don’t disregard this disease or a gluten intolerance as it is a real disease and can cause a lot of discomfort. Another option is to go to Europe and eat gluten there - it’s much higher quality!

My favorite gluten free alternatives that I recommend to all my clients are: 

• For pizza check out cauliflower crusts
• For baking use one part almond flour and one part tapioca for that perfect consistency to make bread, cakes, pancakes etc 
• Check out my recipes in my books for gluten free cookie dough and cookies. All of my books are gluten free 
• For pasta check out Explore Cuisine. Explore Cuisine is organic pasta made with beans, lentils and pulses to make a high protein and high fiber gluten free delicious pasta. I love all of them but absolutely check out the red lentil penne for a more traditional pasta and this edamame Mung bean fettuccini. It cooks in 5 minutes and it’s perfect with some olive oil, sea salt and spinach

To recap:

• If you have celiacs enjoy my gluten-free alternatives 
• If you don’t have celiacs limit yourself to gluten once or twice a month but make sure it’s high quality. There are so many epic alternatives out there these days that you won’t even miss it. Whatever you do do not consume genetically modified gluten products or “foods”

Enjoy!