Top Gluten-Free Foods –  Want to cut down the Gluten from your diet? No doubt it is a difficult and limiting task, but many healthy and delicious foods are gluten-free naturally. They can help you well in cutting out gluten from your diet. Natural gluten-free foods are the most cost-effective and healthy way of following a gluten-free diet. There are many Gluten-free foods that you can prefer to take in your diet. Some of the naturally gluten-free foods include fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry, fish and seafood, dairy, etc.

What is Gluten?

Gluten is found in grains such as wheat, rye, spelled, and barley and belongs to the protein family. Wheat is the most common gluten-containing grain. Glutenin and gliadin are the two main proteins in gluten. For all the adverse health effects of gluten, gliadin is responsible. Gluten is famous for its glue-like texture.

Why Gluten-free?

For people suffering from celiac disease, gluten-sensitivity, or skin disorders like dermatitis herpetiformis, a gluten-free diet is recommended. For people with irritable bowel syndrome, the neurological disorder gluten ataxia, type 1 diabetes, and HIV- Associated enteropathy, a gluten-free diet is a lot helpful.

Top Gluten-Free Foods 2021

Many gluten-free foods can help you well in staying healthy and eating a gluten-free diet. Some of the best gluten-free foods are:

Cereals

Not every cereal is wheat-based some can be gluten-free as well. Hence go for the cereals that have a gluten-free tag on their label in the ingredient list. Cornflakes, puffed rice cereal may contain malt flavoring which contains gluten, and hence watch out for gluten-free ones.

Oats

The equipment used for wheat harvesting is used for the oasts harvesting and processing as well and is contaminated. Hence try going for the pure, uncontaminated oats and consume them in moderation. It is the best tip to take for people suffering from celiac disease. Hence be careful while purchasing oats, have a look at the label to see if it’s gluten-free or not.

Fruits and vegetables

Being naturally gluten-free, fruits and vegetables are the best to include in the gluten-free diet. Avoid eating processed fruits or vegetables as they may contain gluten in form of addictives or thickening agents. The processed foods and vegetables contain gluten-containing ingredients such as hydrolyzed wheat protein, modified food starch, malt, and maltodextrin.

You can include citrus fruits, bananas, peaches, apples, bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, radishes, green beans, etc.

Proteins

Including animal and plant-based sources, many foods contain protein. These foods are naturally gluten-free. Whereas it is quite possible that to fill and flavor gluten containing ingredients such as soy sauce, flour, malt, and vinegar may be used. There are some gluten-free proteins that you can include in your gluten-free diet such as legumes, nuts, and seeds, red meat, poultry, seafood, traditional soy foods, etc.

Dairy products

The best thing to note about dairy products is that they are gluten-free. But not the flavored ones and addictives-rich dairy products as they may contain gluten. Thickeners, malt, and modified starch are some of the gluten-containing ingredients that dairy products may contain.

Some common gluten-containing ingredients may become part of the dairy. Some of the gluten-free dairy products include milk, butter, and ghee, cheese, cream, cottage cheese, sour cream, and yogurt.

Spices, sauces, and condiments

Being naturally gluten-free it is quite possible that some spices, sauces, and condiments may contain gluten. But they contain gluten containing ingredients that work as emulsifiers, stabilizers, or flavor enhancers. Some of the gluten-free spices, sauces, and condiments you can use for adding flavor to your gluten-free diet are tamari, coconut aminos, white vinegar, etc.

Conclusion

Hence there are plenty of foods you can choose to ensure a gluten-free well-balanced diet. Including fruits, vegetables, legumes, certain whole grains, oils, dairy products, as well as fresh meat everything is naturally gluten-free. While consuming any processed food always check the labels they are gluten-free or not. Depending on the source of processing of some grain, they may be contaminated with gluten.

Also, avoid taking the food that needs to be double-checked for gluten and gluten can also be a part of food that you are not expecting it to be part of. Hence eat any of the foods listed above to enjoy a gluten-free diet.