Gluten sensitivity is real.
According to GoGlutenFreely:
6% (approximately) of the U.S. population is gluten intolerant. $2,000 (approximate) average annual burden of celiac disease. 23% of U.S. consumers shop for gluten-free products. 80% of food products contain gluten.
And it goes further than that.
Many either have:
- Celiac disease (outright allergy to gluten).
- Or an intolerance that causes “less” severe issues.
I’d put myself in the intolerant category.
Allergies are life-threatening, and intolerances are more of a nuisance that disrupts your day to day life.
Gluten-free foods, although they sound healthy aren’t necessarily healthy or better for you.
That’s a problem if you’re pursuing a gluten-free diet to improve health, only to hurt your health by eating these problematic gluten-free foods!
If you follow a ketogenic or low-carb diet, there is even more reason to avoid gluten (and gluten-free foods) like it’s poison.
Let’s talk about it.
Gluten-free foods to AVOID immediately:
1. Quinoa
I remember buying Quinoa thinking I was doing myself a good service. I had bad stomach pains for days and I’ll never eat it ever again.
Not even pasta with the gluten did this to me (even though stopping it cleared my skin up a lot).
It’s classed as a “Pseudo” grain.
2. Maple Syrup
Syrup, honey, it doesn’t matter. Even if it’s organic. The only exception is if you’re extremely disciplined, so much so that you could have one teaspoon or less and leave it at that.
The other exception is if you’ve already reached optimal metabolic health. But if you’re searching for gluten free foods that’s obviously not the case.
Related: 16 Signs You STILL Have A Sweet Tooth That Won’t Go Away
3. Gluten Free cookies
Cookies taste good, but we regret the short-term happiness later on when it leads to complications, problems, health issues, diabetes, or whatever else.
Going gluten free with cookies (unless YOU make it yourself) won’t change that.
4. Almond Ice Cream
Ice cream is still ice cream when you buy it from the supermarket, Amazon, or elsewhere. It’s still loaded with sugar, fat, and carbs, which is the worst mixture you can get.
If you want this, make your own Almond Ice Cream with natural and healthier ingredients to ensure it’s not loaded with bad ingredients and so you can enjoy it without worry.
Relevant: 20+ Unhealthy High Carb DESSERTS
5. Quinoa pasta
Pasta, as sold in the West, is high-carb. No way around that fact. Remove the gluten and it’s still gonna be high carb.
Quinoa might be a little lower in carbs, but is it good enough? Nope.
All in all, it’s not an ideal replacement for gluten. Best off going with something like Cauliflower Rice.
6. Gluten free waffles
Waffles are junk food and that’s why they taste so good. And it’s a food you tend to add chocolate sauce, syrup, honey, or something else to enhance the flavour.
It’s not something you can remove the gluten from and expect it to be somehow healthier since they only add other ingredients to it (plus the carb content).
7. Grenade Carb Killa Chocolate Spread
Delicious, chocolates, and tastes like the real thing without the gluten. But it’s still high in carbs and sugar, relatively speaking, since you won’t “only” have a serving.
It’s chocolate for God’s sake. So you already know you’ll get carried away and end up eating too much.
Not good for low carb enthusiasts or gluten free seekers who prioritise optimal health.
8. Nicks’ Keto Snack Bars
These are sold as keto snack bars that are keto friendly, but are they are? And if not, then why?
Corn starch, potato starch, corn flour – all 3 make it questionable as far as your blood sugars.
Still, there are better “keto” bars on the market.
9. Ensure NutriVigor Nutritional Shake
As usual, the marketing sells you o the health benefits, only for you to be disappointed when you look at the facts on the back and what it means.
Marketing drivel at its finest.
10. Coca Cola
Goes without saying, but some people will fall for the idea that if something has no gluten then it must be OK to have it occasionally, every weekend, or whatever the case may be.
Coke is still trash. There’s nothing inside coca cola that should be in your body when it can literally defrost ice when poured onto a car with frostbite.
11. Gluten free cereals
GoFree is a popular gluten free cereal in the UK and it seems reasonable enough, But as with all cereals it’s fortified with vitamins, meaning it’s unnatural, and the carb count is high.
Low carb is the mantra for those following keto,and the cereal’s ingredients tell you everything you need to know.
12. Gluten free bars
I don’t care what the bar says in most cases. Because it’s almost always gonna be full of shit.
It’s always the ingredients where you find out it’s don’t what you thought it is. Most overlook this and only focus on nutrition which is foolish and deceptive by nature.
A bar is junk food with few exceptions.
Related: The BEST Foods I Eat When Travelling
13. Canderel Sugarly Granulated Zero Calorie Sweetener
It may be gluten free, and it may be a sweetener you can use, but Aspartame is no good, and for those with heart problems you’ll notice the negative effects immediately.
I know I did, so I threw it away.
If you need a gluten free sweetener, try Stevia instead. And avoid things with Aspartame, sucralose, or otherwise.
14. Gluten free crisps
Crips (or chips in the USA) are a delicacy for many people. It’s a snack, a treat, or in other words – junk food.
Replacing junk food with gluten free alternatives does NOT make it better for your gut health, heart health, or overall health.
There are better gluten free alternatives you can have as “snacks” and this ain’t it.
15. Rice sold in supermarkets
Rice in the Western world, as sold in supermarkets, is high in carbohydrates, inconsequentially low in fibre, and pretty much devoid of any nutrition.
It’s also fortified with vitamins so that’s another issue.
“Gluten free” is useless if the product itself isn’t the health staple they claim it to be.
16. Vegetable oils
The key is to keep your inflammation down if you’re suffering from gluten intolerance or worse. And vegetable oils sold as “healthy” do the exact opposite of what they claim.
There are videos on YouTube you can watch to see the difference between vegetable oils and let’s say, Olive Oil, and how the vegetable oils go rancid in comparison.
This is what inflames you in the first place. “Gluten-free” is a useless label to use here because it doesn’t mean healthy.
17. Bread sold as “gluten free”
Bread sold as gluten free is a gag most of the time if you ask me. It’s a joke written like it’s not on the packaging.
Despite being gluten free, you’ll see ingredients that make you look twice and that should be avoided.
You can’t replace one pleasure with another and expect it to be healthy just because ONE ingredient changed.
Carbs are still high as well, which we don’t encourage here on Carb Cutta.
11 Signs You’re Eating Too Much Carbs
18. High sugar fruits
High sugar fruits would count as:
- Dried fruits.
- Mango.
- Bananas.
- Large Apples.
And things of that nature.
It’s true that fruits have fibre and it acts as a buffer, there’s no denying this. But if gluten is making you inflamed (inflammation), too much sugar even from fruits will have a similar effect.
So go for the lowest sugar fruits like berries instead.
19. Gluten free pancakes
The fact of the matter is, as shown by this list, when something is gluten free it means it’s loaded with sugars and other ingredients that makes it unhealthy.
There’s no sense in trying to replace bullshit with a healthier-sounding version of the same bullshit.
That “bullshit” is pancakes in this case, which they use corn starch, syrup, sugars, and other ingredients in place of gluten.
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