When you’re trying to avoid gluten, it’s hard to let your guard down at cookouts, picnics, and July 4th barbecues.
And unfortunately, simply steering clear of bread and pie isn’t enough to keep you gluten-free. Dozens of seemingly safe foods contain hidden gluten. And even small amounts can leave you suffering.
But it can feel just as bad to miss out on all the fun, eating food you painstakingly prepped yourself… or even skipping the food all together.
Luckily, you can fully enjoy a gluten-free summer by taking a few proactive steps to protect yourself from gluten consequences.
Suffering from Gluten Consequences
Millions of people react to gluten, even when they eat very small amounts. If you’re in that club, you know that consuming gluten can make you feel awful.
Gluten can cause severe gastrointestinal (GI) upset. And even though gluten consequences often start in your gut… they don’t always stay there. Gluten-related symptoms can include anything from abdominal pain to headaches to rashes.
But the most immediate, most common signs that you’ve consumed some unwanted gluten include:
- diarrhea
- constipation
- foul-smelling gas and stool
- indigestion
- bloating
Thankfully, you can avoid all those very unpleasant outcomes by taking three proactive steps to protect yourself against unavoidable gluten.
Proactive Protection, Step #1: Know the Gluten Aliases
Gluten is a protein found in grains like wheat, barley, and rye. And while popular grains are easy to spot on an ingredient label, you may miss some of the other aliases that processed food producers use.
Avoid these ingredients that may contain gluten include:
|
semolina |
spelt |
durum |
dextrin |
maltodextrin |
|
farina |
starch |
modified food starch |
hydrolyzed vegetable protein |
textured vegetable protein |
|
glucose syrup |
caramel |
caramel color |
malt flavoring |
natural colors |
|
natural flavors |
artificial flavors |
artificial colors |
malt vinegar |
malt extract |
Gluten Avoidance Issue: The Processing Problem
Complicating matters even further is the following: Even naturally gluten-free grains can cause symptoms. But... it’s not their fault.
It’s virtually impossible to avoid gluten contamination when these “safe” grains are milled or processed on the same equipment as grains that contain gluten. So if even trace amounts of gluten affect you, make sure to look for the “Processed on shared equipment” warning on the ingredient label.
Proactive Protection, Step #2: Know Where Gluten Hides
It’s honestly shocking the number of “safe” foods that contain unexpected gluten. Sure, you know to avoid the obvious offenders like bread, bagels, cake, and pasta. But gluten may also hide out in many foods that you’d never think of, such as:
- beer
- wine coolers
- flavored tea and iced tea
- pickles
- cold cuts (like salami)
- hot dogs
- premade burger patties
- ketchup
- mustard
- mayonnaise
- marinades
- salad dressing
- seasoned rice
- French fries
- chips, including some corn chips and potato chips
- roasted nuts
- candy, such as jelly beans and licorice
- marshmallows
That’s why it’s so important to know exactly what you’re eating, because gluten appears in some pretty surprising places…
Gluten Avoidance Issue: Even Gluten-Free Foods May Contain Gluten
It’s frustrating to be sticking to a gluten-free diet and still suffer from symptoms. Unfortunately, you can’t always trust “gluten-free” labels to be accurate.
One huge study that conducted 5,624 tests on restaurant foods labeled as gluten-free found that:
- 32% contained gluten
- 51% of gluten-free pasta contained gluten
- 34% of packaged gluten free “dinners” contained gluten
- 53% of gluten-free pizza contained gluten
But even though you can’t always trust gluten-free food labels to be 100% accurate, you can still enjoy your favorite foods without gluten consequences by taking the next proactive step.
Proactive Protection, Step 3: Pre-Protect Yourself Against Gluten
As we said before, gluten is a protein. And if you have any level of gluten-sensitivity, as millions of people do, your body can't properly break down this protein.
For you, that might mean GI discomfort whenever you eat gluten. Or it might mean that your immune system goes into hyperactive mode and attacks itself when it senses even microscopic amounts of gluten – a disease called celiac.
Whatever your level of gluten intolerance, you can protect against unexpected or stray gluten by giving your body special supplemental tools. Those include:
Targeted enzymes such as DPP-IV and Tolerase G that specifically break down damaging gluten proteins into harmless amino acids…
Protective probiotics such as Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus subtilis HU58, and Saccharomyces boulardii that help protect your gut against gluten onslaught, and drive a healthy rebuild post-attack.
Betaine HCl, which increases acid production in your stomach to increase digestion and nutrient absorption.
By adding these to your daily supplement regimen, you can eat with confidence at every picnic, cookout, and barbecue this summer… and avoid gluten consequences.
Avoid Gluten Consequences with Just Thrive Gluten Away
Gluten Away helps you conquer your gluten fears by offering proactive support against unintended gluten consequences.
Gluten Away helps your body deal successfully with accidental gluten exposure by delivering powerful ingredients including:
- Gluten-smashing enzymes DPP-IV and Tolerase G
- Gut-supporting probiotics Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus subtilis HU58, and Saccharomyces boulardii
- Betaine HCl
Erase gluten-worry and enjoy every summer outing with Just Thrive Gluten Away.
