How Do I Start My Gluten Free Journey?

Read Time: 3 minutes
by Gluten Free Journey

Have you recently been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, Gluten Intolerance or another medical reason needing you to begin a Gluten Free Journey? You and millions of others have experienced what you are right now, and successfully do it!

How do you start a gluten free journey?

Firstly, it is recommended to be diagnosed with Celiac Disease before any individual switches to a gluten free diet. This is to help avoid having to reintroduce gluten back into your diet doing the gluten challenge for accurate test results.

Gluten Challenge | What is the Gluten Challenge & How Does It Affect You?

“It’s been recommended that having a gluten free diet would really help with my overall energy levels and quality of life.”

Yes, many doctors and physicians like recommending switching to a gluten free diet for more than Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance, but if either of these potentially run in your family, being tested for Celiac Disease is important before going gluten free.

Diagnosed with Celiac Disease, now how do you start a gluten free journey?

Learning how to read ingredient labels and finding the hidden gluten in ingredient labels is one of the handiest skills any one person can do when diagnosed with Celiac Disease or living with someone diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

Checking ingredient labels is a quick and easy habit that many with Celiac Disease must learn to do. Being able to spot wheat, barley, rye and other gluten containing ingredients will help avoid cross contamination and being glutened.

Finding the Hidden Gluten – What Products Contain Gluten?

How do you naturally start a gluten free journey?

Choosing to have a naturally gluten free journey is possible, if you are prepared to remove all processed and pre-made foods from your gluten free diet. You will begin by removing any and all gluten containing items from your home. This is where knowing how to read ingredient labels once again comes in handy.

There are so many ways that gluten can hide in our homes and foods that you will throw out more than you keep.

Toss all gluten containing items, and any that are questionable or have potentially been cross contaminated with gluten. This includes your condiments, toothpastes, spices, boxed products and more.

Eating naturally gluten free foods excludes some common meals like pasta, pizza, sandwiches, frozen prepared foods, but does minimize the risk of gluten 100%.

With processed foods, you are also worrying about facility & factory standards, and if they are a gluten free establishment or if gluten is used or processed in the same facilities. Some companies choose to use the term “Gluten Friendly” as they are unable to be classified as gluten free due to the risk of gluten contamination.

Does Gluten Friendly Mean Gluten Free?

What do you eat when starting a gluten free journey?

Once you’ve mastered the art of reading ingredient labels, you will quickly discover there is a lot more that you can eat that you originally thought of. Of course the common things people search for gluten free counterparts for are bread products, crackers, baked goods, frozen meals and such, and they do exist.

At the beginning of your gluten free journey, your main goal is to begin healing your body and developing a healthy gluten free diet. This is when going naturally gluten free will be most beneficial. We recommend maintaining an 80% naturally gluten free to 20% gluten free substitutes ratio for the easiest transition to your gluten free journey.

Finding the right gluten free foods when grocery shopping doesn’t have to be a chore anymore with our available Gluten Free Grocery List!

Gluten Free Food List | Grocery List Notepad
by GlutenFreeJourney

Cooking from scratch is also easier when starting a gluten free journey. Discover easy to make Celiac Disease safe recipes, with easy to follow videos and step by step how-tos based on the gluten free ingredients you know & love. Our fast, easy gluten free recipe ideas are all made for home cooks!