The gluten contained in wheat products can cause or contribute to digestive disorders and joint problems. If you suffer with either of these conditions, a wheat free diet may be just what you need to ease those uncomfortable symptoms. Do you need another reason to consider going wheat free?.

Eliminating this food out of your eating plan can also help you drop those unwanted pounds (I guess that got your attention).

Millet for Gluten Free Diet
Millet is commonly used as a wheat substitute in both gluten free and wheat free diets, as well as foods such as quinoa, brown rice, and sprouted grains.

A wheat free diet is often confused with a gluten free diet. Although wheat products contain gluten, these two types of diets are not the same thing. When you’re on a wheat free diet, you are simply eliminating all foods that contain wheat. When you follow a gluten free diet, you not only give up wheat, you also need to eliminate barley and rye as well.

Digestive problems and wheat consumption

The symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome vary from person to person, and they can come and go. Gluten intolerance has been shown to make IBS symptoms. Since gluten is discovered in wheat, eliminating it from your diet can help decrease the symptoms.

You don’t have to have irritable bowel syndrome, for wheat to cause digestive problems. When you consume wheat, it can clog up the intestines and make digestion difficult. A wheat-free diet can encourage a wholesome digestive tract by allowing nourishment to flow through easier.
Go Wheat-less and Drop a Few Pounds

Wheat is found in bread, pasta, baked goods, pasties, cereal, beer, ice cream, pizza’s, gravies and other processed foods. These types of foods have no nutritional value and they make it hard for you to lose weight. On top of all those empty calories you get when you load up on processed wheat products, you ingest all kinds of unhealthy chemical additives, think insecticides pesticides etc.

When you boot wheat out of your diet, there’s nothing left to eat but lean meats, fish, poultry, fruits, beans, nuts, legumes and vegetables. These foods are nutrient rich and are lower in calories than processed foods. When you choose healthier foods, you automatically reduce your calorie intake, so you have an easier time slimming down.

Eliminate the Wheat to Reduce Joint Pain

Gluten can hinder your body’s defenses against joint pain initiated by osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. If you have either of these ailments, a wheat-free diet may help decrease discomfort. Also, when you suffer from joint pains, being overweight will intensify the pain, there’s more pressure on the joints, they wear out faster. The reduction in weight from a wheat free diet will take some of the force off of your joints and help alleviate the agony and increase your mobility.

When you’ve been consuming wheat all of your life, the prospect of eliminating it from your diet can be daunting. If going wheat-free is difficult for you, try taking small steps. Start by cutting your intake by half. After you have done this for a while, continue to reduce the amount of wheat you consume. Before you realise it, you’ll be wheat-free and on the route to better health.
As a treat and delicious meal, try the following wheat free recipe:

MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Serves 6

1 litre of stock-either chicken or vegetable – ensure that any stock cubes are gluten free
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 finely chopped shallots
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
400g risotto rice
255g mushrooms, cleaned and slices.
Small handful of thyme, picked and chopped
1 tablespoon of olive oil
a handful of parsley freshly chopped
100ml dry white wine
25g unsalted butter
50g freshly grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese

First prepare the mushrooms, by heating a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan. Once hot, add the mushrooms and the thyme. Toss them for about a minute, until cooked, which should take approximately three minutes and then season with salt and pepper. Place to the side off the heat and prepare the risotto.

Heat the stock. In a separate pan heat a tablespoon of olive oil and add the shallot, a pinch of salt and sweat for about three minutes. Add the garlic, fry for another minute and then add the rice.

While you’re slowly stirring the rice so that they’re all warm, add the wine, stirring continuously. When the rice has absorbed the wine. Add the mushrooms and stir until the rice again absorbs the moisture from the mushrooms.

Add a cup of stock and stir continuously, until the liquid is absorbed. Continue doing this until you use nearly all the stock, and the rice is soft, but with a slight bite, rather than mushy.

Remove from the heat and season to taste, add the butter, cheese, most of the parsley, leaving a bit for garnish and stir gently.

Serve with the remaining parsley sprinkled on top.