Gluten eating habits are hard to break
Sometimes — or perhaps all of the time — bad habits are difficult to break.
Smoking, drinking, drugs — but what about gluten? Yes, that gluten: The protein found mostly in wheat products.
Gluten-free people can indulge in moderation
One might assume that when you find out you need to go gluten free, it’s as easy to quit as that super hard G.E. Unfortunately, it’s hard to give up things that used to give you comfort, things that make you feel good, things that you ardently enjoy.
This past weekend I suffered a relapse. And not just “Oh, let me eat an Oreo or two.” I suffered the kind of relapse that gluten-free people have when they snap. Although being gluten free has helped my health in ways that I couldn’t even fathom, I still missed my McDonald’s, my pasta, my Oreos.
Too bad I don’t believe in the saying “moderation is key.”
Instead I had several plates of leftover pasta: cheese tortellini, penne primavera, chicken Parmesan. I had several pieces of garlic bread. I had several cups of Oreos sucked in milk (also known as goop), as well as McDonald’s after a night at the 9-0.
What’s that you ask? Did I feel guilty the next day? Negative, my body was in too much pain from the amount of glutenous junk food trying to decompose in my body. Safe to say, I’m not going to go down that road again for a long time.
So if you ever feel like you just can’t take it anymore — and it won’t kill you — then have that piece of bread. Have some cookies. Have a little bit of pasta. Just try not to go overboard.
Remember what life was like before going gluten-free? Probably tiring, with stomach aches and a genuine lack of health. You do not want to go back to being that person.
Everything in moderation, you guys. Unless it’s a 20-piece McNuggets from Mickey D’s. That you have my permission for.
I agree with the other posters. There really isn’t an option for those who must avoid gluten for health reasons to eat it in moderation. Each bite you take in is almost like taking in small bits of poison into your system and the villi in your intestine attack this gluten resulting in inflammation and a weakened immune system.
If you’re going gluten-free due to gluten allergy, intolerance or celiac disease I would suggest finding healthy gluten-free options for any foods you may be craving. Really, we’ve been following a gf diet for over ten years now and there’s not much we crave at all that we can make ourselves.
Who is this article intended for? Because believe me, if you actually had a gluten problem, you wouldn’t think it was ok to eat it ‘in moderation’. And for celiacs, it is absolutely not ok, EVER, to eat gluten. Sure – I get sad occasionally when everyone else has pizza and I can’t eat it. But to think that I’d take even a bite of something with gluten in it just because I felt sad for a moment? To expose myself to weeks of headaches, stomach problems and skin rashes? Why in the world would I want to do that?
If you’re a fad dieter, move on if you can’t handle it – you’re indulging in self-denial because you like it. If you actually have a gluten issue or, god forbid, celiac disease – then learn to deal with it. You don’t need oreos to live.
I’m a little confused by this article and sincerely hope that you don’t have celiac disease or that newbies to the GF diet who have it don’t read your article. Event the smallest amount of gluten can get them severely ill. For those with celiac disease, there is no such thing as moderation when it comes to gluten.