Travel & Gourmet

Delicious And Healthy Alternatives To The Gluten-containing Diet

In recent years, the gluten-free diet has become a real trend. More and more people are consciously opting for a gluten-free diet, whether for health or personal reasons. But what is gluten, what alternatives are there and does it even make sense to eat gluten-free as a healthy person?

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Gluten is a natural gluten protein found in many grains such as wheat, spelt and barley. For people with gluten intolerance or coeliac disease, eating foods containing gluten can lead to serious health problems.

Gluten intolerance is an umbrella term for intolerance to gluten. The symptoms vary depending on the disease. Among others, it can be a wheat flour allergy or gluten sensitivity.

Coeliac disease is a specific autoimmune disease that leads to inflammation and damage to the lining of the small intestine. Due to the damage, the intestinal villi are severely atrophied. The intestinal villi are small folds of skin in the small intestine. These folds increase the surface area through which the body absorbs nutrients from food.

For people with coeliac disease, eating foods containing gluten can lead to serious health problems. Over time, nutrient deficiencies and deficiency symptoms can occur. But people with gluten intolerance also show different symptoms such as flatulence, diarrhoea, fatigue or a weakened immune system.

Healthy gluten-free alternatives

1. Pseudo Cereals


Pseudo-cereals are cereals that are naturally gluten-free. These include quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat. These varieties can be used in many ways in the kitchen and are also real power grains. They contain a lot of protein, minerals and fibre. 


Quinoa, for example, is suitable as a base for salads or as a side dish with meat or fish. 


Amaranth can be served as pudding or porridge for breakfast. But the grain is also particularly suitable for savoury fillings.


Buckwheat can be made into fritters, noodles or pancakes.


There are also many different bakery and pasta products of all three varieties that can be further processed like their gluten-containing product colleagues and taste incredibly delicious. So you don't have to do without bread or pasta even on a gluten-free diet!

Buckwheat bread

2. Millet


Strictly speaking, millet is a cereal and not a pseudo-cereal. It belongs to the sweet grass family, just like wheat, rye, oats or barley. Unlike its family members, however, millet is entirely gluten-free. Millet is rich in vital substances and easy to digest. Millet flour can be used to make muffins, bread or pancakes. Millet flakes are an excellent alternative to oatmeal for breakfast. Especially recommended: Millet loaf fried in olive oil and garlic, served with potatoes and a green salad!

3. Corn


Corn is naturally gluten-free. Polenta made from corn semolina is a gluten-free and delicious side dish for main courses. However, sweet dishes can also be made from corn semolina, such as a polenta semolina porridge with vanilla or a polenta slice. You can use corn flour to bake delicious corn rolls or Colombian arepas. Arepas are small round corn cakes that are traditionally prepared with savoury fillings. Due to their neutral taste, they are just as easily eaten as a roll or served as a dessert with sweet fillings.

4. Rice


Rice is also gluten-free and has an incredible number of preparation options. Classically as a side dish with meat or fish, as a risotto or as a sweet rice casserole - you can do just about anything with rice and it still tastes good.

Italian risotto with artichokes

5. Potatoes


Potatoes do not contain gluten and can be eaten without hesitation if you have an intolerance. They are not only popular as a classic side dish, but also as chips, potato pancakes, soups, fried potatoes, casseroles or gratins.

Caution: Be sure to read the ingredients of industrially produced potato products. Flour is often used as a separating or binding agent, which could cause problems in case of intolerance.

6. Baking gluten-free cakes, pies and rolls


Popular gluten-free flours for cakes are mainly: rice flour, corn flour, coconut flour, buckwheat flour or almond flour. However, it is not enough to replace the wheat flour in the recipe with gluten-free flour. Gluten-free baking is sometimes tricky at first and requires some practice.

Since gluten-free flours do not contain gluten, it is essential to use an excellent binding agent. Gluten makes the dough elastic and ensures good cohesion and the necessary stickiness. For baking without gluten, it is best to use psyllium husks, xanthan gum or locust bean gum. 


Tip: It pays to be patient! In gluten-free baking, the liquid takes longer to bind completely and the dough rises. Especially with bread, it is advisable to let the dough stand overnight before processing it further. This gives the binding agent time to build up a stable structure and the flavours to develop.

chocolate cake with rasberries

How useful is a gluten-free diet without intolerance or disease?

More and more healthy people tend to switch to a gluten-free diet. Often the drive behind this is the myth of a healthier diet. It is said that the benefits are, for example, a reduction in flatulence and abdominal pain, weight loss or a positive effect on heart health. But is this true?

"Such a low-gluten diet can be a burden on health instead of promoting it" - Dr Hasselblatt

Dr Peter Hasselblatt is head of the intestinal outpatient clinic at the Department of Internal Medicine II at Freiburg University Hospital. He confirms that a gluten-free diet is essential for people with coeliac disease or gluten intolerance. However, there is no scientific proof of a positive effect of a gluten-free diet on health and the body in healthy people. "A long-term change of diet carried out, for this reason, is not recommended: It is expensive and can even be harmful to health," says the gastroenterologist.

A US study has also shown harmful effects on health: In two observational studies with about 45,000 women and 65,000 men, the participants were asked about their health every four years over a period of 30 years. People with a particularly gluten-rich diet were just as healthy as the average.

People with a gluten-free diet were diagnosed with heart disease more often than the average person. The scientists see the reason for the dietary change that resulted from the renunciation of gluten. For example, for the low-gluten diet, whole-grain products were dispensed with. However, these have been shown to have a hearth-saving effect on our bodies.

Photos: Shutterstock

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