Gluten Free Nutrition and Wellness Questions Answered by Nutritionist

For this post, I collected common gluten free nutrition questions from gluten free folk and got answers from a real qualified and experienced Nutritionist. 

I belong to a lot of gluten free Facebook groups to keep my pulse on what’s happening in the gluten free community, and I see the same questions and issues come up again and again…

• Why can’t I stay full on a gluten free diet? 
• Why am I gaining wait on a gluten free diet? 
• How can I feel better after accidentally eating gluten?
• How often should I be eating? 
• Should I be on a probiotic/prebiotic? 

And the worst, I am struggling so much, this diet is so hard, can someone please help?

Sometimes, getting answers from the masses on social media can be helpful. If nothing else, you are experiencing camaraderie and learning about other people’s real life experiences. Too many people feel like their doctor gives them a diagnosis, tells them to be to gluten free, and sends them on their way. 

So I thought, I’ll ask a real educated, qualified, experienced Registered Dietician Nutritionist all these gluten free diet nutrition questions that come up ALL THE TIME. 

Say Hello to Dawn Noe, a Licensed Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Lasting Weight Loss Nutrition Coach, and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist

Dawn’s been so wonderful and helpful in helping me out. 

One of the biggest reasons I wanted to start a gluten free blog was to help people. By answering these important questions, Dawn really helped me, and I’m hoping this post will help a lot of other people as well!

In addition to Dawn’s awesome advice, I also put in my two cents on some of these questions. Though I’m certainly no medical professional, I was diagnosed with Celiacs in the ‘90s and have learned a few things since then. So hopefully you can learn from my experience as well as awesome Dawn’s gluten free nutrition advice.

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1. What would you say to people who are unintentionally gaining weight on the gluten free diet?

Dawn: If you need to be gluten free for a health reason, but are gaining weight and frustrated by it, I would start by asking about the types of gluten free products you are using. 

It’s completely common to start to find products that are gluten free, such as gluten free donuts or maybe discover a gluten free bakery, and end up overeating because you finally found something that tastes great. But unfortunately, like all donuts, gluten free or not, these are highly processed foods that don’t provide much nutrition and have a lot of added sugar and empty calories. When it comes to weight loss or weight gain, calories matter. 

For example, an apple is gluten free and is about 60 calories. But a gluten free donut is 210 calories. So from a weight gain perspective, you’re more likely going to see weight gain if a lot of your gluten free diet is coming from packaged and processed foods.

2. What would you say to people who are having trouble getting/staying full on a gluten free diet? 

Dawn: We typically get fullness from foods with fiber, protein, and fat. So if you’ve gone gluten free, but aren’t including these basic nutrition components at your meals/snacks, you may struggle with fullness. 

For example, a bagel is all carbohydrate. Carbohydrate gets digested in about 2 hours, so it’s common to be hungry again. If you switch from a regular bagel to a gluten free bagel, you’ll likely be hungry in a couple hours. 

So the biggest change I would have someone do who is struggling with fullness is to add foods that contain fiber, protein, and fat.

• For fiber: add fruits, vegetables, beans, sweet potatoes, or a gluten free whole grain such as quinoa.
• For protein: add eggs, cheese, meat, tofu, and beans.
• For fat: add nuts, pumpkin seeds, olives, and olive oil.

GFG: If you’re a big fan of eggs, like me, one of these bulk hard boiled egg makers can save time, and provide a great quick snacks or an easy way to work protein into any meal.  Also, I recognize that eating whole, unprocessed foods is an important nutritional theme here, but I also dump a big scoop of this gluten free protein powder in my coffee every morning. This my favorite gf protein powder that I’ve found, and definitely helps get me through to lunch.

3. Dealing with symptoms for getting glutened is the worst! How can people feel better and help their gut heal faster?!

Dawn: Hydration – at least 64+ ounces of water and/or electrolyte beverages, rest, and possibly a probiotic may be the best routes from what I have read for easing symptoms and helping with recovery.

It may also be helpful to add anti-inflammatory foods, or spices such as turmeric, or herbal teas that can support digestion like peppermint, ginger or chamomile. If excessive diarrhea or vomiting are occurring, these can cause serious dehydration and electrolyte imbalances, which may require IV fluids from a healthcare provider. 

GFG: I personally usually do ginger tea until the nausea passes. I can’t even handle much water until I’m finished vomiting, but after that I drink as much water or electrolyte drink as I can handle. Bai Water has been my favorite electrolyte drink lately. I usually do some bone broth and dry Rice Chex, or some plain toast for my first meal or two when I’m ready and until I can handle other food.

I’ve also recently started incorporating pineapple juice into my post-glutened-lineup as it contains bromelain, which helps break down protein. And guess what, gluten is a protein, so I like to believe this helps!

Plenty of rest is also important. Importantly, don’t beat yourself up too much over it. The emotional part of getting glutened is often almost just as bad a the physical part.  

Dawn also suggests the following link from the National Celiac Association for What to Eat After Being Glutened.

4. Let’s talk gluten free flour… What do you see as some of the healthiest gluten free flours? How do popular flours like brown rice and almond flour stack up? Dangers of eating too many processed food whose primary ingredients are starches (white rice/potato)?

Dawn: Processed foods are one of the biggest issues we face in America that is impacting our health. This is why the “Standard American Diet” is often referred to as the SAD diet. So, if we have to choose a food that is processed, I try to pick the best of the options. For example, I know that almonds have a ton of health benefits which is why I generally will prefer almond flour as a gluten free “breading” option for say chicken parmesan when cooking. 

So when it comes to processed versus whole foods, I’d love for people to eat as many whole foods as possible. Examples: Almonds versus almond flour, baked or roasted potatoes versus potato flour or potato chips, etc. 

When you eat the whole food, the body gets the chance to breakdown the food including the fiber that is naturally occurring in the food. Fiber is found in the skin on the almonds and the skin on the baked potato. So an example for snacking would be to choose to snack on 20 salted almonds paired with a handful of raisins or dried cranberries  instead of a “snack bar” thats made with almond flour, added sugars, and a small amount of real fruit. 

If you do choose a more processed food, I tend to pick almond flour as my preferred gluten free flour because it is a little higher in fiber, protein, and healthy fat. Almond flour is also lower in carbohydrates, so this works out well for my clients living with diabetes or eating low carbohydrate nutrition. 

GFG: I do love snacking on some almonds! Anyone out there have a good almond flour bread recipe?!

5. For eating in general, do you believe more smaller meals throughout the day is better? Three well-rounded meals and a couple snacks? How often should we really be eating?

Dawn: In general, 3 meals with planned snacks as needed can work well for most. If we eat a balanced meal (carbs with fiber, protein, and fat), we typically experience hunger about every 4-5 hours. Considering our schedule and how often we are awake, that could look like: 

Examples of 3 Meals

• 8 a.m. Breakfast
• 12 p.m. Lunch
• 5 p.m. Dinner

Or Example of 3 Meals with Planned Snack

• 8 a.m. Breakfast
• 12 p.m. Lunch
• 3 p.m. Snack
• 7 p.m. Dinner

We tend to have an overabundance of food/snack availability that many people often don’t know their own hunger and fullness cues. 

GFG: I love this idea of a planned snack! It prevents unnecessary snacking at random times as a well as getting “hangry” before dinner.  

6. Would you recommend that people with celiacs, and other gluten intolerance for that matter, be on a probiotic?

Dawn: I always recommend pre and probiotic foods and a “food-first” approach. Yogurt, kombucha, and sauerkraut are 3 well known foods that contain probiotics. 

Some cheeses contain probiotics too, so choose ones that say “live cultures” or “active cultures” if you want to get probiotics from cheese.  If you don’t think you’ll ever be able to include these foods regularly, then I would consider including a probiotic. 

Probiotics work best when combined with prebiotic foods. Here are some prebiotic foods to include that will help the gut use the probiotics better. Foods that are high in prebiotic fiber include:

• Legumes, beans, and peas
• (Gluten free) oats
• Bananas (more greenish than brownish)
• Berries
• Jerusalem artichokes (not the same as regular artichokes)
• Asparagus
• Dandelion greens
• Garlic
• Leeks
• Onions

Learn more about probiotics and prebiotics here.

7. What’s your advice for people struggling emotionally with being gluten free?

Dawn: Feeling deprived is one of the number one issues that is problematic when changing anything related to your nutrition. I guide my clients to find ways to make or get foods that are the closest they can get to the “real thing” when possible.

Let’s say I really love pizza for example (which I do!) and that I need to eat gluten free pizza now as part of how I’m caring for my health.  I’d be looking for how to make or find the best gluten free pizza crust out there, so that I could still enjoy my favorite food without feeling deprived. Feeling deprived often leads to overeating or eventually eating the thing you were trying to avoid in the first place.  

GFG: I’d also like to add here that it’s very common to mourn your old favorite foods when switching to a gluten free diet. Please take it easy on yourself and recognize that it’s going to be period of adjustment. It can be difficult, but you’ll learn fast. Some people find it easier to start with primarily natural unprocessed foods that you don’t have to worry about being GF—like whole fruits, vegetables, and meat without any additives, until you get used to reading ingredients.

If you are struggling with being gluten free and handling social situations, please check out my post on tips on handling social situations. Good luck out there, you’re doing great! 

That’s A Wrap! Thanks, Dawn!

I sure learned a lot and I hope you all did too.

Lastly if you are having trouble finding healthy gluten free snacks and supplements…

If you are looking to discover and buy gluten free food without even leaving your house, I definitely suggest Thrive Market. It’s helped me on my gluten free wellness journey by helping me find healthier gluten free snacks! Check out my post on Thrive Market here. 

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