I'm sure that by now, it's no secret that unless you're sensitive or intolerant to gluten, gluten-free diets are not actually that great. There have been countless articles and videos made by various professionals breaking down the idea that gluten isn't good for us.
I was recently diagnosed with IBS and upon extensive Googling, I learned of the low FODMAP diet, which came highly recommended and supported by scientific research. Sadly, this diet excluded foods that were full of things like gluten, lactose and — bizarrely — onions. It was a bit of a pain, as suddenly, I couldn't eat bread or cous cous (what a tragedy) or pasta.
I can't lie — I eat pretty healthily as it is. But boy, did this new gluten-free diet make me eat even healthier.
1. You don't realise how many products have gluten in until you can't eat them
Craving chicken nuggets? Fat chance. Who knew that wheat flour was such a core component in so many foods? Not me.
2. Gluten-free products are ridiculously priced
You can buy freshly baked brownies for £1 if they use normal flour. Gluten-free? 5 bite-sized treats for £2.50 (if you're lucky!). I'm a student who lives in London — by definition, I can barely afford Tesco's everyday value range, let alone free-from foods! (Bye bye on sale cookies from the bakery, you've been good to me.)
3. I make a lot of my food from scratch
I find it so much easier (and tastier) to bake my own bread as well as meal prepping from scratch. I don't have the option of grabbing a meal deal from Tesco — unless I just want pure salad leaves for lunch, gluten-free doesn't really fall onto their radar.
4. I rarely order meals
It is by no means impossible to eat out when you're avoiding gluten, but to be honest, I'm both lazy and poor. It's so much easier to just not have pizza than it is to order a wheat-free base; it's so much quicker to avoid takeaways than it is to check every single ingredient on the allergens list.
Aside from the fact that I still adore baking gluten-free brownies, this new inability to easily eat out or grab fast food without worrying about the gluten content has meant that I'm more diligent in cooking for myself and that I am aware of every single ingredient that makes it into my meals. By forcing me to be conscious of every little thing that goes into my mouth, this new gluten-free diet has actually done me a favour health-wise!