Healing foods

When you discover you have sensitivities to gluten, you most likely have an inflamed gut. Luckily, you can now get on your way to heal it up, with a gluten free diet. It can take weeks, even months before it starts working like it should. During this time, it`s crucial to know what foods to choose, and what to stay away from.

These are foods that I found was best to avoid: dried fruit, oats, diary products, additives, caffeine, raw cruciferous vegetables and processed foods.  As I`ve said before, everyone is different, and you`ll have to learn how your body reacts to these foods. The "amount" of how much trigger food you can have before your stomach reacts, is also a crucial thing to discover as it will empower you for future success.

 Here are a few foods I have found that are nice on the gut:

• Grape juice - grapes are phenomenal in reducing abdominal discomfort. Measure equal parts juice and sparkling water, it`s one of my favorite drinks. 
• Vegetable juice - drinking fresh vegetable juice will give you a bunch of important nutrients, in a "pre-digested" state. I often juice carrots, or make spinach smoothies.
• Millet bread - it`s good tasting, nutritious, Gluten Free, and can work on calming  an upset stomach. If you suspect that you ate gluten, have a slice of GF bread, it helps! mmm.. toast with cinnamon - yum.
• Steamed vegetables - yes, I will say steamed as opposed to raw.  This is because the latter is harder to digest. 
• Bananas - known to sooth the gastrointestinal track due to the high content of pectin, a soluble fiber that normalizes bowel function. Try blending frozen ripe bananas and serve it with fresh berries and home made granola ;)
• Papayas - packet with enzymes that help digestion, especially in digesting protein.
• Pears - pause.................. I love pears. Also an excellent source of pectin, they are often recommended more than other fruits because they are less likely to produce an adverse response.

Also, pay attention to what kind of food you pair together. For example, fruit is awesome on an empty stomach. But for a sensitive stomach, a slice of orange after dinner can make you bloated. I am not sure why fruit and other foods don`t work together, I just know from experience that it does not.

I have found that grains are nice to incorporate little by little. Read more in the article I wrote about The Healthier Alternative, it`s about flours and how to bake gluten free. It will help you get started on baking yummi GF foods.
 

-Kathrine-