What are the benefits of wheat free diet? Are the results worth more than the effort of change ?
You may be thinking a transition to being gluten free will be tricky. Will you be deprived of your favourite foods? Is gluten free cooking cooking complicated? Will your family like gluten free recipes?

Perhaps a practitioner has suggested the change. Or it maybe you have a ‘gut instinct’ about wheat connecting with the painful symptoms you experience. It can be overwhelming to discover you or a family member have an intolerance to gluten or wheat products.

Going wheat or gluten free can tremendously enhance your quality of life. Countless people suffer needlessly from the consequences of gluten intolerance, enduring a variety of uncomfortable symptoms. Relief may come easily through altered food habits – and you won’t know until you try. Alex, one of my clients remarked that her lifelong problems with chronic constipation, bloating and diarrhea vanished when she gave up wheat. Jane, a woman in one of our healthy cooking classes, lost at least 5 kilos within three months of changing to a gluten free diet.

See going gluten free as a nutritional experiment - a research project in which you are the star! Usually it takes 3-6 weeks without any wheat or gluten products to notice improvement, but some people feel better within a couple of days.

What are the benefits of a wheat free diet?

There are multiple benefits of enjoying a gluten free or wheat free diet.

Going wheat or gluten free is a great opportunity to increase whole food variety in your diet. Whole vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, nuts, seeds and lean meats have more vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients than refined products.

Eating healthier food can actually cost less, especially if you eat more seasonal vegetables. Plus you will literally get more value in nutrients per mouthful, than processed snacks and meals.

Your body will thank you for it. Unpleasant symptoms may vanish, cravings can disappear, and many people find the kilos dropping away.

Your family will be blessed by your newfound passion in the kitchen. Get the kids involved in making some of the healthier sweet treats.



How to make gluten free easy



Become a label reading detective. Even better is to reduce your intake of packet products and increase your use of wholefoods. Introduce one new ingredient and recipe into your repertoire at a time. Take it gently.

Make big batches of dips like hummus, soups, and main meals in the weekend. Freeze in small portions.

Keep extra loaves of gluten free bread sliced in the freezer. Toast it when you need it.

Pre-soak your breakfast grains: we soak our yummy Bircher muesli the night before. If you feel like a hot grain, soak the grain over night. Soaking grains overnight in the pot will make cooking the next day faster.


One way to make lunch box prep easy is to do it the night before. You may like to make extra dinner and take some for lunch the next day.
Containers of natural yoghurt with fresh fruit alongside are good choices for work.

Canned salmon or tuna with avocado on top of a big green salad is sustaining and won’t weigh you down, plus you get those healthy brain omega oils.
Try to keep a stash of snack food for the inevitable times when you’re out and can’t buy something good to eat. Nuts and seeds are one option. Boiling eggs in the morning is a good idea, plus containers of hummus with lots of dipping veggies.

A gluten free diet for children is achievable. Let them help you in the kitchen. Encourage them to help you find their special gluten free treats at the supermarket or health food store.