I am not a gluten-free vegan. Though, dear readers, that’s not really a surprise, is it? I haven’t met a piece of seitan (hello, vital wheat gluten) that I didn’t love and nearly all of the bread I make is with wheat or other glutenous flours.
I often receive emails from readers who request that I make more gluten-free recipes and / or to indicate when my recipes are gluten-free. The truth of the matter is that any gluten-free recipes on this blog are accidental! When I first started baking bread I complained about how “short” and dense my loaf of Italian Buckwheat Bread came out – and a reader pointed out a I had made a gluten-free bread.
Oops, not on purpose!
In the same why that I explained why so many of my recipes use a rice or pressure cooker, I thought I’d share my thoughts on a gluten-free diet.
Last year I read and reviewed the book Vegan for Life, by Virginia Messina (you know her as Ginny, The Vegan RD) and Jack Norris. Both are registered dietitians. I consider this book my vegan bible. I’ve learned so much about nutrition and living a healthy, easy, accessible vegan life. With Ginny’s permission, I want to share their thoughts on gluten-free diets.
A gluten-free diet is an absolute necessity for those who have celiac disease, a permanent intolerance to gluten. But this autoimmune disease affects only 1 percent of the population. That means that most vegans have no reason to eliminate gluten from their diets. In fact, some research suggest that gluten-free diets are associated with reductions in levels of beneficial gut bacteria and increased levels of harmful microbes. For those who don’t have celiac disease, it may be beneficial to include some gluten in their diet. (Of course, hose who have allergies, including non-celiac wheat allergy, need to adjust their diets accordingly.)
Promoting these additional restrictions that have no known health advantage for most people doesn’t do anything to helps animals or promote vegan diets. To the contrary, it creates an image of vegan diets that make them look more difficult and less appealing. If we want others to follow our lead in adopting more compassionate foods choices, it makes sense to avoid unnecessary restrictions and make vegan diets as accessible as possible.
This is essentially my own philosophy when it comes to gluten-free diets. If you aren’t celiac or have an aversion to wheat, why eliminate it from your diet?
To be fair, I turned to an author and friend I trust immensely, Ricki Heller. Ricki writes the blog Diet, Dessert and Dogs (love!) and wrote the Vegan 101 post Vegan Baking Made Easy. I asked for her opinion on the matter.
Gluten Free: Is it for You?
Even for those of us not diagnosed with celiac disease, there may be compelling reasons to avoid gluten. Most people can tell fairly quickly whether or not they feel better cutting gluten from their diets, and simply follow the message from their bodies. For others, if they’re tested after being on a gluten-free diet for some time, blood tests may come back negative for celiac: the test requires the subject to actually eat gluten, which would prompt their immune system to produce auto-immune antibodies, the marker of the disease. The only entirely reliable test for celiac is an intestinal biopsy (ouch).
On the other hand, people with a condition called leaky gut (or intestinal permeability) may experience a negative reaction to gluten as well. Overconsumption of wheat, sugar or medications, or even exposure to toxins and stress can all contribute to the condition by damaging the lining of the intestines. In effect, the intestinal wall (the cells of which I imagine like a very fine fishnet) suffers a “rip” in its normal fabric, so that partially digested food particles, usually too large to pass through, are able to enter the bloodstream where they cause an alarm reaction in the immune system—much like an allergic reaction. In these cases, the reaction is delayed until the offending foods actually pass through the intestines—sometimes two or three days after ingestion.
Whether it’s immediate or delayed, symptoms associated with gluten sensitivity such as pain, bloating or nausea can be distressing and debilitating. If you find yourself constantly bloated or gassy after a wheat-heavy meal, you may be sensitive to gluten. Try a gluten-free diet for a week or so and see if it helps. In my case, it’s made all the difference!
Some blogs I turn to for great vegan and gluten-free recipes:
Choosing Raw: Mostly raw recipes with some cooked foods; plus a collection of knowledgeable, articulate articles about food, nutrition, body image and more.
Manifest Vegan Creative and beautifully photographed vegan and gluten-free recipes.
She Let Them Eat Cake Some amazing desserts and all kinds of baked goods, made with every type of gluten-free flour or approach you can imagine.
Welcoming Kitchen: The author of the cookbook of the same name both provide a wealth of gluten-free vegan recipes that are also kid-friendly.
Xgfx.org The site for all things vegan and gluten-free. There’s also a resource page with lists of other vegan and gluten-free blogs!
Diet, Dessert and Dogs: My blog, where I post recipes that are vegan, gluten-free and low glycemic (free of all refined sugars). Plus bonus comments from my dogs! 😉
I admire Ginny and Ricki immensely and appreciate both of their opinions on the matter.
As for me, I will continue to consume gluten as I have no reason to believe it is harming me.
What are your thoughts on gluten-free diets?
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Over the next week or so I will be reviewing three dairy-free / gluten-free cookbooks and will be giving two of them away! Stay tuned for the first review + giveaway!
43 thoughts on “I am not a gluten-free vegan”
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Great post and great info, JL! And thanks so much for including my thoughts on this one. I think you take a very practical and reasonable approach. . . not everyone needs to eliminate gluten! (And that bread actually looks good to me. . . .ha ha!!) 🙂
Thanks for sharing my blog, Ricki!!!
You’re so very welcome! It’s a great resource. 🙂
JL- what a thought-provoking and important piece. I think your approach is wonderful: find out what feels right for your body, and prepare foods that nourish you in a way that you feel is the most compassionate towards yourself and animals. What could be higher goals for nutrition? Thanks
I completely agree is that gluten isn’t bad for everyone; however, I do try to eat it in moderation. I think as a society we have a lot more now than we did long ago just by nature of our diets. Everything in moderation! That said, this blogging community eats a lot differently than the rest of society and probably has a low-gluten diet as a result of being more plant-based.
I’m just like you JL. Gluten doesn’t bother me at all, and there are so many amazing gluten free blogs out there. I just don’t find a need to make it an issue on my blog or in my recipes, even though I am occasionally asked to do so. Keep up the great work JL!
Great post! I think we have so many allergies and conditions because there is wheat in everything. A lot of people will develop candida, gluten-intolerance, celiac and a whole list of conditions because of this fact. So even though it may not affect someone now limiting your consumption of gluten can’t be a bad thing for future health. And some people have rock hard intestinal symptoms and can eat whatever they want with no effect (lucky! 😉
I’ve especially noticed in the last few months how gluten affects me and how much better I feel without it. I had a carb binder over Memorial weekend and come Tuesday I felt bloated, fuzzy, lethargic. My recipes tend to be all gluten-free by default unless it’s a baked good even though I don’t have an official allergy (and I hope that never happens!!).
This post really answers the gluten question for so many out there that are confused with what is celiac or gluten intolerance.
I like how the information is presented in a non-dogmatic way allowing the readers to make the appropriate choice for themselves. Truly whatever course you take with your diet Listening to your body makes the most sense.
I think as a culture we are dependent upon gluten laden foods.
So Thank you for this great post!!
Great approach, JL!
I basically agree that large amounts of GMO wheat and gluten may be too much for even non-celiac people to suffer bloating or discomfort (or, ultimately, to develop intolerances). I also think, however, that testing is important. It’s very easy to persuade yourself that you’re sensitive to gluten simply because you expect to feel sensitive based upon what you’ve read. Many foods, including kamut, farro, barley, and other grains, are still healthful, especially if they’re not GMO, so there’s no reason to eliminate them unless you really do have an allergic response (or a documented intolerance).
The upshot? Avoid large amounts of gluten, especially in highly processed, GMO forms. Experiment with more gluten free cooking so that you can get comfy with alternative, ancient grains (which are full of healthful ingredients). And ask for allergy testing if you suspect something is amiss — if your doctor is skeptical, get a second opinion!
I love providing my huge number of GF readers with mostly GF recipes. But I also love sprouted bread, and use it often on my blog 🙂 As well as barley!
xo
Great approach, JL!
I basically agree that large amounts of GMO wheat and gluten may be too much for even non-celiac people to suffer bloating or discomfort (or, ultimately, to develop intolerances). I also think, however, that testing is important. It’s very easy to persuade yourself that you’re sensitive to gluten simply because you expect to feel sensitive based upon what you’ve read. Many foods, including kamut, farro, barley, and other grains, are still healthful, especially if they’re not GMO, so there’s no reason to eliminate them unless you really do have an allergic response (or a documented intolerance).
The upshot? Avoid large amounts of gluten, especially in highly processed, GMO forms. Experiment with more gluten free cooking so that you can get comfy with alternative, ancient grains (which are full of healthful ingredients). And ask for allergy testing if you suspect something is amiss — if your doctor is skeptical, get a second opinion!
I love providing my huge number of GF readers with mostly GF recipes. But I also love sprouted bread, and use it often on my blog 🙂 As well as barley!
xo
Great approach, JL!
I basically agree that large amounts of GMO wheat and gluten may be too much for even non-celiac people to suffer bloating or discomfort (or, ultimately, to develop intolerances). I also think, however, that testing is important. It’s very easy to persuade yourself that you’re sensitive to gluten simply because you expect to feel sensitive based upon what you’ve read. Many foods, including kamut, farro, barley, and other grains, are still healthful, especially if they’re not GMO, so there’s no reason to eliminate them unless you really do have an allergic response (or a documented intolerance).
The upshot? Avoid large amounts of gluten, especially in highly processed, GMO forms. Experiment with more gluten free cooking so that you can get comfy with alternative, ancient grains (which are full of healthful ingredients). And ask for allergy testing if you suspect something is amiss — if your doctor is skeptical, get a second opinion!
I love providing my huge number of GF readers with mostly GF recipes. But I also love sprouted bread, and use it often on my blog 🙂 As well as barley!
xo
Great post! 🙂
Great post, JL! And what good timing for me–I am about to post a writeup on my journey with going gluten-free (not the most glamorous experience) because I get so many questions asking why I post only gluten-free recipes–and many people ask me if I think they should go gluten-free!
While my main goal is to provide recipes for those of us who eschew both animal products and gluten–I do get a few responses from readers that make me believe they think veganism is very hard because they see my long list of flours in some baked goods, and must assume that they need to give up wheat in order to be vegan–oy! Anyway, there are many many gluten-free recipe blogs and cookbooks available today, so I am all for preserving the gluten in recipes where we can!
<3
great post. i am not glutten free but i do feel wobbly if i eat a ton of wheat products but in moderation things seems okay. i am interested in having a variety of approaches to eating. on a side note, i am allegric to soy and find it harder to avoid than the plague…is that something you would be willing to dialgoue about on here-soy products and veganism. i figure you could be far more balanced than i would. nevertheless, it’s good to have a variety of vegan recipes and I appreciated what you do here.
Some of you may be interested in reading this:
http://drhyman.com/blog/2012/02/13/three-hidden-ways-wheat-makes-you-fat/
Your comment went into moderation because of the link. I approved it and hope my nutritionist friends will jump in on this because I’m certainly not equipped to comment. I can say, however, that I’m never a fan of “fat fear” when it comes to nutritional advice….
Thanks for adding it to the dialogue!
Hear, hear!
Nice post, thanks.
While I am not gluten intolerant, I’ve learned over the years that I do best, physically, on a grain free diet. Despite the health claims for “whole grains,” I’ve found them to have a soporific effect, and if I eat them in any quantity, I’ll experience a host of symptoms ranging from brain fog and depression to “bloat.” By mostly avoiding them, I stay mentally sharp and efforlessly lean. If I haven’t eliminated them completely (I still enjoy an occasional beer or bowl of porridge or gluten free cupcake), it’s for psychological reasons more than anything else – I can’t abide restriction! Anyway, that’s all by way of saying that I resent the “it’s all in your head” so I’m glad that while you eat gluten yourself you’re encouraging people to experiment and see what works.
Sometimes transitioning away from animal products has people eating more gluten, so it’s good to be aware of intolerance issues if health issues come up or digestive issues. I’d rather have people give up gluten than give up being vegan or blame veganism for making them sick. But if someone feels fine, then I don’t see a point in completely giving up gluten. Although I do see benefit of diversifying grains and not replying on any grain too much, even GF people can overdo rice and corn. Thanks for your thoughts on this.
Thanks, JL, for this post and for quoting my book.
It’s interesting to note that many cultures have survived on very wheat-centric diets without any problems. So, I don’t see any reason for non-celiacs to avoid gluten.
And, while there are definitely full-blown reactions to food that are pretty obvious intolerances, I’m always a little hesitant to suggest that anyone make a decision about what to eat or not eat based on how the food makes them feel–because this is exactly why many people abandon vegetarianism and go back to eating meat! They say that they didn’t feel well on a vegan diet and felt better when they started eating meat. I definitely question whether they really do “need” meat in their diet. But if I want to hold them to certain standard of proof, I have to hold vegans to that same standard. That’s why I’m in favor of the science and of getting a true diagnosis for wheat allergy or celiac disease.
Ginny, I think you’re on to something really important here. Not only the parallel to “I didn’t feel right as a veg*n,” but also, if we take the position that what we feel is an exact indication of what’s going on in our bodies, it’s almost as if we’re saying that there’s no need for proof, or evidence, about our health conditions. And that is a very slippery slope indeed! It is possible to feel perfectly fine while all sorts of insidious things go on within the body, and it is likewise possible to be physically healthy while also struggling with psychosomatic health conditions. I think the important thing is for us to heed both our feelings AND the evidence in front of us — which is ultimately why allergy testing is really important, if imperfect.
I’m an accidental gluten free person too. Things like gluten free brownies are fudgier and have less rise to them when you make them gluten free, and taste better. So I only make gluten free brownies. I have a love affair with bread and bread making. John McDougall also agrees that gluten is perfectly healthy for us if we don’t have an allergy.
I’m also a fan of gluten and agree that there’s no obligation at all to include/focus on gluten-free items in any given blog. That said, I often do that in my blog. I have a deep-rooted empathy for people who must restrict their diets due to health reasons. At age 12, I was convinced by doctors that chocolate, tree nuts and peanuts were triggering the migraines that plagued me. For roughly 8 years, I carefully read labels and refrained from eating all kinds of things I desperately wanted to eat. Fortunately, I have since been able to eat all of those things without trouble, but the experience really made an impression, and as a food-loving adult it’s sort of a favorite hobby of mine to see how well I can accommodate other people’s food needs or preferences. Much of what I cook happens to be either gluten free or would easily be so, and I make a point of calling those things out in my blog. I also recently did a round-up of restaurants in Seattle that cater to gluten-free vegans. With both a sister and a good friend who are currently under doctor’s orders to avoid gluten–and are both vegan–I like to have lots of tricks up my sleeve if I’m going to make food for them or to suggest a place to eat out, and I figure others may well have similar situations.
Just as we vegans are often frustrated by foods that have “just a bit” of some non-essential ingredient we don’t eat and are therefore out of reach (the soup that started with butter instead of olive oil, for example), I would hate for someone avoiding gluten to miss out on an otherwise gluten-free dish because of a splash of wheat-containing soy sauce, when gluten-free tamari would be exactly as tasty and no more difficult.
Getting back to your point, though, I also get frustrated by something approaching gluten-phobia that seems to be spreading through the public consciousness. I often hear remarks along the lines of “Oh, yeah, I know gluten intolerance is rare, and I don’t think I have it, but I figure I should try to cut back on gluten…it just can’t be good for you.” And I try very hard not to reach out and physically shake the sense back into the person. Just like the oil-phobia and carb-phobia we’ve seen in recent decades, uninformed people now are parroting things they hear about the merits of reducing/avoiding gluten, whether or not there’s a reason to do so.
Great post! Very informative. Gluten is not evil for everyone….each person is different and should eat accordingly, gluten or not! 🙂 thanks for sharing!
I got genetically tested as was having stomach issues. Even though can’t confirm, it looked pretty likely that I could very well be celiac (and have issues in the family) so I did end up going that way, but basically because my digestion led me to it. My husband loves gluten anything. I do love bread, but actually I have found that I just end up eating less processed food because I can’t eat all the fun junk food. I don’t really have anything against all of the “fun food”, but the older I get, and with my sensitive tummy, I find myself embracing simplicty more & more. It is cheaper and when I started out vegetarian in grade school, we didn’t have ANY of these foods!!!! So I think it is WONDERFUL that there are so many cool things on the market now, I never relied on them when I was vegetarian or turning vegan so it’s not a sacrifice not to have them.
I love gluten too! But in our house we make an effort to mix it up, just like with our fruits, veggies, beans and grains. So while we like whole wheat for certain recipes, we also use rice, quinoa, buckwheat, corn, spelt, etc. flours too. And sometimes I even use Bob’s Redmill gluten-free flour mix to make pancakes and muffins. But I have found some things just don’t turn out as well without a good whole wheat flour (like a homemade pie crust or homemade seitan).
I am grateful for your post, because I get so tired and confused when basic ingredients like oil, gluten, soy, etc. get demonized. And I agree it makes a vegan diet look so intimidating!
Bottom line is eat well, choose a variety of flavors, colors and textures in your foods, stick closely to whole foods but don’t become fanatical one way or the other because that just defeats the purpose! (unless, of course, you have an allergy to a food!)
Great info! I love how you broke it down, even though you’re not gluten-free yourself! Neither am I, but I actually don’t mind gluten-free products – we went through a week of training at school for gluten-free baked goods – and I actually preferred those over the gluten-included products we made!
I choose to eat mostly gluten-free AND I’m vegan. I avoid wheat out of a food sensitivity & feel much better doing so. I have field roast now & then (because it’s so darn good!).
Great post! I get a little irritated that vegan is somehow tied to gluten-free now in many non-vegan minds. I know vegans who avoid it and I assume they have good reason to and I respect that, but it has never been anything that bothers anyone in my family (over eating anything does make me feel bad, but never gluten in particular). Veganism for me is about compassion and not about how many foods I avoid. I have a family so of course I care deeply about nutrition, but I want them to grow up with the abundance of plant-based foods and not feel being vegan is a restriction. I know the foods I eat is much more varied now as a vegan than it was growing up. I do worry about the “gluten = bad for everyone” kind of message that gets out. At the same time, I have non-veg friends who have allergies and celiac, it is awesome that they have so many different sources now for recipes and food labeling has come so far. I love several of the gluten-free bloggers mentioned (especially Ricki) and can’t wait to check out the blogs I haven’t heard of before. I would add another of my favorites: http://forkandbeans.wordpress.com/
Great info, JL! I agree with your position. I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with gluten as long as it doesn’t make you sick. Over the past few months I’ve come to the conclusion I’m gluten-intolerant (perhaps even Celiac), but in trying to eliminate gluten I’ve realized my diet doesn’t include much by default! I think of it dort of like being vegan. Once you discover all the other wonderful whole grains, at least for me, they crowded out the glutinous grains.
I eat gluten-free vegan and, while it does make dining out a bit harder, it is possible. If I could eat gluten, however, I would (especially things like non-GMO gluten grains like farro, or products like sprouted bread), as it makes vegan dining out much much easier. I find that many who come to veganism for health reasons start cutting out gluten for no real discernible reason, however, and I wish that the people would not associate gluten-free with veganism, as I think it scares off people.
I appreciate both viewpoints you included in your post (because I adore both Ricki and Ginny and their approaches to so many different dietary issues). Kudos to you for writing this post and including those two viewpoints.
However…I did want to add another perspective: somewhere between the Celiac people who were diagnosed correctly and those who cut out gluten for the reasons Ricki listed, there are those of us who may have had a false negative Celiac bloodtest, or missed being diagnosed for any other reason. About 25 to 30 percent of those tested for Celiac who test negative may actually be a false negative.
Furthermore, the unfortunate bias against gluten means that often patients seeking holistic care are told to cut out gluten, and then reintroduce it later for testing (whether Celiac or gluten intolerance) – and often those tests turn out to be false negatives because the person cannot consume enough gluten for long enough for an accurate test. Accurate testing and informed medical counseling are key to helping people understand how gluten affects their health. Unfortunately, neither are a given.
I fully agree with Ginny’s statement that ” I’m always a little hesitant to suggest that anyone make a decision
about what to eat or not eat based on how the food makes them
feel–because this is exactly why many people abandon vegetarianism and
go back to eating meat!” – it sets up a slippery slope. On the other hand, when testing is not yet completely accurate and people get bad advice (and believe me there is a lot of bad advice regarding gluten out there, both from the conventional and holistic medical communities) there needs to be space for people to make a decision based on how they feel. I have seen too many people, who tested negative for all possible gluten-related problems, lead much improved lives from cutting out gluten.
Having just made those statements, however, I think there are people who over-restrict their diet and avoid gluten because of amorphous reasons, rather than true symptoms – and that is where the whole “listen to your body” mantra can get people in trouble, at least with perceptions of gluten intolerance. I have seen way too many women using a gluten sensitivity as an excuse to avoid eating carbs, or to cure a bloated belly that only exists in their minds (or, frankly, for hormonal reasons). For a long time I felt like I was disloyal and lacking compassion for thinking that – but I see it too much not to acknowledge it.
Thank again for addressing this issue.
great post, jl! and it’s great to have this discussion. what i want vegans and vegetarians to know is that you can develop gluten sensitivities. as a long-time vegetarian/mostly vegan (some honey on occasion), i didn’t always have a problem. so please be careful. you may not have problems with gluten now, but that could change in the next year or two. i remember eating seitan and whole wheat bread with no problems–or so i thought–about 10 years ago. prior to this time and after giving up diary, i had a healing and basically got rid of the nasal allergies that plagued me since i was a little girl! how happy i was that i could breathe! then, a few years later, the allergies returned. i didn’t know what to do until someone mentioned that wheat made her mom congested. that was all i needed to know. i tried eliminating wheat–not an easy task–and right away i felt a difference. we focus on wheat and other high-gluten grains way too much in this country. that’s why i believe we are developing problems. wheat is in almost everything! why not start cutting down on it as a preemptive measure? in indian food, the cooks use lentil flour, rice flour, chick pea flour, etc. i’m not saying any type of flour is super healthy, but perhaps changing the types of flours we use when we must use flour may keep us from developing sensitivities. and, while i know seitan isn’t going anywhere, is it really a health food? is it a vegan “must-have”? years ago i would have had delicious barbeque made from seitan or TVP. now i use marinated tempeh for my BBQ. (that could change, too, if i develop a problem with soy.) so enjoy wheat, but pay attention to what it may be doing to you and know that it is possible to have delicious food that is vegan AND gluten-free.
I completely agree with you but……celiac is only one of the 190 pathologies that can arise from having a gluten sensitivity gene! These are latest research that thanks to the work of Dr. Alessio Fasano came about only few years ago (about 5 or so) thus the percentage of people with gluten sensitivity is a way higher! Now the point is either test yourself if you think you might be but not sure or do an elimination diet. Otherwise eat gluten containing product no problem but never overdue. Gluten is still a protein that no human being can digest. Still many can get rid of it with no problem. So I would never add gluten to bread or eat too much of eat. Better to use all the variety of whole grains that are around and possibly organic 🙂 Fresh home made food all the way!!! Good luck!
Whatever works for you, Manuela. I believe gluten-free is far more fad than health necessity and I know for a fact that my lifestyle doesn’t support fresh homemade food all the time. I’m glad yours does!
I know this is old, but I wanted to put something out there. I have been vegetarian for 44 years, vegan for a couple of years now. I am not gluten intolerant. My three meat eating siblings are gluten intolerant, and my 2 sisters have hypothyroidism. It just struck me tonight this is very interesting!
That is interesting, @bigbluestem:disqus! Incidentially, I have hypothyroidism, too. I was diagnosed 12 years ago, pre-vegan. Two years ago, five+ years into being vegan, I stopped medication for a year. The blood results were awful. Back on meds, treated, my hypothyroidism is managed.
That’s a shame you were unable to stop meds. Damage done, apparently. Were you an omnivore before becoming vegan? And did you feel as bad as your blood work said you should the year you quit?
@bigbluestem:disqus, I have Hashimoto’s disease, heredity. And while I wouldn’t have said I felt bad when untreated, my cholesterol soared into the high 200’s. When I went back on the meds I became energetic once again. I have no problem with taking the meds. They help.