Make Sure Your Order’s REALLY Gluten-Free

You’ve probably noticed two words popping up on more menus recently: gluten and free. In fact, celiac-friendly food is a big money-maker; gluten-free takeout orders have spiked by almost 60 percent since April 2012, according to a recent analysis of orders placed on GrubHub, a food ordering site.

The year-over-year analysis looked at orders placed at more than 20,000 restaurants in 500-plus cities across the U.S. The spike doesn’t exactly come as a surprise, considering that about one in three people say they’re cutting back on gluten or completely eliminating it from their diet, according to a survey that came out earlier this year. In addition to the huge increase overall, analysts also found that women are close to 50 percent more likely to make their takeout orders gluten-free than men are.

Of course, most of the people trying to avoid gluten aren’t doing it because they actually have an adverse reaction when they eat it (surely you’ve met someone who’s trying to lose weight on a gluten-free diet). But for the estimated 2.5 million Americans with celiac disease and the other 20 million with gluten sensitivities, making sure that your takeout hasn’t even come into contact with the protein is key to keeping your digestive system happy and healthy. Tricia Thompson, MS, RD, author of The Gluten-Free Nutrition Guide, offers these tips for ensuring that when you ask for a gluten-free dish, it actually gets to you that way:

Don’t assume a restaurant is safe just because it has a gluten-free menu
It’s better to err on the side of caution, says Thompson: Ask about the kitchen’s protocols for preventing cross-contamination. Restaurants should be using separate cooking tools to minimize the chances of your food touching anything that contains gluten.

Be extra careful with certain items
Foods that share a fryer with anything breaded can be particularly troublesome; you should always ask about the prep methods for French fries, tortilla chips, corn tortillas, and taco shells—not that that’s a comprehensive list, says Thompson. Soups, broths, and sauces can also be common gluten-hiding culprits since many places thicken them with flour.

Always read condiment labels
While you may know that certain items like malt vinegar are always off-limits, other sauces like soy sauce and salad dressing can also contain wheat—so it pays to be extra vigilant with these. Ketchup, mayonnaise, and plain yellow mustard are usually safe, but it’s always a good idea to read the full ingredient list before you use them. The danger words you’re looking out for: wheat, barley, malt, rye, oats, brewer’s yeast, and yeast extract.

If you’re not ordering from a gluten-free menu, plain is the key word
Your best bets here are items like plain grilled chicken or fish, making sure clean food prep tools are used and asking the cook to skip any sort of crumb topping. For a side, go with something like steamed vegetables or a baked potato. “This sounds boring I know,” says Thompson. “But better boring than sorry.”

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

More From Women’s Health:
6 Gluten-Free Foods That Make You Fat
Is Gluten Bad For You?
Gluten-Free Foods That Taste Great

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The Gluten-Free Craze Is Still Going Strong

Still eating gluten? Even if you are, one of your best friends probably isn’t. About one in three American adults say they’re cutting down on gluten or completely eliminating it from their diets, according to a new survey from The NPD Group.

The company, which conducts consumer market research, polls 1,000 adults every two weeks to ask if they’re at on a diet and, if so, what kind. In 2009, NPD added reduced-gluten and gluten-free diets to the survey for the first time. As of January 2013 (the most recent number for which stats are available), the number of adults who fall into one of the two categories was at an all-time high: 30 percent.

“This shows a huge shift in attitude,” says Harry Balzer, NPD chief industry analyst. “A third of the adult population is trying to cut back on something people had never heard of just five years ago.”

Why is the diet so popular? Eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, can cause serious health problems for the estimated 2.5 million Americans with celiac disease and the other 20 million with gluten sensitivities. For them, maintaining a gluten-free diet isn’t a trend—it’s the only way to avoid digestive distress or even intestinal damage and nutritional deficiencies. “Since the diet has its roots in medicine, many people feel their health would benefit from removing gluten from their diets,” says Heather Bauer, RD, CDN, founder of bestowed.com and author of Bread is the Devil.

If you don’t have celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity, though, gluten isn’t bad for you—and stripping good-for-you grains from your diet can actually result in nutritional deficiencies, says Bauer. So if you suspect that gluten is behind your stomach trouble, don’t self-diagnose. Talk to your doctor before you make any changes to your diet. Celiac disease shares many symptoms—such as chronic diarrhea or constipation, bloating, and fatigue—with tons of other health conditions. Plus, if you give up gluten before being screened by a specialist, your blood or endoscopy test results may come back negative even if you do suffer from celiac disease.

Still, as more celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Rachel Weisz, and Victoria Beckham tout the weight-loss benefits of a gluten-free diet, even more people are jumping on the bandwagon.

“Think about how much healthier a restaurant meal is when gluten is off the menu,” Bauer says. “Your options are a salad, vegetables, fruit, or protein—not a heaping bowl of white pasta.” On the other hand, loading up on gluten-free breads, pastas, and packaged foods—which can be high in fat, sugar, and calories—doesn’t have the same effect.

If you suffer from celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity (or just want to go gluten-free) make sure to eat healthy grains such as rice, quinoa, and sorghum to get enough iron, vitamin B, and fiber. And remember, a gluten-free cookie is still a cookie.

photo: Ron Chapple Studios/Thinkstock

More from WH:
Is Gluten Bad For You?
Gluten-Free Recipes
The Best Gluten-Free Foods

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