Gluten-free mess ups and how to get back on track

In a perfect world, living the gluten free lifestyle shouldn’t be that difficult! And once you get the hang to it, choosing gluten free foods isn’t that big of a deal (in my humble opinion). However, it does take effort and commitment to follow a strict, 100% of the time, gluten free diet. And even when you “follow” a strict gluten free diet, there may be a time when you are inadvertently exposed to gluten (I call it being “glutened”!). When or if this happen to you, here a few tips to get back on track:

Drink lots of fluids. The idea is to thoroughly flush your GI track. This will help rid your system of the gluten. If you have diarrhea or vomiting, you will definitely need to add back lost fluids and electrolytes.
Take a digestive enzyme that is designed to breakdown gluten to smaller particles. Glutenza by NuMedica is one such product I personally use. It contains dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP-IV), a pre- & probiotic that is effective in breaking down the gluten molecule into “gluadian” which is then absorbed with no problem. (I would also recommend you take this digestive enzyme at the beginning of a meal when eating away from home to help prevent unintentionally being glutened.) I have also used Gluten/ Dairy Digest by Pure Encapsulations. Again, this pharmaceutical grade supplement has the DPP-IV an enzyme to break down gluten, lactase and the protease BLGU to break down lactose.
If you have diarrhea, take a binding agent such as activated charcoal. You can purchase this at the drug store and it will help by collecting toxins within the gut. Increase your fluid intake to avoid constipation.
If you feel symptoms of inflammation consider increasing your intake of Turmeric, Ginger, and Omega-3 fatty acids.
Get some rest and good sleep. The body is remarkable in being able to heal itself, but we do need to help it out by resting physically, mentally, and emotionally.

As you begin to feel like you are getting back to normal, work to eat naturally gluten free foods for a while: fruits, vegetables, non-gluten starches and meats that have zero gluten. (Avoid the gluten free processed foods). Your gut will heal and you will be back on track.