If you suffer from coeliac disease or gluten intolerance, you’ll know the horrible feeling you get when you’ve been glutened. It’s horrendous! But thankfully, there are ways to relieve the discomfort.
These are some of the things I do when I’ve accidentally eaten gluten:
1. Relax
When I first went gluten-free, every time I realised I’d been glutened I freaked out a little…but stressing will only make you feel worse. So the first thing you need to do is take a few deep breaths and try not to worry – yes you have been glutened and yes it will feel horrible…and yes, you will look 6-8 months pregnant for the next 24 hours, but it is manageable. Don’t panic.
2. Drink plenty of water
Staying hydrated is essential as it will enable your body to flush the gluten out (like with everything else). It will also help you if your bowel movements have been affected by the gluten (and let’s be honest, that’s undoubtedly going to have happened).
3. Sip herbal tea
I find peppermint tea works brilliantly for me, but green tea and ginger tea are also said to be great at helping to ease stomach discomfort. This may not be the same for everyone, but it’s worth a try.
4. Have a nap
This clearly isn’t always an option, but if you are fortunate enough to be at home or near a comfy sofa, then a nap is always beneficial when you’ve been glutened. It will ease your mind and allow your body to focus on repairing any damage caused. It also gives you some much needed time away from the discomfort and pain from consuming gluten.
5. Avoid (bad) fatty foods
After being glutened, I tend to lose my appetite (and I’m guessing I’m not the only one). When you do feel like eating again, just make sure the first thing you reach for isn’t high in bad fats or sugar. This isn’t just because those aren’t the healthy options – it’s because fat and sugar can wreak further havoc on your digestive system.
6. Try to figure out how you got glutened
This is often harder than it initially appears to be, because if you’ve had a sudden reaction after eating a meal then it’s usually fairly obvious what caused it, but if the reaction has slowly appeared then it can be almost impossible to figure out how you got glutened.
Always try to work it out though, because this will ultimately prevent it from happening again! Take your time to write down everything you’ve eaten in the past 24 hours, and look for anything that you perhaps hadn’t eaten before. Sometimes you just have to (annoyingly) accept that you won’t find out what caused the reaction, but it’s good to at least try, so you can save yourself from the discomfort again…hopefully!
Some of these tips may not work for you – every body is different after all. But even if you only take away one tip from this article and it helps to get you through being glutened next time then I’m really pleased I could help.
What are your top tips for coping after accidentally eating gluten?
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