Although Aman was forced to go gluten free, he turned it into a big positive! His health has gotten better and he pay close attention to what he eats. I’m sure it was a bumpy road to start, but it looks like the perceived negative turned into a positive!
Check out his story below!
1) Your story…tell us a little bit about yourself!
“My name is Aman. In late 2016 I started noticing a pain emanating around my stomach area that developed out of the blue. By early spring 2017 I was diagnosed via an anti-tTG blood test for celiacs after visiting a gastroenterologist. It was a shock and a major lifestyle adjustment as I entered a world where I had to remove gluten. There is no one in my family who has gluten intolerance or celiacs, so it was a very puzzling question to ask myself why me. Within just a few months of my diagnosis I lost over 15 lbs, purely from the fear of eating many things as I was afraid of the damage it would do to my body. Over the next year I began to better understand what food items had gluten and what I could eat. I worked on creating diet plans and meals that I could safely prepare, and still chose to skip eating out for my fear of contamination. Over 2.5 years later, I am now at a point where I am comfortable eating out and understanding what I can and cannot eat. My weight has stabilized, the pain is no longer there, and I feel like I have better control of my situation and my diet. I am definitely happy to see more food brands and companies raise their awareness of gluten allergies and release more products. My hope in creating my instagram account was to showcase to others the plethora of items now available to us, and to give an honest review of them.”
2) Why do you eat gluten free food?
“I eat gluten free food out of necessity, not by choice. My diagnosis in 2017 confirmed that my body is producing antigens in response to glutaminase found in my body which was causing me pain and discomfort.”
3) What is your favorite gluten free snack? Where can we find it?
“I have way too many GF snacks to list! My wife can attest to my addiction to an Indian snack commonly known as ‘Aloo Bhujia’. It’s a gluten free dried snack made from chickpea flour and mashed potatoes. Here’s an excellent review of it for those of you interested: https://www.bonappetit.com/story/aloo-bhujia-indian-snacks-haldirams
I highly recommend it as a savory snack for everyone to find. You can find it online or at your nearest Indian grocery store in your area!”
4) What’s your favorite gluten free recipe?
“My favorite recipe is a simple Indian dish known as kichadi. It’s super easy to make using a pressure cooker like an instant pot, and naturally gluten free! https://www.mynewroots.org/site/2018/01/kichadi-realistic-reset/“
5) What’s one thing you wish you knew when first went gluten free?
“I wish I knew about the risk of gluten contamination present at restaurants. Oftentimes items might be listed as gluten free but they are still made in a common kitchen with other gluten meals.”
6) If you could only eat one gluten free meal for the rest of your life,what would it be and why?
“My go to and staple meal is the Indian dish I mentioned before called kichadi. It’s filling, simple, and easy on the stomach and digestive tract. It’s full of flavor and absolutely delicious to eat no matter when. I am already guilty in eating this dish almost daily for lunch, there are so many simple variations that can be made to the dish to keep it ‘fresh’ and tantalizing to eat!”
7) What advice would you give someone who is about to go gluten free?
“Depending on your dietary restrictions, whether voluntary or necessary, be careful of cross contamination that is present when you’re eating out. It’s definitely a wild card when you are no longer in control in the preparation of your meals, so make sure you ask the waiter/staff/chef wherever you are at to ensure your needs and allergen restrictions are being met.”
8) What’s your favorite thing about being gluten free?
“This is a tough one to answer. I really miss eating gluten, this I can’t deny. One thing I do like about being gluten free is the simplicity of my diet now, and the weight loss that has ensured as a result. No more pizza, doughnuts, cookies, and plethora of other sweets I could just binge eat. Everything I eat is something I assess and think about and as a result I’ve gotten healthier. My cholesterol is the best it’s ever been, my HDL has shot up, my blood work has come back even better than it has when I was younger, it truly is a remarkable change going gluten free now.”
9) What is one thing you dislike about being gluten free and what do youdo to mitigate it?
“The marketing cost of gluten free products when you think about it is ridiculous. How can it cost more to produce something in a gluten free version when the ingredients are commonly found and easily obtainable in terms of costs for manufacturers? The diet fads and elevated costs are sad to see here in the USA, especially since I recently visited Italy, where I realized how progressively forward they are with their gluten free selections and how affordable it is to the masses there in comparison. I hope the USA catches up to that point, but in the interim I shop mostly at Aldi’s and Trader Joe’s for my gluten free necessities and it has been less of a burden on my budget as a result.”
10) How can other people find you?
“I haven’t been as active as I want on my YouTube channel but for now you can find me on my Instagram account @wallahglutenfree! I’d be happy to hear about new food items to try and review and I’d love to make some video review content as well! Thanks so much!”
Thank you!
Aman, thank you for taking the time out of your day to share your story with us! I agree with you about the gluten free marketing! I hope the US can catch up a bit!
To all the gluten free guys out there, link up with Aman! he’s has a great positive story and posts some delicious reviews! I’m sure he would be a great resource and friend!
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