Is a Grain-Free Diet Healthy?

Grains are a staple in most traditional diets, but a growing number of people are cutting out this food group.

Some do so due to allergies or intolerances, while others opt for a grain-free diet in an attempt to lose weight or improve their health.

This way of eating is purported to offer various health benefits, from improved digestion to reduced inflammation and blood sugar levels. However, it may also have drawbacks and may be unsuitable for some.

What is a grain-free diet?

A grain-free diet eliminates all grains, including wheat, spelt, barley, rye, dried corn, millet, rice, and oats, as well as foods — and sometimes even ingredients — derived from them.

How to follow a grain-free diet?

Grain-free diets exclude all grains and grain-derived products but allow for small amounts of pseudocereals. They can include as much fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs, dairy, legumes, nuts, seeds, sugar, and fat as you wish.

Benefits of a grain-free diet

A grain-free diet may offer several health benefits.

A grain-free diet may reduce inflammation, aid weight loss, and improve digestion and blood sugar levels. It may also promote mental health and alleviate pain in people with fibromyalgia or endometriosis, though more research is needed.

Potential downsides

A grain-free diet may also come with certain downsides.

Grain-free diets may limit nutrient intake, increase your risk of constipation, and be difficult to sustain in the long term. Unnecessarily demonizing grains for purported health reasons may also promote orthorexic eating behaviors.

Foods to eat

The following food categories can be included on a grain-free diet:

Fruits. All types of fruit are allowed, whether fresh, dried, or frozen.

Vegetables. These can be eaten raw, cooked, or incorporated into salads or soups. Starchy vegetables like potatoes, squash, and fresh corn are good, carb-rich alternatives to grains.

Protein-rich animal products. This category includes meat,fish, seafood, eggs, and dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt.

Protein-rich plant foods. Legumes, tofu, tempeh, edamame, natto, soymilk, soy yogurt, and mock meats devoid of grain-based ingredients can be enjoyed on a grain-free diet.

Pseudocereals. This includes quinoa, buckwheat, and amaranth.

Nuts and seeds. This includes all types of nuts and seeds, as well as butters and flours made from them.

Non-grain-based flours and foods made from them. Almond, flaxseed, chickpea, soy, red lentil, and coconut flour, as well as noodles, bread, and other baked goods made from them, are permitted.

Fats. These include olive oil, butter,coconut oil and avocado oil.

You may also choose to include marinades and salad dressings as added fats, as well as sweeteners, such as sugar, maple syrup, or honey. Still, you’re encouraged to focus on whole, minimally processed foods.

Foods to avoid

Grain-free diets generally exclude the following food categories:

Most baked goods: grain-based breads,bagels, tortillas, tacos, pizza, etc.

Most pastries: grain-based doughnuts, cookies, croissants, muffins, etc.

Most noodles: pasta, rice noodles, ramen noodles, udon noodles, etc.

Breakfast cereals: muesli, oatmeal, cream of wheat, etc.

Grain-based flours: all-purpose flour, graham flour, corn flour, and rice flour, as well as all foods made from them

Many snack foods: popcorn, crackers, muesli bars, rice crackers, etc.

Grain-based side dishes: rice, orzo, millet, couscous, polenta, etc.4

Grain-based meat replacement: seitan, etc.

Grain-based milk alternatives: oat milk, rice milk, etc.

You may also want to avoid grain-based alcoholic beverages, such as beer, gin, whiskey, sake, and Scotch, as well as foods containing grain-derived ingredients like rice syrup or high-fructose corn syrup.

Sample menu

Here’s a typical 3-day menu suitable for a grain-free diet.

Day 1:

Breakfast: egg or tofu scramble with plenty of vegetables and homemade hash browns

Lunch: salad topped with your choice of veggies, cooked amaranth,smoked tofu, or salmon, and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing

Dinner: coconut-lime curry with shrimp or marinated tempeh on a bed of cauliflower rice

Day 2:

Breakfast: smoothie made with milk (or a plant-based, grain-free alternative), frozen mango, flax seeds, spinach, and an optional scoop of protein powder

Lunch: hearty pumpkin, carrot, and white-bean soup topped with roasted cashew nuts

Dinner: oven-baked sweet potato, topped with chili, fresh corn, chopped lettuce, guacamole, and salsa

Day 3:

Breakfast: mini breakfast quiches with spinach

Lunch: bun-less meat or veggie burger, topped with roasted peppers, hummus, avocado, and a side of buckwheat pasta salad

Dinner: Spiralized zucchini noodles stopped with a meat or tofu Bolognese sauce, roasted pine nuts, and Parmesan or nutritional yeast

Easy grain-free snacks

Here are a few simple yet nutritious grain-free snack ideas to tide you over between meals:

• Fresh fruit with yogurt

• Trail mix

• Chia pudding

• Flax crackers with olive tapenade

• Smoothies grain-free nut and fruit bar

• Skale chips

• Hummus and veggies

• Seaweed snacks

• Almond-flour muffins

• Apple chips

• Nut butter fruit dip

• Homemade frozen yogurt popsicles

• Coconut, date, and nut balls

Sources:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/grain-free-diet