Vegans are happy with their diets and lifestyles but how can they happily incorporate more changes into their dietary selections? What happens to those vegetarians who become sensitive to products that contain wheat or gluten? Glutens, in particular, constitute a large portion of the average vegan’s meal. If you have the need to remove any or all of these products, you will have to do a major restructuring of the entire diet program. Due to the change involved you will need to pay careful attention to the amount of nutrients and vitamins that you are receiving as you plan a vegan gluten free diet and lifestyle.

Glutens are certain types of proteins that are found in cereals and grains and some people have bodies that have a very difficult to impossible time dealing with the digestion and absorption of these. For some people the symptoms may be quite mild and for others the intake of glutens can result in severe anemia, loss of body weight and malnutrition to the point of hospitalization. The only dietary choice for these people is total avoidance of any of the products that contain any gluten at all. This means no wheat or wheat products, no rye, no barley, no oats and no kamut or spelt. This means some problems in reorganizing a vegan gluten free diet plan.

The things that are available to be used in a healthy diet are the rice and corn products. You will find rice and corn flour and quinoa meal very helpful in your meal planning. You can also use rice or quinoa pastas and rice noodles from the Japanese and Chinese market sections. Tamari can be used to replace the often used soy sauce. Grits can replace your morning oatmeal and you can use arrowroot, potato or corn starch to thicken your vegetable stews and soups. Nuts are always acceptable as are rice crackers for snacking, and you can use all of the fruits and vegetables as you have done in the past.