Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus knows a thing or two about what it takes to perform at your best. She proved that last year, when she smashed it at the Tokyo Olympics, winning gold in epic fashion.
Titmus is serious about leading a healthy lifestyle and training hard, and for her, making that a reality means eating a gluten-free diet to manage her medically diagnosed gluten sensitivity.
Titmus has recently stepped into a role as an ambassador for GluteGuard, a new product that helps protect those who are medically diagnosed gluten sensitive from inadvertent or accidental gluten ingestion. It’s an innovative patented enzyme supplement that helps those trying to avoid gluten, and comes in the form of a tablet taken before meals when it’s not possible to be sure about gluten contamination.
Dr Kim Faulkner-Hogg, an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian, says that accidental gluten ingestion can have a negative impact on the wellbeing and quality of life of those who are trying to eliminate it from their diets.
“Most people don’t realise how challenging it is to be gluten free,” Dr Faulkner-Hogg said. “For example, ordering a gluten free meal in a restaurant does not always guarantee it is free from cross contamination. In a busy kitchen it is all too easy to misread a food label, or have small amounts of gluten make its way into an otherwise gluten-free dish.”
As Titmus recently shared at a lunch in Sydney, gluten sensitivity and intolerance can have a significant impact on your quality of life. It’s something she’s learnt first hand trying to maintain a gluten-free diet as a high-performance athlete. Indeed, she first came across the GluteGuard product when she was travelling to the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Below, Titmus offers some tips for those looking to manage a gluten-free diet.
What are your top tips for eating out and managing a gluten-free diet?
- Always ask questions about what you’re eating, if you’re unsure.
- Choose places to eat that you know are gluten-free friendly.
- Eat out with people who understand your dietary requirements.
- Choose meals that are least likely to have cross contamination (e.g., that are naturally gluten free, like meats and vegetable-based dishes).
- Have a go-to at a place where you know it is yummy and agrees with your tummy.
What are your best tips for cooking tasty gluten-free meals at home
- My first tip is to have fun in the kitchen, be creative and try making up recipes. There are so many alternatives to foods containing gluten – you just have to think outside the box!
- Another tip that has served me well is when substituting flours, research what ratios create a flour blend that doesn’t compromise on texture and flavour. Some store-bought gluten-free flours don’t provide the elasticity and binding effect that gluten provides. So, be mindful that when baking with gluten-free flour it’s a bit of trial and error!
- Avoid cooking dishes that traditionally contain a lot of wheat, because that means you’re constantly subbing in gluten-free products. Big salads, roast meat and barbequed goods are good examples of foods where gluten isn’t usually present, so it’s easy cooking without compromise. Make life easier for yourself!
What do you think people might not realise about being gluten free?
One challenge is being in a social setting, especially in restaurants because often there’s hidden gluten in things you might not realise. I think that a lot of people associate gluten with things like pasta, bread, pastries, cakes, all those things. But for me, the biggest area that I found that I’ve experienced symptoms and bloating is from things I’ve eaten that I didn’t realise contained gluten, like sauces. There’s a lot of hidden gluten out there! Now, with GluteGuard, it helps you to be protected from the symptoms you suffer if you accidentally consume gluten. Which is great, because it’s shocking when you do! Anyone that has a gluten intolerance or any intolerance knows that it’s so hard when your gut plays up, so it makes me feel a lot better to know that there’s something there that can always help.
Where are your favourite places to go for amazing gluten-free food?
In Brisbane there are some amazing restaurants. I try to get around to as many in the city as I can, but I would say Stanley, Mosconi and Exhibition are my favourite.
Spain and Italy are my favourite places to eat. Although Italy is known for pizza and pasta which of course contain gluten, but the meats and cheeses there are out of this world, so I can still enjoy the food there. The best meal I’ve ever had was at Le Jules Verne in the Eiffel Tower – it was amazing!