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Pasta with pesto and green salad (wheat, dairy-Parmesan cheese—well done for including a salad!)

Once you learn to look around for other alternatives to wheat:

* You first realise that there is a massive choice available to you.

* Second, you realise how much rubbish food contains wheat.

It doesn’t take much to vary the diet until it becomes second nature.

Wheat is present in a wide variety of foods, from the obvious sources such as bread, cakes and biscuits to sauces, seasonings and many processed foods, and it is one of the most commonly eaten allergens in the UK.

An intolerance or sensitivity to wheat is a common cause of tiredness, loss of concentration and digestive problems. Stop to consider how often it is eaten, possibly at every meal; wheat-based cereal or toast, sandwich for lunch and pasta in the evening, and that’s not including any biscuits, cakes or snacks during the day.

Gluten contained in wheat is a sticky substance that is capable of reducing the absorption of nutrients in susceptible people. In fact, the mixture of processed white wheat flour and water is sticky enough to be used as wallpaper paste—this is certainly not the effect that we want to be happening in our stomachs. In some individuals, wheat gluten can act as a brain irritant.

It is this glue-like property that makes wheat so difficult to digest, requiring a great deal of energy to do so. For this reason, it is often found that by eliminating wheat, energy levels increase dramatically, thus leaving more energy for the body to repair and heal itself. Remember that wheat-free does not always mean gluten-free.

Alternative grains

Flours: Barley, buckwheat, chickpea, maize, potato, rice, quinoa, rye, tapioca, millet and chestnut flour and soya

Crackers: Corn cakes, oatcakes, rice cakes, rye crackers or crispbreads, savoury biscuits (Village Bakery make gluten-free ones)

Pasta: Corn, millet, spelt, buckwheat, kamut or vegetable varieties. Try Mother Hemp Spelt and Hemp pasta, it tastes like regular pasta (go to www.motherhemp.com)

Whole grains: Barley, buckwheat, kamut, millet, rye, quinoa, brown rice, oats and corn

Lunch alternatives

* Jacket potato with a protein filling (cottage cheese, tuna, egg) and some salad

* Soup (check the ingredients if not home-made) with crackers or wheat-free bread and tuna or beans for some protein and more substance

* Mixed salad with nuts, seeds, apple and avocado

* Bean salads with olive oil, lemon and herbs—try parsley, coriander or chives

* Corn, oat or rice cakes with hummus, nut butter, vegetables, fish pâté (check for wheat content), avocado, cottage cheese

* Bean burgers, tofu sausages (check the ingredients), grilled or poached fish with salad