Danna Van Noy (formerly Korn) aka the "Gluten-Free Guru" is an author, speaker, co-founder of Sonic Boom Wellness, and leading authority in the world of living gluten-free. She has written multiple books on the topic, including the previous editions of Living Gluten-Free For Dummies and Gluten-Free Cooking For Dummies.

Foreword xvii

Introduction 1

About This Book 2

Foolish Assumptions 3

Icons Used in This Book 4

Beyond This Book 4

Where to Go from Here 5

Part 1: Going Gluten-free: Who, What, Why, And How 7

Chapter 1: Gluten-Free from A to Z: The Basics of Being Gluten-Free 9

How the Gluten-Free Lifestyle Saved My Son 10

Understanding What Gluten Is and Where It Is 13

Thinking Wheat Is Good for You? Think Again 14

Discovering the Benefits of a Gluten-Free Lifestyle 15

Beyond the gut: Head-to-toe health benefits 16

Worsening psychiatric symptoms 17

Mastering the Meals 17

Planning and preparing 18

Shopping shrewdly 18

Considering your kitchen 19

Finding your creativity in the kitchen 19

Getting Excited about the Gluten-Free Lifestyle 19

Adapting your perspective on food 20

Loving food is okay 20

Getting out and about 21

Raising kids to love the lifestyle 21

Setting realistic expectations 22

Arming yourself with good information 22

Chapter 2: Going Gluten-Free: Should You Be? 23

Inspecting the Gluten-Sensitivity Spectrum 24

At one end: Allergies 25

Somewhere in the middle: Gluten sensitivity and intolerance 26

Crossing the line: Celiac disease 27

Exposing One of the Most Common Genetic Diseases of Mankind 28

Pinpointing Who Develops Celiac Disease and Why 30

It's in the genes 31

Triggering celiac disease: What turns it on 32

What it does to the body 32

How your guts are supposed to work 33

How your guts work with celiac disease 33

Scratching the Surface of Dermatitis Herpetiformis 34

Identifying Associated Conditions That Benefit from a GF Diet 36

Connecting Women's Health and Gluten 38

Focusing on fertility 38

Promoting a healthy pregnancy 39

Reducing the chance that your baby develops celiac disease 40

Chapter 3: Sorting Out Symptoms and Considering Testing 41

Identifying Symptoms That Gluten Doesn't Sit Well with You 42

Going for the gut: Gastrointestinal symptoms 43

Identifying nongastrointestinal symptoms 44

Spotting symptoms in kids 46

Discovering misdiagnoses and the missed diagnoses 47

The Lowdown on Testing 50

Understanding why being tested is important 51

Recognizing who should be tested 52

Testing for NCGS 53

Explaining the blood tests available today 53

Getting a biopsy 56

Testing in kids 57

Undergoing other tests 58

Considering genetic tests 59

Interpreting your test results 60

You tested positive! Now what? 62

You're negative for celiac disease - now what? 62

Considering the Risks If You Don't Give Up Gluten 64

Preventing and improving associated conditions 65

Living with compromised health 67

Healing Begins on Day One 68

Chapter 4: The Evolution of the Gluten-Free Revolution 69

Tracking the Evolution of the Revolution 70

The 1990s 70

The 2000s 71

The downside of awareness 72

Today and beyond 72

Discovering New Treatments and Therapies 73

Removing toxic gluten peptides and regulating their effects 75

Preventing gluten from getting where it shouldn't 76

Developing vaccines (creating gluten tolerance) 77

Restoring the imbalance of gut microbiota 77

Preventing the Onset of Disease or Intolerance 78

Chapter 5: Connecting Gluten with Autism, Behavior, and Mood 81

Blaming the Bread: How Gluten Affects Behavior 82

Understanding why food affects mood 82

Making the gut-brain connection 83

Considering the Possible Relationship between Autism and Gluten Sensitivity 84

Exploring dietary treatment for autism: gluten-free/ casein-free 85

Explaining the Opioid Excess Theory of Autism 86

Taking a urine test 87

Eyeing More Potential Benefits for Going GFCF 88

Rethinking "reading, writing, and Ritalin" 89

Diminishing depression and other mood disorders 91

Part 2: Eating Gluten-free While Optimizing Nutrition 93

Chapter 6: Grasping the Ground Rules of the Gluten-Free Diet 95

When in Doubt, Leave It Out 96

Defining Gluten So You Can Avoid It 97

Recognizing Gluten-Free Foods at a Glance 98

Forbidden grains 98

Grains and starches you can safely eat 101

Other foods that are usually gluten-free 102

Foods that usually contain gluten 102

Exploring Alternative Grains and Superfoods 103

Amaranth 103

Arrowroot 104

Buckwheat (soba) 104

Mesquite (pinole) 105

Millet 105

Montina (Indian ricegrass) 106

Quinoa (hie) 106

Sorghum (milo, jowar, jowari, cholam) 107

Teff (tef) 107

Checking Up on Questionable Ingredients 108

Knowing which foods to research 108

Putting an end to the controversy over certain foods 109

The Buzz on Booze: Choosing Alcoholic Beverages 110

Booze you can use 110

Step away from the bottle 110

Making Sure Your Medications and Supplements Are Safe 111

Using Nonfood Products: What You Need to Know 112

Makeup matters 113

Lotions and potions 113

Dental products 113

Chapter 7: Making Sure It's Gluten-Free: Digging a Little Deeper 115

Gluten-Free Ambiguously: Why It Isn't So Straightforward 116

Loose labeling terminology 116

"Gluten-free" may not mean 100 percent 118

Defining Safe Amounts of Gluten 118

Being aware of contamination risks 119

Looking out for mysterious ingredient sources 120

Testing for Gluten in Foods 120

Deciphering Label Lingo 121

Reading Glutenese: Knowing what to look for 121

Avoiding tempting marketing come-ons 122

Checking with Food Manufacturers 122

Interpreting company responses 123

Getting the most out of your calls to manufacturers 124

Getting product listings from a company 125

Searching for Information: The Good, the Bad, and the Completely Ludicrous 126

Looking Online, for Better and for Worse 127

Chapter 8: Gluten-Free Nutritiously 129

Taking a Healthful Approach to Gluten-Free Living 130

Simplifying weight management 131

Focusing on nutrient density 133

Trying to gain weight on the gluten-free diet 135

Regulating Blood Sugar 136

The high cost of high insulin 137

Good carbs, bad carbs: Tuning in to the glycemic index and glycemic load 138

Dining with cavemen: The Paleolithic diet 141

Eliminating Dairy As Well As Gluten 142

Comparing caveman-style to low-carb diets 144

Reviewing the more healthful approach 145

Being Healthy, Stealthy, and Wise 146

Avoiding nutritional pitfalls on the gluten-free diet 147

Getting the fiber you need on a gluten-free diet 148

The whole truth (and nothing but) about whole grains 149

Recognizing a Truism: Junk Is Still Junk 150

Gaining an Athletic Advantage by Being Gluten-Free 150

Part 3: Planning and Preparing: The Preludes to Cooking 153

Chapter 9: Creating a Gluten-Free-Friendly Kitchen 155

Sharing the Kitchen with Gluten 156

Avoiding cross-contamination 157

Storing foods separately for convenience 160

Taking Inventory of the Pantry and Fridge 161

Stocking specialty ingredients 161

Having these mixes on hand 163

Considering these specialty premade products 165

Chapter 10: Shopping Is Easier Than You Think 167

Knowing What You Want 168

Planning your meals 168

Making lists 170

Deciding What to Buy 171

Checking out gluten-free specialty products 171

Remembering naturally gluten-free foods 171

Asking for opinions 172

Deciding Where to Shop 173

Regular grocery stores 173

Natural foods or health food stores 174

Farmers' markets 174

Ethnic markets 174

Gluten-free retail stores 175

Navigating the Aisles 175

Perusing the perimeter 175

Sorting through the health food aisle 176

Living Gluten-Free - Affordably 177

Scaling back on specialties 177

Saving on shipping 178

Going generic 178

Eating nutritiously 179

Eating in 179

Using gluten-free mixes 179

Chapter 11: Cooking: Tips and Techniques 183

Creatively Gluten-Free: Improvising in the Kitchen 184

Adapting any dish to be gluten-free 184

Avoiding cross-contamination when cooking 186

Using standby substitutions 186

Cooking with Wheat Alternatives 189

Incorporating alternative gluten-free grains 190

Thickening with gluten-free starches and flours 191

Cutting out casein, too 192

Trying Your Hand at Gluten-Free Baking 194

Mixing it up with mixes 194

Introducing xanthan gum: The star of the dough 195

Substituting gluten-free flours 195

Making your own gluten-free flour mixtures 196

Baking bread the gluten-free way 198

Part 4: From Menus to Meals: Recipes Galore 201

Chapter 12: Beginning with Breakfast 203

Getting Your Day Off to a Gluten-Free Start 204

Grab 'n go starters 204

Power-start your gluten-free day with protein 207

Getting Eggcited about Eggs 208

Blending Something Smoothie 211

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee Cake: Hot Breakfast Ideas 213

Chapter 13: Appetizers with Attitude 219

Fashioning Finger-Lickin'-Good Finger Foods 220

Digging into Dips and...