When suffering from celiac disease, you will be advised to take gluten-free licorice foods. It can take a long time for you to adapt to that change in lifestyle. But you have to do it to maintain your health.
Celiac disease can be described as a condition where your body reacts every time you take foods which are rich in gluten protein such as wheat. The immune response initiated by the body tissues can damage your intestines over time by hindering the absorption of nutrients. Damage of your intestine can also lead to diarrhea, fatigue and weight loss. In cases of children, it can hinder their growth and development.
There is no cure for the celiac condition and the only way of handling the situation is by taking gluten-free licorice foods. The purpose of this article is to provide a deeper understanding of the gluten-free licorice foods you need to take. You will also learn how you will make your own gluten-free licorice recipe at home. Let us get into it.
What is Gluten?
Gluten is a protein found in foods. Barley and wheat are some of the common foods containing gluten. Baked foods and cereals also contain gluten. If you are on a diet, you should always check out the packaging of the food container to make sure it is gluten-free before making a purchase.
What is Gluten Free Licorice Root?
Gluten-free licorice has a number of benefits to your health. It belongs to the Glycyrrhiza glabra. One of the popular things that we know about gluten-free licorice herb is its candy flavor. However, the health benefits associated with the herb are not known by most of the people. There are also different varieties of the gluten-free licorice herb. According to the Journal of Advanced Research, the benefits of the two different varieties of gluten-free licorice roots are the same even though they have different origins.
It is used to cure coughs and colds in some cultures such as the Chinese. In others, it is referred to as the ‘sweeter fruit’ and it is used to give a candy flavor to foods.
Benefits of Gluten Free Licorice Root
Treatment of Leaky Gut Syndrome
It is a common natural health condition which can affect you. Poor choice of diet is the main cause of the condition. It can become difficult to tackle the condition when it is in its advanced stages. Gluten free black licorice root can serve as a great anti-inflammatory and act as a natural remedy for the ulcer.
Relieving Adrenal Fatigue
We all undergo stress each day. Some of the instances we go through can affect our lives negatively. Overworking of the adrenal glands is the main cause of stress. When you are under stress, making your day to day decisions can become difficult.
In research published in the Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, gluten-free licorice root was found to regulate cortisol which is a stress hormone. This gave the adrenal glands a break and prevented overworking the adrenal glands. The next time you feel you are going through a certain form of stress that is affecting the way you are operating, think of gluten-free licorice root.
Boosting Your Immunity
Apart from eating fruits and vegetables to boost your immunity, you can think of taking gluten-free licorice root. Gluten-free licorice root is emerging as a great medication to boost your immunity. It can protect you against infections such as HIV, hepatitis C, and influenza. The Food and Chemistry Journal describes gluten-free licorice root extract as an anti-oxidant which can be sued to eliminate radicals within our bodies.
Treatment of a Sore Throat
Gluten-free licorice root can actually be of great benefits if you are suffering from a cough or a sore throat. It can act as an expectorant and eliminate the mucus that the cough is always trying to eliminate from your body.
Given that licorice root has anti-inflammatory properties, it can easily relief the sore throat. Luckily, there are many extracts of the gluten-free licorice root. Gluten-free licorice recipe is made from the extracts.
Acts as Pain Relief
Gluten-free licorice root is actually a great antispasmodic meaning that it can be sued to relief you the pain caused by cramps. It can also act as a natural remedy when you are suffering from joint pain.
How Can You Make Gluten Free Licorice Recipe?
In this era where things are changing, it can be a challenge to find gluten-free licorice. The few packaged brands are expensive and some of them can be contaminated with gluten. This means they will make your health condition to be worse.
In order to make gluten-free licorice, you can follow the following procedure. It can be sued when making the gluten-free black licorice and gluten-free red licorice.
Ingredients Needed
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt (Kosher)
- ½ a cup of any gluten-free flour
- 1 Cup of Granulated Sugar
- ½ a cup of Sweetened Milk
- 8 tablespoons of butter (it should be unsalted butter at room temperature)
- Food Coloring as Desired
- ½ a spoon of the cherry flavoring oil
- 8 tablespoons of the corn syrup
Directions
- Begin by greasing the baking dish with some butter or vegetable shortening. Make sure you have arranged all the gluten-free red licorice ingredients next to the stone bowl.
- With another bowl, make a mix of the flour, gum, salt, and whisk. Ensure they have mixed well.
- Set up the flavoring oil, the measuring spoon and the food coloring. Position them in a place where they can be accessed easily.
- Place the butter, sugar, corn syrup and the condensed milk on a large saucepan. You can make your own condensed milk at home. Cook the meal over medium heat while stirring until the mixture starts to boil. The heat should be lowered to medium to make sure it is boiling slowly. If you boil it at a higher rate, the butter will end up burning. If you boil it at a lower heat, it will not get as hard as it should when it cools.
- Get your mixture out of the heat and add flour. Make sure you have mixed everything well. You can as well add the flavoring oil and the exact food coloring to the mixture.
- Pour out the candy to the baking dish and continue shaking it until it forms a uniform layer.
- Let the baking dish be in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove it from the refrigerator and place the candy on a flat surface.
- Using the kitchen shear, you can cut the candy into half and cut each of the remaining halves into ¼ inch strips. Twist them at the ends to form spiral gluten-free red licorice.
- Let them cool at room temperature and they will be ready to serve within a short time.
How Can You Ensure You Are Taking Gluten Free Licorice Diet?
Tip #1: Read the Food Labels
When you are purchasing gluten-free products, always check out the ‘gluten-free label’ on the outside. There are some companies which indicate’ no gluten-containing ingredients’. If the company fails to carry out a test on the presence of gluten in their products, they will use the word. Cross-contact with other products can occur even in cases where the manufacturer has not used gluten-containing ingredients.
FDA requires gluten-free licorice food products to be indicated as ‘no gluten’. There is no trademark or symbol sued on the product to indicate they do not contain gluten.
Tip #2: Check the Ingredients List
Read the list of ingredients on the outside when there is no ‘gluten-free label’. The allergen warnings found on the outside of the packaging can be of great use. If the list contains wheat, then it is not safe for your consumption.
Products made of oat should be indicated as gluten-free. Oat contains glute and taking such a product will cause complications given your condition.
Tip #3: Avoid Cross-Contact
Cross-contact is one of the common problems which will hinder your efforts to take a gluten-free licorice diet. Even if there are small amounts of wheat near oat-free products, it will still cause contamination.
Cross-contact can also occur when you are cooking your food but there are a number of measures you should use to avoid cross-contact. Learning these measures will help avoid the contamination of your food.
Tip #4: Carry Gluten Free Snacks
You can carry your gluten-free red licorice snacks when going for parties. Preparation is important and it is the only way of avoiding the consumption of gluten-containing foods. Make a habit of carrying gluten-free foods whenever you are going.
Tip #5: Avoid it if in Doubt
Try to avoid all the foods which you are not sure about. Some of the products do not contain ingredients labels. This makes it difficult for one to determine whether there is gluten in the food or not. When you come across such products, the best thing to do is to avoid their consumption.
Bottom Line
Taking gluten-free licorice diet is important if you are suffering from celiac disease. Cross contamination is a great challenge affecting celiac patients. Contamination of small tools such as the knives, the cutting boards, and baking sheets is not good at all. In addition, wheat flour can remain suspended in the air for about 24 hours. Therefore, it can easily contaminate your gluten-free licorice diet.
There are also plenty of gluten-free licorice recipes which you can make yourself. When choosing the ingredients to make a gluten-free licorice diet, the choice of the flour is important. Always make sure you have selected wheat flour which is free of gluten. Gluten-free licorice is also available in red and black licorice meaning you have a wide variety to select.
