9 years ago my life changed forever when I discovered something I was eating was making me sick. It was gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, and after 7 years of chronic illness and many other health issues I committed to a gluten free life, and I’ve never felt so healthy and energetic in all my life.

So, are gluten free snacks healthy? The simple answer is no.  If a food item is free of gluten, that doesn’t automatically make it healthy or even healthier. In fact the opposite is true, gluten free snacks are typically less healthy than their gluten containing counter part. 

Lets use pretzels as an example, they aren’t considered a healthy snack to begin with, but the gluten free version is less healthy, and so it will serve to illustrate the point. The main ingredient in your average pretzel is made from enriched wheat flour, whereas a gluten free pretzel’s main bulk usually comes from a combination of corn starch, potato starch, and tapioca starch; all of these starches are way less nutrient dense and have a higher glycemic index than gluten containing pretzels. Additionally gluten free products are typically higher in sugar and fats to compensate for flavor and texture resulting in more calories.

Who Benefits From a Gluten Free Diet?

The gluten free diet is sometimes touted as a “weight loss diet” or that it is just plain healthier for the average person, and that’s just not true. There is no scientific evidence to back up such claims. A gluten free diet is only healthier for an individual with celiac disease, a gluten sensitivity (me), because consuming gluten causes adverse reactions in their body. There are a few other known conditions that may benefit from a gluten free diet and they are irritable bowel syndrome, type 1 diabetes, a neurological disorder called gluten ataxia, and HIV-associated enteropathy.

Think of the need to eliminate gluten from ones diet as similar to the need to eliminate peanuts, soy, eggs, or any other food item because there is an allergy or sensitivity to those food items. If a food causes an adverse reaction in ones body, it should be avoided. Just avoiding that food item doesn’t automatically result in higher nutritional consumption. 

But for whatever reason there isn’t a health-conscious stigma attached to eating a peanut free diet, like there is with a gluten free diet. I theorize this is because a peanut is an easily recognizable food, whereas gluten is a protein in certain foods, and is therefore less familiar to the average person, so its more likely to be associated and confused with other dietary food terms.

The presence or absence of gluten is no indicator of diet quality. If a person eating a gluten free diet comprised mostly of carbs, and processed foods modifies their diet to include a lot of fruits and veggies, and a moderate amount of processed foods the overall result will be  more vitamins and minerals, and less calories consumed because they are making healthier food choices. So while fruits and veggies are naturally gluten free and healthy, all gluten free foods are not inherently more healthy just because they lack gluten. 

Gluten Containing Foods

A gluten free diet is one free of any gluten containing foods such as wheat, barley, or rye. These grains are most commonly found in breads, pastas, cereals, crackers, cakes, and cookies; but can also be disguised in sauces, processed meats, salad dressings, seasonings, or soups. And this is just the gluten found in gluten-containing foods.

There can also be gluten cross-contamination among foods that contain no gluten because they are often processed on the same equipment or the same facility that processes glutenous foods. So even if a food has no gluten containing ingredients, it could still have gluten on it in trace amounts, which can be a problem for individuals with a gluten sensitivity.

Naturally Gluten Free Foods

Fortunately, there are many food groups that are free of gluten in their natural form.

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Fish and Seafood
• Meat and Poultry
• Eggs
• Dairy
• Beans, Legumes, and Nuts

Even when it comes to grains or grain-like replacements there are a lot of options to choose from.

Healthy-ish Gluten Free Snacks

If you benefit from a gluten free diet knowing lists of naturally gluten free food groups and grains is helpful to an extent… but if you are experiencing a stab of hunger between meal times these lists aren’t helpful in removing a feeling of panic as you contemplate eating something that will make you feel terrible, or chewing a mouthful of Buckwheat groats which would taste terrible.

I’ve compiled a list of simple and delicious gluten free snacks to help you out the next time a pang of huger hits.

• apples dipped in peanut butter (or any nut butter)
• celery dipped in peanut butter topped with raisins
• apple, banana, or strawberries dipped in Nutella
• apple, banana, or strawberries dipped in caramel sauce
• apple and a Snickers bar
• strawberries and an Almond Joy (all types are GF except Almond Joy Pieces)
• veggies dipped in GF ranch dressing
• veggies dipped in hummus
• veggies and Laughing Cow Cheese wedges
• apples and string cheese
• grapes and string cheese
• canned peaches and cottage cheese
• tomato slices and cottage cheese
• Babybel Cheese
• fruit leather
• apple chips
• banana chips
• dried mango, apricots, cranberries, blueberries, cherries
• salted nuts
• trail mix
• Nature Valley Gluten Free Protein Bars (Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate and Coconut Almond are my favorites)
• Tortilla chips and salsa
• Kirkland Signature Cut Cured & Dried Beef Steak Strips
• Tillamook Beef Sticks