Is Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s diet 100% Gluten-Free?

Does gluten make Elisabeth Hasselbeck suffer? Yes, and that’s why she is gluten-free. Most people know Elisabeth Hasselbeck for her role as a fiery co-host of the famous daytime talk show “The View.” However, anyone would have barely known that  Hasselbeck is allergic to gluten, the protein that holds wheat together.

However, she has found her way out of her problems a long time ago. Once Hasselbeck discarded gluten from her diet, her health got a lot better and the sufferings disappeared. Apparently, it made her an expert on all such matters. She even published a book about it.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s The G-Free Diet is a comprehensive handbook for anyone who needs to follow a gluten-free diet. And here is a brief presentation of her recent interview in which she confers The G-Free Diet.

When did she discover she had celiac disease?

It wasn’t until 2005 that she received a formal diagnosis. Basically, she has the celiac disease gene. That “turned on” later after a bacterial illness when she was in college. As a result, it took over nine years.

Gluten was something she had to learn the hard way, says Hasselbeck. Therefore, she wrote the book so others don’t have to suffer in the dark for long. Like herself, most celiac disease sufferers have a tale to tell. She only hopes that by reading her book, one would be able to start their healthy journey sooner than her. So that they could start the road to a healthier body and a better self without experiencing the agony that she used to feel.

What was the most difficult food for her to give up?

Hasselbeck says she grew up in an Italian-American neighborhood. There was never a holiday when she didn’t enjoy her grandma’s legendary baked penne alongside a thirty-inch loaf of fresh Italian bread. Her entire family would linger around after dessert.  Her cousins and she would compete for the “end” of each loaf. It was all bread, all the time in her childhood home. This shows how difficult it would have been for her to leave bread and gluten entirely.

Thankfully, that was not the case with her, as Hasselbeck has managed to find a substitute for that. She says she doesn’t think there’s anything she’s losing out on. People often ask her how she lives without bread. But, Hasselbeck doesn’t think so. She’s got gluten-free bread, muffins, and pasta on hand. It’s not so much about removing things as it is about substituting them.

Did the disease affect her pregnancy in any way?

She had a lot of trouble getting pregnant before her diagnosis. Her body had a stronger platform to carry a child after she was able to go G-free. Hasselbeck also has a better relationship with eating. When she was pregnant, she was willing to try five different kinds of cookies, but her health wasn’t allowing that.

How did she adjust to a G-free life?

One becomes a new person if they have celiac disease and become G-free automatically. She was in such a terrific mood because of that. However, once she received her diagnosis, she had a very good idea of how to improve her health.

As said before, she comes from an Italian family and couldn’t think of resisting gluten. Hence, she started innovating recipes that were gluten-free. She and her mother cooked a gluten-free version of Hasselbeck’s grandmother’s iconic penne and meatballs. She feels like she is transported back in time. Hasselbeck claims it to be a wonderful time with her family.

How many people are affected by Celiac illness?

Currently, one in every 133 persons receives a diagnosis of this disease. There are a lot more people strolling around with it. If you have a family member who has it, you have a one in 22 chance of getting it.

Is Hasselkbeck worried that her kids will get it?

Although it is not certain, Hasselbeck doesn’t want to be careless about it. Thus, she has decided to get her genes tested. Every time her daughter claims her stomach hurts, Hasselbeck thinks that her daughter too might have celiac disease. Therefore, she makes her children consume gluten-free goodies as well. It makes sure of their health. Even she encourages people around her to switch to a gluten-free diet and tries to promote its benefits.

With her first book, The G-Free Diet, Elisabeth Hasselbeck put celiac disease and her gluten-free lifestyle into the spotlight. She calls her book a “renegade mission”. She wanted to draw people in and pique their interest in celiac disease and a gluten-free lifestyle. But with delicious G-Free, she just wanted to make it easier for celiacs and their non-celiac friends and family to eat healthily.