BlogWe now have gluten free boxes!
Hey there MAINEiacs! We have something exceptionally special for you this week! With years in the making Box of Maine has scoured the entire state of Maine for the perfect gluten-free products to combine together for our long awaited- Gluten Free Box! We have received dozens of comments from our social media about adding gluten free products to our website and we appreciate our loyal customers sticking it out until we made this happen. The gluten-free box is now on our website and we offer free shipping, with the holidays right around the corner, hop on the boxofmaine.com.com website and send this delicious gift to a family member or friend.
What is Gluten? And why is it harmful to us?
Gluten is a protein naturally found in some grains including wheat, barley, and rye. It acts like a binder, holding food together and adding a “stretchy” quality—think of a pizza maker tossing and stretching out a ball of dough. Without gluten, the dough would rip easily.
What’s not great about gluten is that it can cause serious side effects in certain individuals. Some people react differently to gluten, where the body senses it as a toxin, causing one’s immune cells to overreact and attack it. If an unknowingly sensitive person continues to eat gluten, this creates a kind of battle ground resulting in inflammation. The side effects can range from mild (fatigue, bloating, alternating constipation and diarrhea) to severe (unintentional weight loss, malnutrition, intestinal damage) as seen in the autoimmune disorder celiac disease. Estimates suggest that 1 in 133 Americans has celiac disease, or about 1% of the population, but about 83% of them are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with other conditions.
What is a “Gluten-Free Diet”? And why is it important?
This is essentially a diet that removes all foods containing or contaminated with gluten. However, since gluten-containing whole grains contain fiber and nutrients including B vitamins, magnesium, and iron, it’s important to make up for these missing nutrients. Along with consuming naturally gluten-free foods in their whole form like fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, fish, eggs, and poultry, the following whole grains are also inherently gluten-free:
It’s also key not to rely on processed gluten-free foods that may be high in calories, sugar, saturated fat, and sodium and low in nutrients, such as gluten-free cookies, chips, and other snack foods. Often, these foods are made with processed unfortified rice, tapioca, corn, or potato flours.
With many good reasons to start removing gluten from your diet, one of the advantages of switching is helping with people who struggle with autoimmune disease which gluten can trigger. Secondly it helps control side effects of celiac disease and helps reduce the risk of developing cancers associated with the disease. Thirdly, a gluten-free diet can help with gastrointestinal distress- ranging from diarrhea, gas and bloating to constipation and irritable bowel symptoms. It is crucial to get your body balanced and feeling better, I understand this isn’t an easy choice so please do your research and figure out if your body is affected by gluten. Remember it also helps with pain!
The long-waited gluten-free box!
Do you have a Gluten Sensitivity? We’ve spent time researching these Maine Made Products to be able to offer a Gluten Free Box of Maine. The following products are considered Gluten Free and are included in this box:
- Wild Maine Blueberry Jam – Naturally Gluten Free
- Pure Maine Maple Syrup – Naturally Gluten Free
- Organic Blueberry Honey Bear – Naturally Gluten Free
- Bixby Dark Chocolate Sea-Salted Caramels – (Certified GF)
- Needhams Gourmet Chocolate – (Gluten Free)
- Wild Maine Blueberry Black Tea – (Gluten Free)
- Maine Woods Candle – (Gluten Free)
- Maine Maple Popcorn (Gluten Free but made in facility that could contain wheat)*
**Please note that unless Certified Gluten Free there is still a small possibility of cross contamination. We have confirmed with the manufacturers that the products listed above are Gluten Free to the best of their knowledge and the ingredients included in the production process do not include gluten.**
My Gluten Story
In Fall of 2015 I noticed I was beginning to have some serious stomach pain which involved cramps, bloating, gas, indigestion, nausea and other related issues. I began going to the doctors to get all sorts of testing done from bloodwork, ultrasounds, x-rays, scopes, biopsies and more. One doctor recommended I removed gluten from my diet (I wouldn’t have known what gluten was if I hadn’t recently started working with someone who had Celiac’s disease).
It was very taxing to try to find food that didn’t have some sort of form of gluten in it at the time. This diet put a lot of stress on both me and my wife. For the next 6 months I tried my very best not to consume gluten and although the outcome was ultimately an unrelated issues (H. Pylori, Acid Reflux) I know what it feels like to have to always be concerned about the contents of what I was consuming.
Six years later we’ve decided to put together a premade box for those who are trying to remove gluten from their diet whether because they have to or because they are making the choice to do so on their own. I hope that you enjoy our new Gluten Free Box and please let us know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Daniel Finnemore
President, Box of Maine
Box of Maine will continue to add healthy choices to the website, we understand that the majority of Americans are finally changing their ways of how they approach food. Box of Maine wants the customer to experience the Maine experience no matter how they approach it, gluten-free or not. Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us and we enjoy reading everyone’s comments on our social media, feel free to post your gluten-free box on our Facebook page!
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