Tag: Gluten

Should Everyone be eating Gluten Free (GF) diets?

According to Prof Noakes and other nutritional experts, this is not necessary. Only those with an allergy to Gluten (Coeliac disease), and to a lesser degree, gluten intolerance, need to follow a strict GF diet.

How do I know if I have these conditions?

Unfortunately the testing for these conditions is still very  limited,  and people who have noticed a  sensitivity to certain foods/ gluten, do not always test positive for the allergy (see next Blog on Coeliac disease for testing).

Speak to your doctor if you suspect you may be suffering from this condition. While waiting for your appointment, you can test by trial and error, by eliminating all Gluten from your diet and monitoring your wellness, especially abdominal symptoms like cramps bloating and diarrhea.

Does a GF diet result in weight loss?

Although GF diets are the latest weight loss craze, it’s the healthier eating, and decrease in carbs, that may cause some weight loss rather than the lack of gluten.

Is it harmful to eat GF if you don’t need to?

Not at all, as long as you keep following the basic rules and include all the different food groups. A GF diet can be costly and inconvenient, so it is not always practical. However, if one of the members of you family has a gluten allergy, it makes sense to eat mainly GF as a family,

Some practical tips to keep one family member’s food GF, when the rest don’t want to eat GF?

  • To keep butter, jam, mayonnaise and any other foodstuffs uncontaminated by a knife with crumbs on it, buy 2  of each. Label one GF with a neon stick-on label
  • Keep separate gluten and GF baking utensils, sieve, hand mixer, muffin pans. These can easily be contaminated with gluten.
  • Have a separate pot for cooking pasta. First cook all the other GF dishes e.g. pasta sauce. Cover them and place them onto a separate counter as the pasta boils, to avoid contamination
  • Wash hands and dry with clean towel every time after touching gluten containing food.
  • Keep bread bin and toaster separate from the main kitchen

Hope this was useful.

Till next time

Angie

Gluten-free: fact or fiction?

Dear Reader

Finding out that you, or a loved one has to eat Gluten Free from now on, is an overwhelming experience!

I fully understand. My husband was diagnosed with Coeliac disease in 2009. After the initial shock I consulted ‘Dr’ Google and any other resources I could find. It was very disappointing! A lot of the information I needed, could only be bought at a price. Hence this blog.

This blog is to share info, recipes and advice, for all of us.

‘Gluten free’ is actually a misnomer. To be able to advertise a product as ‘gluten free’, South African law requires 20 units per million or less, which still seems like a LOT to me. One can actually be exposed to gluten with so-called ‘gluten free’ products.

As a sufferer of Coeliac disease, after exposure to even such tiny amounts of gluten, one’s gut also becomes leaky and one becomes prone to cross allergies e.g. to sulphites (found in wine, grape juice, dried fruit, etc) or lactose (mostly dairy products).

Luckily there is a growing awareness of gluten allergies, and more truly gluten free products are reaching the shelves. The labelling of products is also improving. When in doubt, you can always call the manufacturer on their help line, to ask whether ingredients containing gluten have been used or not.

However, BEWARE! Recipes change and just because your favourite spice or sausage was gluten free in the past, does not mean it is today.

Woolworths for instance, have been extremely helpful, sending me an extensive list of all their gluten free products, when requested. Even so, even Woolworths advise caution, as their gluten sensitive meal plan may not be suitable if you need to be eating gluten free and their recipes may have changed even before this blog is published.

In the future I will pass on lists I have received, recipes and practical tips and invite you to contribute your own recipes, tips and comments for the well-being of everyone with gluten allergies.

Regards

Angie