Posted on 11/07/2013 12:14:35 PM PST by george76
Once, pasta and bread were store cupboard staples. Now, many of us are replacing them with ‘healthier’ gluten-free foods. But are they really better for us?
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The new ubiquity of gluten-free products certainly makes life much easier for sufferers of coeliac disease, an auto-immune response to wheat where the body believes wrongly that gluten is attacking it... But coeliacs make up only one in 100 of the population
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Nutritionist Ian Marber agrees that yeast, not gluten, may be the real culprit... Marber acknowledges that gluten intolerance does exist, but probably in fewer cases than is generally believed.
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Gluten-free products are frequently more adulterated and significantly higher in fat than their “normal” equivalents. Gluten helps breads and bakery products retain their shape and softness as they cook, so to make up for its absence, manufacturers often use additives like xanthan gum and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose or corn starch. Extra sugar and fat are often also added to make products tastier.
For example, Warburton’s Free From sliced white bread has 2.2g of fat per slice and 80 calories, compared with 1g per slice and 58 calories in its regular loaf. Young’s gluten-free fish fingers contain 9.3g of fat per 100g, as opposed to 8.5g for the standard range.
Inevitably, in the US, a gluten-free backlash is already under way. “Coeliac: the Trendy Disease for Rich, White People” ... the gluten-free community has even less tolerance for jokes than for pasta.
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Marber predicts that these voices will only grow louder. “Our attention will turn to other diet trends, but the gluten-free craze will grow and grow.” Following a gluten-free diet isn’t actively harmful, he adds. “If it makes you happy, do it!” he laughs. “By buying that expensive stuff, you’ll certainly be making someone else very happy.”
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Nice list. Thanks.
Thank god for the increased interest in gluten-free lifestyles. I am not a celiac but I am gluten intolerant ever since I had an adverse reaction to a gout medication. Being gluten free is much easier now days as almost every store carries some. The corn & brown rice pastas are just as good as the regular pastas.
My point is this, perhaps not well expressed originally - most people don't NEED gluten free. It's just another in a long line of food fads that Americans have jumped into.
This article just got posted on Drudge today. I apologize for not having the skills or time to put this into a clickable link. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/healthyeating/10430422/The-great-gluten-free-scam.html
The hardest part of paleo for me has been not drinking alcohol. The exercise routine, however, helps to combat any boredom or whatever other reason I used to use for drinking.
Not a problem in my house.
I have an iron GI system and can eat anything. I've eaten stuff that would make a Billy goat puke.
I've had to change the way I cook for my wife. And let me tell you, it isn't that hard.
Gravy? I am known in my kitchen as The Gravy Master. I can make any kind of gravy and make it gluten free.
Stuffing? I make two batches each Thanksgiving. One GF and one 'regular'. The GF is easy. Start with Van's Gluten Free Waffles. Then do the usual with whatever ingredients you like.
Beer? There is GF beer made with sorghum which is ok...but the latest cider ale products are really good...and GF.
Bread? Make homemade with Bob's Red Mill All Purpose baking flour. That stuff is awesome. You can use it just like regular wheat flour...from baking to making a nice roux for soups and chowders and sauces.
I could ramble on and on because I love to cook. And my wife can share along with me because with very little effort, there is always a workaround.
Oh boy...my old man did that too. Except me and my siblings were the ones who were 'volunteered' to do the shoveling.
My father would bury plastic buckets in the ground near the garden, make a cow manure slurry, fill the buckets and cover them. He would ladle that vile mixture onto the soil around the plants for fertilizer.
Each Summer, his garden yielded over 1500 very large tomatoes. They were heaven. Well worth putting up with the shoveling and the smell.
In my later years I have gotten somewhat sensitive to wheat. Never tested positive with allergy test didn't test positive with the test for celiacs but I can't eat very much wheat or I suffer for it.
And if you care to add any others (either in this thread, or in private FReepmail), all would be appreciated.
Our Walmart has a special "Gluten-Free" section, which seems to be getting more and more things all the time, and another grocery store near us has little "gluten-free" signs under various food items all through the store, for both frozen and non-frozen food items (but we've also noticed that many of them seem to be a bit over-priced).
(Even a few of the "Progresso" canned soups are explicitly marked "gluten-free" now.)
Thanks again.
I have 3-1/2 years of drinking excuse left.
From what I’ve seen, there’s a fair amount of agreement in the medical community with your theory.
My son has Celiac Disease..... after a month in the hospital and great loss of weight before they found the culprit. It was a frightening time....everything he ate was passing through his system quickly.
We learned he had this for a long time but it was never picked up even though was in the emergency room on three occasions.
So those with Celiac Disease do have to stay away from Gluten.
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