Gluten Free Foods – Nutritional Guide

“You are what you eat” and this is becoming more apparent now with further research. Some health conditions improve with dietary modification. In thinking about dietary modification, consider that the caveman was on the earth for 7 million years and that Homosapiens (modern man) has been on the earth for 160,000 years. However, all of this time these men were hunter-gatherers and ate roots, seeds, plants, fruit and flesh.

It was not until 7000 years ago, a relatively brief time, that man decided to stay in one place and so he had to start growing his own food. It is only then that we started eating dairy products, beef and grains.

Sometimes wheat, or all gluten containing grains, need to be excluded from the diet in order to notice a benefit in health. In the ultimate gluten sensitivity condition, coeliac disease, the gut lining flattens and can no longer absorb the nutrients required for the body to work properly, and therefore various deficiency conditions can arise. In addition, the gut becomes “leaky” and allows molecules into the body that the body does not recognise – the result is inflammation and disease.

Common inflammatory dietary conditions can include hayfever, asthma, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, hypertension, osteoporosis.

Below are gluten free food ideas (unless otherwise stated):

1. Bread:
• Gluten free mix for bread baking.
• Gluten free bread.
• Vogel’s, rice and rye bread (this is only wheat free, not fully gluten free).
• Vogel’s Ancient grains bread ( very low gluten).
2. Cereals:
• Rice bubbles.
• Cornflakes.
• Hubbard’s gluten free cereal.
• Lovan’s gluten free porridge – this is a rice porridge with dried fruit.
• Special gluten free cereals made with alternative grains.
• Oat porridge (this is only wheat free, not fully gluten free).
3. Pasta:
• Rice noodles.
• Pasta made from quinoa (pronounced “keen-wa”) – an ancient grain from the Andes.
4. Breakfast choices:
• Baked beans with eggs, meat or other proteins.
• Rice and beans with tofu.
• Fruit and yoghurt (if dairy is acceptable).
• Alternative cereals, gluten free breads.
5. Places to shop:
• The special / organic section of the supermarket.
• Organic produce shops.

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