Part 4: Low GI & gluten free diets

It’s fitting that as I post my final blog in my 4-part Gluten Free Eating series that I was able to attend the annual Irresistible Gluten Free Show on the weekend. There were lots of wonderful stalls, tastings, treats and delicacies! I encountered a number of new products which I’ll share with you later, but first let’s talk about GI and the gluten free diet.

Low GI and gluten free.. is it possible?

Yes, yes and yes again. However, it's not an easy task. Many of the gluten free flours that are used to make gluten free products such as potato & rice flour tend to have a high GI. Not sure what GI's all about? Take a look at my post Can jelly beans make you fat? It will definitely make you think twice about reaching into the lolly jar at home (or at work!) Scroll down to the end of the post and you’ll also find a useful table of foods that are low, medium and high GI. But which ones are gluten free?

Well here’s what Coeliac Australia suggest as suitable low GI gluten free choices:

Rice
Doongara (Clever) Rice
Basmati Rice

Gluten Free Low GI Breads
Country Life Low GI Gluten Free Bread
Gluten Free Wraps/Tortillas

Cereals
Gluten Free Muesli
Rice Bran

Dairy
Low fat milk
Low fat yoghurt
Low fat custard

Fruit
Apple, Orange, Banana, Grape, Peach, Nectarine, Plum, Pear

Legumes
Baked Beans
Lentils
Chickpeas
Kidney Beans
Cannellini Beans

Starchy Vegetables
Butternut Pumpkin
Corn (on the cob or kernels)
Yam

Grains, Pasta & Noodles
Quinoa
Buckwheat
Amaranth
Fresh Rice Noodles

Do you know of any products that you absolutely can’t live without that are low GI and gluten free? Love to hear what you’ve discovered.

So now the fun part. For all my facebook friends that couldn't make the Irresistible Gluten Free Show, here's a sample of some interesting products I came across. (I can't tell you what their GI is, but the main ingredient will give you a good idea).


Blue Corn Tortilla Chips 

Fruit & Vegetable Chips

Millet drink

Gluten free crumpet mix

 



Organic Gluten Free Crackers

 

And something to get you ready for festive season...


 Chat soon,

How to read a Nutrition Information Panel

 Having trouble reading food labels?

Download & print my How To Read a Nutrition Information Panel

resource here!

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(includes a wallet label reader to take to the supermarket with you)

Part 3: Fibre & gluten free diets

Just been diagnosed with coeliac disease? Having trouble keeping regular? Well you're not the only one. Getting enough fibre on a gluten free diet can be quite a challenge because cutting wheat, rye, barley and oats from our diets means we need to get our fibre from other food sources!

So let's do a quick refresher...

What grains you can eat on a gluten free diet

Glute free grains & starches include rice, corn (maize), soy, sago, tapioca, buckwheat, millet, sorghum, quinoa, arrowroot, amaranth, besan (chickpea) flour, hops, lupin, potato, lentil, teff, psyllium, polenta and coconut.

And let's remind ourselves on...

Why we need to eat fibre every day

Dietary fibre is important for our digestive health. Most of us associate fibre with its function to help keep us regular, but fibre has many other health benefits. It helps to lower cholesterol, stabilise our blood sugar levels, reduces our risk of bowel cancer and lowers the GI of foods. Overall we need 25 - 30g fibre each day.

So what are the fibre rich options for people on a gluten free diet?

There are 3 different types of dietary fibre: soluble fibre, insoluble fibre and resistant starch. Each has important roles in our bodies. The following table lists gluten free foods that are a rich source of dietary fibre:

Soluble                         Insoluble                                Resistant Starch
Fruit                               Skins of fruit & vegies              Lentils
Vegetables                    Brown rice                                Banana
Legumes                       Rice bran                                 Cooked & cooled rice
Rice bran                       Nuts                                         Cooked & cooled potato
Pysillium husks             Seeds                                       Seeds
Soy flour
Soy grits

Reference: Coeliac Australia

So let's put it into practice now by designing our very own gluten free meal plan.

Gluten Free Meal Plan

Breakfast:

• To your gluten free cereal add a spoonful of one of these: rice bran, psyillium husks, linseeds, LSA (linseed, soy and almond meal), chia seeds, sunflower seeds, pepitas or some chopped nuts. You could also add some prunes or stewed fruit on top with some yummy low fat yoghurt. (And yes, I said prunes! Don't be afraid, these sweet but nutritious fruits are packed full of fibre also have a low GI.)


• If you're having gluten free toast try to find a gluten free bread that is grainy or contains added fibre.


• You might even like to have baked beans on gluten free toast for a fibre & protein loaded hot brekky. Remember all your veggies are gluten free & high in fibre, so don't forget to add sauteed mushrooms, spinach and grilled tomatoes for more goodness.

Morning Tea:

Piece of fresh fruit

Lunch:

• Ensure you eat at least 2 serves of vegetables with lunch (eg. lean meat & salad sandwich) for a boost of soluble & insoluble fibre


• Choose a grainy or high fibre gluten free bread for a sandwich


• If you're having a salad, ensure you add plenty of beans, chickpeas or lentils

Afternoon Tea: 

Dried fruit, nut and seed mix OR cheese & gluten free crackers

Dinner:

Add 2 serves of green veggies to your plate. These should take up 1/2 of your dinner plate. Fill the next 1/4 with starchy veggies, rice, soba noodles or gluten free pasta (eg. buckwheat) and the last 1/4 with lean meat. And whatever you do, don't peel your vegetables! Vegetable peel contains a fabulous source of insoluble fibre, so for those veggies where the skin is edible, leave the skin right where it is. And that also means less time in the kitchen peeling veggies (not hearing any complaints there about that one...!) 

Dessert: Why not try my quick & easy rice pudding recipe !

And don't forget about fluids

One of the other most very important things to remember when talking about fibre is that you can't just eat a high fibre diet and not drink fluids. Water and fibre must go hand in hand, and if you eat a lot of fibre but don't drink enough fluids, you call still become constipated. Think of the water as being there to flush the fibre through the system. So the moral of the story is, eat plenty of fibre and drink plenty of water while doing so!

We've spoke a little about GI today and I'm going to expand on this next week. Many gluten free grains have a high GI so stay tuned for some tips on how you can still make low GI choices on a gluten free diet.

 

Muesli... a GOOD breakfast choice

Tonight's blog has been inspired from a recent report published by well renowned Choice magazine on their latest review of muesli. Now I have been a member of Choice for many years and I'm certainly a big fan of their work, up until this point.

In their report they sensationalised the fact that some mueslis have more fat than a McDonald’s Double Quarter Pounder. But to me this makes no sense. We don't eat nutrients, we eat foods. And there is no way you can compare a bowl of muesli to a fast food burger.

The flaws in Choice's report

To the naked eye it may appear that Choice have lifted the cover on a giant list of mueslis, and uncovered all of their deep dark secrets. What you need to know is that there are a number of limitations in Choice's report. Choice based their conclusions mostly on numbers on a nutrition panel. But as we know, it's important to look at the ingredients list as well as the numbers to find out the whole story. You can download my How To Read a Nutrition Information Panel here, where I talk about what numbers to aim for but also a what to look for in the ingredients list. It's important to read both when making a decision about choosing a product.

Choice looked unfavourably upon a lot of mueslis that had higher total levels of fat, even if these fats were mostly unsaturated (the good types of fat). More and more evidence is showing us that we need good fats in our diet. These include a number of plant based oils such as canola oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, nuts and seeds, many of which are found in mueslis. These fats are heart protective and good for us. We need these in our diet. As the dietitian for Carman's Fine Foods, I was alarmed that Choice rated Carman's mueslis only satisfactory, even when their mueslis have <3g saturated fats per 100g.

The other major limitation of the report was that sugars were looked upon as one single nutrient, and it was not considered what type of sugar it was or what food it came from. So those mueslis that contained small amounts of dried fruit were shunned upon because they had higher levels of sugars, and there was no comparison made between those mueslis that used added sugars and those that used naturally occuring ones from dried fruit.

What you should know about muesli

First things first I think we need to remember that a number of people don't eat breakfast at all. This means their bodies are not receiving the fuel they need to run efficiently all day. So having a bowl of muesli for breakfast (with reduced fat milk of course) is a good thing! Well done to those of you who do this already.

Secondly most mueslis are wholegrain and low GI due to their base ingredient of oats. This means you are going to feel fuller for longer and will be less likely to grab the lolly jar at morning tea time! Wholegrains are a rich source of dietary fibre, which also helps to keep you satisfied, as well as keeping you regular, reducing cholesterol and reducing your risk of bowel cancer.

When you purchase a muesli, check the ingredients list to see what fat is used. If there are some nuts, this is a plus. If there are oils like olive, canola, sunflower or safflower, grapeseed, soyabean or corn oil, these are high in good fats and get the Heart Foundation Tick (see page 4 for an oil comparison). Try to avoid mueslis that have palm or coconut oils listed in the ingredients list. If 'vegetable oil' is listed you'll need to contact the manufacturer as this could mean a good oil such as canola oil or it could be a not so good oil such as palm oil. Natural mueslis are also a better choice over toasted mueslis as they contain less kilojoules overall.

And as for sugars, look at the ingredients list to check what the source of sugars is. If it's dried fruit, and it's a fair way down in the ingredients list (near the end), then you know there is only a small amount of dried fruit in the muesli. Dried fruit is healthy in small amounts, and there's no need to avoid a muesli that contains dried fruit.

So now looking back that McDonalds Quarter Pounder is not looking that crash hot after all. Just remember we eat foods, not single nutrients, therefore we need to look at the whole picture not one element inside it.

Part 2: Gluten Free Eating - Label reading

Where is gluten found?

Gluten is found in wheat, barley, rye and oats. There are a number of different names for grains based on wheat, barley, rye and oats, so I've listed these below:

Most breads & pizzas are wheat based. You can find a good range of gluten free breads in the supermarket and most restuarants that serve pizza have the option of a gluten free base.

Wheat: atta, bourghal/burghal, cous cous, dinkel, durum, farina, german wheat, polish wheat, graham flour, emmer, freekah, kamat/kamut, semolina, spelt, triticale (wheat and rye hybrid)

Barley: malt (barley)

Rye: pumpernickel

Oats: pilcorn

What foods are gluten free?

Well the good news is that many foods are naturally gluten free. There are also many grains and starches that are gluten free. Here's a list:

Naturally gluten free foods

Fresh fruit and vegetables

Unprocessed meat, poultry, fish

Eggs, nuts and legumes
Milk (some flavoured milks may contain gluten)
Fats and oils




Polenta



                                            

Gluten FREE grains & starches
Rice, corn (maize), soy, sago, tapioca, buckwheat, millet, sorghum, quinoa, arrowroot, amaranth, besan (chickpea) flour, hops, lupin, potato, lentil, teff, psyllium, polenta, coconut.





Label reading

Reading labels to find out if a product is gluten free can actually be quite a challenging exercise. I know the first time I learnt this it took a while for me to get my head around it. So to make life simple for those of you that do require a gluten free diet, here's my guide on how to find out if a product is gluten free.

The following guide is based on the Australian Food Standards Code and the fabulous information provided by Coeliac Australia. This organisation is a must to join if you have coeliac disease!

1. If a product contains gluten, it must be listed on the label

Under the Australian Food Standards Code, if an ingredient is derived from wheat, rye, barley or oats, then this must be declared. So, if you see wheat, rye, barley, oats or gluten on a food label, the product is NOT gluten free.

This product contains barley and oats and therefore is not gluten free


The following table shows the difference in labeling of gluten containing ingredients and those that are gluten free. If a product does not specify the source, it is deemed gluten free.

Not Gluten Free                                                     Gluten Free

Thickeners 1400 – 1450 (wheat)                              Thickeners 1400 – 1450
Vegetable protein extract (wheat, barley malt)         Vegetable protein extract
Maltodextrin (wheat)                                                  Maltodextrin
Cornflour (5% wheat)                                                Cornflour


2. The label of GLUTEN FREE overrides a product’s ingredient listing

The label of gluten free overrides anything else on a label. If you see GLUTEN FREE on the label, the product is gluten free regardless of the ingredient list.

Declaration of interest: I consult to Carman's Fine Foods

3. Highly processed ingredients

Some products are so highly processed that even though they include wheat as part of their name, they are deemed gluten free. These are:

- Glucose Syrup (from wheat) or Wheat Glucose Syrup
- Caramel Colour (150) from wheat
- Dextrose from Wheat

4. Advisory statements

Products that use advisory statements such as “may contain gluten” or “manufactured on the same line as gluten containing products” are not suitable for those on a gluten free diet.

However, if the only statement is “contains wheat” and the only wheat based ingredient identified is glucose syrup, caramel colour or dextrose (see point 3), the product is gluten free.

These Dove chocolates would not be gluten free as
wheat and barley are listed as "may contain" ingredients

5. Oats

In Australia oats cannot be labelled as gluten free. Oats contain a gluten containing protein called avenin, in which 20% of people with coeliac disease react to. Oats may also be contaminated by wheat in Australia. It is recommended that people with coeliac disease do not consume oats unless under medical supervision.


I hope that you find this label reading guide useful, and as always, if you have any questions I'm just a few clicks away.

Next week I'll be looking at how to get adequate fibre on a gluten free diet.

Part 1: Your one-stop guide to gluten free eating

Welcome to the first post of my Gluten Free Eating series! I've had lots of requests for this one so I really hope you enjoy it & gain something from it. What will I be covering? I've split this series into 4 short blogs, and will aim to cover the following topics:

1. What is a gluten free diet and who should be on it
2. Where is gluten found & how to tell if a product is gluten free
3. How to get enough fibre on a gluten free diet
4. Low GI eating on a gluten free diet

If there are any other topics you'd like me to blog on while I'm at it, let me know and I'll add it to my list!

So without further ado, let's get started with Part 1....

What is a gluten free diet and should you be on one?

The reason most people require a gluten free diet is because they have coeliac disease. Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease meaning that you are born with it and will have it for life. Only 1% of the population have coeliac disease.

Now what happens in coeliac disease is that the body does not have the ability to absorb a protein found in a number of grains called gluten. A non-coeliac person's gut is made with tiny finger-like projections called villi, and these allow them to absorb all their nutrients. What happens in coeliac disease is that because the body can't absorb gluten, the gut goes a bit crazy and instead of being finger like (with a nice long surface area to increase absorption of nutrients), these villi become flat as though to say, sorry this door is closed. No entry here. And as such many nutrients are malabsorbed (not just gluten!)



Hope you like my little drawing, and no I'm not an artist :)

 
Once a person is diagnosed with coeliac disease, in order to get their villi back into tip top shape they need to elimate all gluten from their diet. Permanently. What happens if a person with coeliac disease continues to eat gluten? Well by doing so they're placing themselves at an increased risk of developing some forms of cancer, osteoporosis, infertility, miscarriage, depression and general ill health.

So it's serious stuff. The one thing to note from this is that if you don't have coeliac disease or an intolerance to gluten there is no need to be on a gluten free diet. In fact, by doing so you will be substantially limiting your food choices and placing yourself at risk of micronutrient deficiencies. It is not 'healthy' to eat a gluten free diet, even though foods are often marketed this way. But neverless, if someone requires a gluten free diet, it can be healthy and perfectly adequate but you'll need guidance from your GP and dietitian to ensure your diet ticks all the boxes.

Next week I'll talk about what foods contain gluten and I'll give you a simple label reading guide on how to tell if a product is gluten free (it's not quite as easy as looking for the big words 'GLUTEN FREE').

Until then,



Please note that this Gluten Free Eating series is based on Australian recommendations and this will differ across countries according to their Food Code.

If you have coeliac disease, I would strongly recommend you join Coeliac Australia as it's the best place to go for up to date and reliable information. You'll also receive a bunch of fabulous resources, supermarket discounts, and most importantly a support centre if you ever have any questions.

Butter or marg?

This topic always creates some lively debate. Butter or marg? Which is better for you? Well hopefully this post will help you to make that decision.

The ‘natural’ theory

Some people may say that butter is better because it is natural and comes from a cow, whereas margarine is not as it’s made in a factory. The truth is, margarine comes out as the nutritional winner. Let's talk about why.

When we look at animal fats, what we find is that most animal fats are high in saturated fats. These are the fats that can raise your cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease. There are a couple of animal fats that are good for you, and that’s fish and eggs. I’ve done up a little table to summarise this.

Bad animal fats        Good animal fats

Beef                            Fish
Chicken                       Eggs
Lamb
Pork
Dairy

So as you can see, dairy comes under the bad animal fats column. Now before you start eliminating dairy from your diet, I must say that dairy is a very wonderful food. In fact it should be eaten every day. What you can do to reduce those bad fats from dairy is choose the low or no fat options, that is in milk, yoghurt and cheese. These are the best choices and you get just as much protein, calcium and minerals from the low and no fat options.

Now butter is also a member of the dairy family, and as such it is also high in saturated fats. Unfortunately there is no such thing as skimmed butter, which is why margarine is a much healthier choice.

Margarine, the better choice

Margarine is made from a range of plant oils. Some are made from olive oil, others canola, some are made from sunflower and there are plenty of others to choose from. Now when we look at the chemical structure of plant oils, what we find is that these ones are high in the mono and polyunsaturated fats, the good fats that help to protect the heart and lower cholesterol.

There’s also been plenty of talk about trans fats in margarine. What I can reassure you is that in Australia we are safe. Our margarines are very low in trans fats so there's no need to be concerned.

So that means I can use margarine to my heart’s (no pun intended) content?

Not quite. Margarine is the best choice but don’t forget about the quantities that you are using. We often forget how easily calories can add up when using spreads like butter and margarine. Just to give you an example, 2 teaspoons of margarine that you'd probably spread on your toast contains 250kJ, the equivalent of a small slice of bread. So the message is to go easy with your spreads. And if you don't need it, don't use it!

My motto, (and just a warning it’s a little bit corny...) is ‘see your bread through the spread’. So this means spreading your margarine thinly so you can see your............ ok I think you get it.

And if, like me, you’re not that fussed by either butter or marg, another great option is avocado. It’s high in monounsaturated fats (good fats) as well as vitamins C,E & K, and has such a creamy, delicious taste. Gram for gram, it is also much lower in total fat compared to margarine or butter (23% versus 80%).

So summing up the key points…

1. Just because it comes from an animal doesn’t make it healthy
2. Some animal fats are healthy (fish and eggs)
3. Choose margarine over butter, and make sure you can see your bread through the spread

Check out the Heart Foundation website for more info.