| Avoiding Wheat, Gluten and Gluten-like Proteins
Tish Richardson PhD has kindly provided an extract from her book
The
Tolerant Cook - The Allergy and Food Intolerance Cookbook. Tish's
book provides additional information on how to avoid wheat, gluten
and gluten-like proteins.
Wheat and gluten intolerance and avoidance pose a major dietary
challenge, since wheat starch and gluten not only form the basis of
many of our staple foods, such as bread, but they are used in
varying quantities in a vast number of commercially made products.
The main problem in replacing wheat and gluten in cooking is that
no other single flour provides the same elasticity or 'glue' to food
in which it is used. Thus, for best results a number of
different ingredients must be combined to obtain a similar end dish,
from both workability and texture viewpoints. Suitable
replacement flours include rice (white, brown, glutinous), corn
(maize), arrowroot, buckwheat, millet, pea, lentil, polenta,
potato, sweet potato, besan, chickpea, sago, tapioca (cassava),
amaranth, quinoa, chestnut, suitable gluten-free flour mixes (both
home made or commercially made such as Orgran) and soy (if
tolerated). Flours from non-wheat grains, such as rye or spelt are also suitable
for wheat free diets only, not for gluten free.
The addition of tapioca starch, glutinous white rice flour and
warm liquids help to give structure to a flour mix. Vegetable
gums, such as xanthan or guar, or a small amount of oil can add
elasticity and help to bind a mix together, allowing it to be rolled
out and cut without crumbling after baking. Other elasticisers
include gelatine, psyllium and pectin. Grated apple, banana
and egg (if tolerated) can also be of use in certain mixes.
Glutinous white rice flour
A starchy, fine flour made from
white glutinous rice. This flour, when added to other gluten free flours, helps to bind the mix
together with the addition of liquid.
Besan flour
This is a textured, finely milled flour made from
lightly roasted chickpeas; it has a better flavour than the more bitter raw chickpea flour, when
used in baking. Chickpeas are a member of the legume family and so yield a highly nutritious
flour which is very rich in dietary fibre, protein, complex carbohydrates, vitamins and
minerals.
Xanthan gum
Produced from the fermentation of corn sugar and
used as a thickener, emulsifier, and stabiliser in foods such as dairy products and
salad dressings. It also acts as a binder in gluten-free flour mixes when used in baking. Xanthan gum can result in abdominal discomfort if used in large quantities and in the absence
of an adequate fluid intake given its ability to absorb fluid. For people with a
corn sensitivity, xanthan gum can be replaced on a
weight-for-weight basis by guar gum.
Psyllium (psyllium husk)
The seed of the plantago species
native to Iran and India. It is naturally high in soluble dietary fibre and mucilage. This
mucilage swells when in contact with water to form a gelantinous mass which is not broken down by
enzymes in the digestive tract, nor is it absorbed. Psyllium has long been used by
Chinese and Ayurvedic herbalists
to regulate bowel movements and alleviate diarrhoea and constipation,
and is now used worldwide for this purpose. It may also help with the
regulation of blood cholesterol and blood sugar levels, while increasing dietary fibre intake. It
can be easily added to cooking to act as a tasteless thickener - add a teaspoonful to a casserole
or gravy, pastry or cake mix. It is important to maintain adequate fluid intake when
using psyllium in amounts up to 10g per day.
Main
Page
Next |
Google Ads
|
