Nutrition and the Gluten Free Diet
If you are new to the gluten free diet, it is important to eat a very simple diet for the first 3 to 6 months so that your system can begin to heal. Then you can add more things, try out and experiment, as long as what you are eating is gluten free. Then after a year you should be well on your way. This sounds easy, but as those of us who have faced this gluten free diet for the first time ourselves will tell you, it was not. It seemed to me that foods containing gluten beckoned me almost like an addiction. I was very skilful at convincing myself that only a little and I would then recover, but it is not that easy as you get progressively 'glutined'. So I would tell myself, when faced with delicacies I dared not touch, “Trina you can go home and make that later!” Sometimes it was a tall order, but I started developing a cooking and baking system that worked for me. I’m busy, I have raised a family and worked in our family business as a photographer and artist. I needed a system that would allow me to feed us all, and taste good.
First I eliminated all forms of gluten from my house, so I could not cheat! Friends who came for dinner or muffins and coffee would just have to eat gluten free. After awhile no one noticed they were eating gluten free! And just said, “Oh, this is good.”
Now I am on a mission to help you eat well, and avoid the desperation of not knowing what to eat or feeling deprived on your gluten free diet.
Why a baking system?
We all have busy lives to lead and need something easy and quick, a complete system or method that will allow us to save time and money. We have more to do than just feed ourselves. Although, eating good food is like enjoying art, it makes life worth living.
Read the Labels
Many food additives, stabilizers, and preservatives contain gluten, best to read labels carefully and when in doubt it is best to check with each manufacturer for clarification. Wheat 'starch', is another culprit to watch. Check with your physician or pharmacist before taking any prescribed or over-the-counter medications, some have wheat based fillers. Because a return of symptoms was noted in most patients consuming gluten in products, it is recommended that a strict adherence to a gluten free diet is your only protection.
Foods labeled as gluten-free in Canada and the U.S. are not supposed to allow for the presence of any gluten-containing ingredients, however, 20ppm was thought to be acceptable, as that was the lowest test. Now tests can be performed down to under 5ppm. This is the standard we have set for ingredients to Astoria Mills. No gluten is good gluten as far as we are concerned.
The only way to assure a product is really gluten free is to make and blend it in a dedicated gluten free facility.
Nutrition on a Gluten Free Diet
Taking care of your nutrition is important in any instance, even more so if you are gluten intolerant. In severe, cases of CD, malabsorption of fat, calcium, magnesium, fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, folate, iron, and vitamin B12 can occur. Research proves supplemental vitamins and minerals help the intestinal villi regenerate. Supplements must be gluten free.
At Astoria Mills, we realize, because we are also gluten intolerant and eat our own foods, that having the proper nutrition is very important to long term health. For this reason, we have had a special Enrichment Formula created especially for Astoria Mills mixes containing a blend of vitamins and minerals. The formula is specifically designed for Celiacs and those who are Gluten Intolerant, it is Child Safe and Allergen Free!
This is an interesting excerpt about a study in Romania.
"Elderly patients who ate vitamin D-fortified bread for a period of one year exhibit better bone mineral density maintenance than that produced by taking bone-building drugs such as bisphosphonates. Researchers in Romania, who provided bread fortified with 5000 International Units of Vitamin D and 800 milligrams of calcium on a daily basis to elderly nursing home patients, report a 28 percent increase in lumbar bone mineral density which far surpasses the 8 percent increase in bone mass density typically achieved with bone-building drugs. Dr. Veronica Mocanu, MD, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at the Universitatii in Isai, Romania, presented the study at the Experimental Biology meeting in San Diego. Romania was chosen for the study because it is at a northern latitude similar to many cities throughout the world (Seattle, Boston, London) where solar ultraviolet radiation intensity is low, especially in winter months. Vitamin D is naturally produced via skin exposure to UV rays in sunlight. Vitamin D is necessary for proper calcium absorption and utilization for bone."
In order for the body to produce adequete amounts of vitamin D, you need at least 15 minuts out in the sunshine a day. Vitamin D is absorbed through the eyes as well as the skin.
Gluten Free Plus other allergies or intolerances
If the initial symptoms are severe, such as nausea, bloating, and diarrhea, avoidance of lactose-containing foods in addition to a gluten-free diet may be beneficial until the intestinal mucosa has recovered. Lactose intolerance often normalizes within months after starting a gluten-free diet.
My husband Breck being the most Celiac in the family, found his tolerances in foods extremely limited when we first met. He can now eat almost anything as long as it is gluten free, but still cannot tolerate oats and many whole grains. He can now eat cheese and yogurt, but straight milk unless it is cooked, is somehow off limits. He seems to be able to tolerate evaporated milk. He could not eat almonds for a long time, now he can eat them in moderation. Beans, also give him trouble, unless they are cooked to smithereens, and then only in moderation.
So you can see that people have their own variations.
The good news is that you heal on a gluten free diet! Once the intestinal villi have regenerated, depending on how badly damaged they are. This can take from six months to several years. It is important that you ensure that you enrich your diet as much as possible especially with foods containing B vitamins, iron, fiber and minerals. Another reason for choosing Astoria Mills mixes, everything you eat, even pie, will be good for you!
