To help prevent blood sugar highs and lows, insulin resistance and diabetes, I recommend that everyone substantially cut down their intake of even gluten-free whole grains and eat more vegetables in their place. It’s important to understand that grains wreak havoc with the blood sugar levels of many people with blood-sugar and insulin-related conditions. So, those with diabetes and other insulin-related problems often need to eat totally against the grain to regain their health. Others can tolerate some gluten-free grains, but the types and amounts that are tolerated best are an individual matter based on how healthy a person’s blood sugar metabolism is and his or her individual food sensitivities.
Generally speaking, corn is a gluten-free grain to beware of: It’s a high-glycemic grain that tends to fatten people up and is usually genetically engineered and heavily sprayed with pesticides. The grain substitute that is best tolerated by those who are carbohydrate sensitive is wild rice, which isn’t really a member of the grain family. Other gluten-free grains and grain substitutes, such as brown rice and quinoa, usually can be eaten in moderation by people without serious blood-sugar problems. I can’t emphasize enough, though, that the best prevention strategy to protect against blood-sugar-related conditions is to “veg” out on non-starchy vegetables.
In your book you discuss the differences between Celiac disease and non-Celiac gluten sensitivity(NCGS). Could you explain why people that have tested negative for Celiac disease, but continue to suffer symptoms associated with it can benefit from a gluten-free diet.
There are numerous studies that show that non-celiac gluten sensitivity is a bona fide condition that affects many more people than celiac disease, and the general consensus among the researchers and doctors who work with gluten sensitivity is if you have unexplainable uncomfortable symptoms and test negative for celiac disease, you should try a gluten-elimination diet trial to see if your symptoms improve.
If your symptoms improve when you eat gluten free, you have discovered on your own that you are gluten sensitive and the gluten-free diet is your best medicine. So, if your doctor sends you away and says you don’t need to follow a gluten-free diet, don’t take his or her word for it. Find out on your own.
What is your favorite natural sweetener?
I use fruit, especially mashed fruit, such as unsweetened applesauce or mashed bananas, and small amounts of mesquite meal. A new sweetener I hope to experiment with is coconut palm sugar, an unrefined, nutritious sweetener that people should hear a lot more about in the future. Stevia or xylitol also can be good choices in some recipes and for some people.
In your chapter on “Healthier Breakfasts to Start Your Day” you emphasize breakfast foods that prevent blood sugar spikes, foods high in protein, and savory foods over sweetened, processed foods. As a person that loves eating dinner leftovers for breakfast I was thrilled to see this tip in your book! Can you share some tips to help wean people from typical high carb breakfast foods like cereals, pancakes, muffins and pastries?
For people who are weaning themselves from refined, high-carbohydrate baked goods, I’d recommend trying sugar-free baked goods made out of nut flour, such as the recipe in my book for Almond Pancakes, which are higher in protein, fiber and nutrients and lower in carbohydrates than typical gluten-free pancakes.
I’m glad you like the tip about dinner leftovers for breakfast. I put it in the book because many of my clients find they do best with that. To come to that realization, though, we have to expand our thinking and break out of the mindset that breakfast can only be the typical grain-based cereals and baked goods we have been socialized to think of as breakfast foods. Breakfast really should be any foods that get us off to a good start and keep us going strong for many hours. Dinner leftovers such as chicken and vegetable kabobs, baked turkey and cooked broccoli, or pot roast meat and green beans are combinations of foods that balance our blood sugar levels and give us slower-burning fuel for longer-lasting energy. When we eat combinations of foods like those for breakfast, it’s much easier to stay satisfied and feel strong and focused until lunchtime.
If you could only give a person one pearl of wisdom on how to stay healthy and well-nourished on a gluten-free diet what would it be?
To keep going further against the grain, literally and figuratively, by reducing the gluten-free grains and sugars a person eats and replacing them with more vegetables. Doing that isn’t easy and it takes time, but it’s the secret to long-term weight control and health. That’s what my new book Gluten Free Throughout the Year is all about. It shows people how to keep doing that, practically speaking, month-by-month for two years to promote all-around better health.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your healthy insights on the gluten-free diet with us Melissa.
Thank you very much for having me. I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to spread the word about these important nutritional issues that many people who follow gluten-free diets haven’t heard before.
Learn more about Melissa and visit her website, againstthegrainnutrition.com
.Read my review of Gluten Free Throughout the Year - A Month-by-Month Guide for Healthy Eating by Melissa Diane Smith
