How to Eat Gluten Free on a Budget

When you or a family member are first diagnosed with celiac disease one of the concerns most people have is the added financial burden of going gluten free. But it need not be that way. It is possible to eat a gluten free life on a budget. But it may take a bit more organisation.

Eating in and cooking from scratch is a trend now. And for those of who need to eat gluten free, it is possibly more necessary. When my daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease I decided to turn my whole kitchen into a gluten free zone and found it much easier and cheaper that way.

1. Buy grocery items on sale and stock up. Gluten free natural products such as beans. rice. canned tomatoes. canned soups and quinoa often come on sale. Also look out for specials on gluten free pasta, flour, soy sauce, cereals and other gluten free products. Stock up when you can. And buy GF pasta and flours in

2. Remember most natural products such as meat, fish, cheese, eggs, vegetables and fruits are gluten free so there is no added cost there. So your stable diet could consist entirely of meat, fruit and vegetables. Buy fruit and vegetables that are in season because they will be cheaper. You can buy in bulk and freeze them for use later. Shop at your local Farmers' market or the like for seasonal inspirations and budget friendly prices.

3. Make your own snacks instead of buying pre-packaged. Prepare your own dips. For example, you can make twice as much hummus for less than half the price.  Rice crackers are very cheap and are so tasty with dips or cheese

4. Use more potatoes and sweet potatoes for carbohydrates. They're amazingly versatile and gluten free. You can make a soul warming, and tummy filling leek and potato soup for very little investment. You can make a baked potato or a sweet potato the center of a meal rather than a side dish. Top them with cheese or chilli. Or stuff them with your favorite fillings. Easy and cheap. Buy them at your local Farmers Market.

5. Rice is also a cheap easy way to get carbohydrates – plain or fried, or make a delicious risotto. Use leftovers or chopped veggies to make a creative meal.

6. Eat eggs they are delicious and nutritious as well as cheap. Fried, scrambled, boiled, omelettes with your favorite fillings and quiche with left over veggies are all cheap and deliclious. Devil eggs make a great snack. Make egg and banana pancakes for a sweet (see recipe below). You don’t even need flour in them.

7. Gluten free pasta is god send. Even though gluten free pasta is more expensive than regular varieties you can often buy in bulk and save. I make all my sauces gluten free by thickening them with cornflour and using natural products. I then have TWO separate pots of pasta. One gluten free pasta for my celiac daughter and the other regular pasta for the rest of my family. This makes serving pasta to the family cheap and easy. Freeze some of the sauce for a quick meal later.

8. Make gluten free soup out of natural ingredients and it can save you. I  make it in a slow cooker to also  save energy costs. If making minestrone add gluten free pasta instead of regular pasta so the entire family can eat it..

9. Make your own broths and stocks- don't bother buying expensive gluten free broths and stocks. Make your own with water. Fill a pot. Toss in some old celery sticks that have been hanging around, a couple of bendy carrots, a piece of onion, some garlic and a shake of herbs. Sea salt. Cover. Simmer. Strain. Freeze in portions. And you know what's in it. There are also some relatively cheap commercial gluten free stocks available. have them as your basic item so that there is never a risk of a gluten mistake being made – make your life simpler!

10) Make your own gluten free cakes and biscuits from gluten free flour. Experiment with your current recipes and adapt them to using gluten free flour mix. Buy gluten free flour on special to reduce costs.

FLOURLESS PANCAKES! YUMMY!

2 eggs
1 banana
1 pinch baking powder 

Instructions:

1. Preheat a skillet.

2. Peel the banana and place in a bowl — mash well with a fork.

3. Add the eggs and baking powder mix well.

4. Grease the skillet with either butter, non-stick cooking spray, or coconut oil.

5. Ladle the batter into the skillet (about 2-3 tablespoons per pancake)

6. Cook till the underside is golden brown.

7. Flip the pancakes and do the same on the other side.

8. Transfer to a serving plate and repeat with remaining batter.

9. Serve immediately.

For more tips on how to be gluten free click here 

https://glutenfreeliving.leadpages.co/gluten-free-top-10-tips/

Could The Increase In Autoimmune Diseases Be Related To The Increase In Processed Foods?

It is well documented that there has been an increase in auto-immune diseases over the last three decades. Epidemiological data provides strong evidence that autoimmune diseases are definitely on the rise throughout westernized societies. Autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, Crohn's disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, primary biliary cirrhosis, myasthenia gravis, autoimmune thyroiditis, hepatitis and rheumatic disease, bullous pemphigoid, and celiac disease are examples.

The increased incidence of autoimmune diseases is a world-wide trend but is seen mainly in western countries. During this period there has also been an increase in the amount of processed foods available for sale, particularly in western countries.  Living in westernized countries has a significant influence on nutritional intake. The “Western diet” includes regular consumption of high fat, trans fatty acids, cholesterol, proteins, sugars, salt intake, as well as the regular consumption of processed and fast-foods. 

Major shifts in dietary patterns are continually occurring. In fact, some studies have shown that the contribution of ultra-processed food to total household diet has increased by about 50% over recent years, and has replaced the intake of unprocessed and minimally processed foods. Whilst because of socioeconomic conditions this is happening more in western countries, it is a world-wide process is happening in both developing as well as in developed countries.

It is thought that this increase in autoimmune diseases is caused by some sort of environmental impact rather than genetic factors. The two major environmental factors thought to play a role in the development of autoimmune diseases are infections and nutrition. When you consider the geo-epidemiological distribution of autoimmune diseases - the world-wide North–south and West–east gradients in Europe, their relationship to socioeconomic status, their rapid increase in developed countries and observations in migrant populations it is understandable that scientist believe that environmental factors are driving these recent and rapid evolutionary changes.

So is there a link between auto immune disease and processed foods? Could the use of industrial food additives explain the rising incidence of autoimmune diseases?

The intestinal epithelial barrier consists of an intercellular tight junction which controls the equilibrium between tolerance of a particular food and immunity to non-self-antigens. It is well known that tight junction dysfunction is common in many autoimmune diseases, where the body forms abnormal antibodies against self-antigens. This link is understandable when you think that only a single layer of epithelial cells separates the gut contents from the layer of immune cells in the intestinal wall which are responsible for the production of antibodies. If this single layer of protective epithelial cells is breached, it can lead to pathological exposure of the highly immune-reactive sub-epithelium, to the large number of foreign antigens found in our food.

The tight junctions in our intestine have multiple roles. They are dynamic structures that are involved in developmental, physiological and pathological processes in the gut. Via a barrier mechanism, they control the movement of fluid, macromolecules and leukocytes from the intestinal lumen to the blood stream and vice versa. They protect the epithelial cells of the intestine against colonization by microorganisms. Together with the gut-associated lymphoid tissue and the neuroendocrine network, the intestinal epithelial barrier, the tight junction also controls the equilibrium between tolerance and immunity to non-self-antigens and therefore they control the development of allergic responses and autoimmune responses to food.

It is not surprising, therefore, that if the function of the tight junction is affected, the physiological state of epithelial and/or endothelial cells is dramatically changed as well. Tight junction dysfunction seems to be a primary defect in people who have autoimmune diseases such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, celiac disease, inflammatory joint disease, ankylosing spondylitis, juvenile onset arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, type 1 diabetes mellitus and primary biliary cirrhosis. It is thought that in addition to genetic predisposition, the loss of the protective function of mucosal barriers that interact with the gut is necessary for autoimmunity to develop.

One hypothesis put forward in an article in Science Direct suggests that commonly used industrial food additives could cause some sort of dysfunction in the tight junction which allows leakage from the gut into the bloodstream.  The article suggests that food additives such as glucose, salt, emulsifiers, organic solvents, gluten, microbial transglutaminase, and nanoparticles which are extensively and increasingly used by the food industry may improve the qualities of food, but they may also increase intestinal permeability by breaching the integrity of tight junction paracellular transfer. This increased intestinal permeability through the opened tight junction, could therefore result in the entry of foreign immunogenic antigens such as gluten and activation of the autoimmune cascade.

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So far there are seven food additives which when ingested regularly in large amounts, are known to induce or which are associated with increased intestinal permeability:

1. Sugars (eg glucose)
2. Salt
3.  Emulsifiers and Surfactants
4. Organic Solvents (eg ethanol)
5.  Microbial transglutaminase (mTG). Transglutaminase is an extracellular enzyme and is biosynthesized by several microbes which is a very useful tool for modifying the functionality of proteins in food products.
6. Gluten
7.  Nanoparticles. Due to their unique properties and surface characteristics, can protect drugs from the destructive factors in the GI tract and can increase the permeability of macromolecules through the gastrointestinal barrier. 

Many of these additives can be combined, thus potentially combining their effect on tight junction permeability.

Summary

The diet of the industrialized and urbanized parts of the world today is vastly different from what it was even two or three decades ago, with a whole new range of processed and fast food experiences, which rely of food additives to improve taste and quality. There is also a number of genetically modified crops in use which this article has not addressed. Over recent decades, a significant increase in the incidence of autoimmune diseases in western and other industrialized countries has led to the hypotheses that diet is a potential environmental risk factor for such disorders. This article in the Science Direct http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568997215000245   has not definitively proven this link, evidence shows that increases in the usage of the abovementioned food additives have paralleled increased incidences and prevalence of autoimmune diseases during the last decades, as evidenced in the figure below. Where A and B (r2 = 0.9829, 0.886, respectively).

The parallel net increase % per year in various countries of: A. Food additives usage and B. AD frequencies over the last decades. Source Science Direct 

The confirmed facts are, however: 

1. Incidence of autoimmune diseases and food additive consumption is increasing.
2.  Commonly used industrial food additives enhance intestinal junction leakage.
3.  Glucose, salt, emulsifier, gluten, microbial mTG, nanoparticle increase tight junction leakage.

It is easy to conclude, therefore, that the intestinal entry of foreign antigens due to increased tight junction permeability could be caused by the increased of food additives found in processed foods. In turn this could activate the autoimmune cascade which could indeed lead you to believe that the increase in autoimmune diseases is definitely related to the increase in processed foods. However, further research on food additives exposure causing intestinal permeability leading to autoimmune diseases is required to clarify our understanding of the common mechanisms associated with the causes of autoimmune diseases.

If you have celiac disease- one of the autoimmune diseases find out how to be gluten free effortlessly

 by clicking this link

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Can I Use Gluten Digest Like Products If I Have Celiac Disease?

Quite simply the answer is a big NO!!!!!! 

These products however are NOT suitable for those with celiac disease, even though there are some claims in the media that some celiacs have seen improvement when taking the enzymes. Don't risk it.

A number of gluten digest supplements currently on the market claim to break down gluten after it has been consumed.  But are these claims accurate or misleading?  Do these supplements offer a safe alternative to a gluten free diet for people who suffer from celiac disease and/or gluten-sensitivity or any of the other wheat/gluten related conditions? Do these products help people who need to go on a gluten free diet?

With the rise in the number of people being diagnosed with celiac disease and an increased awareness of gluten free issues, and the explosion of gluten free products available on the market, it is no surprise that gluten digest supplements claiming to break down gluten would find their way onto the market. But celiacs beware – they are not suitable for you!

So what are these gluten digest-like products? Well they are supplements which contain digestive enzymes which break down gluten. Examples are:

1.          GlutenEase 

GlutenEase, made by Enzymedica Inc., which contains a blend of enzymes that are claimed to help the digestion of both gluten and casein, a protein found in milk, according to the company. GlutenEase™ contains Protease Thera-blend™ (G1) along with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 ,DPP-IV, activity for enhanced digestion of foods containing gluten and casein as well as starch-digesting amylase enzymes to assist in the digestion of the carbohydrate portion of grains, such as wheat, which contain gluten.

The website for GlutenEase says that the supplement can "support" people who have trouble digesting gluten and/or casein resulting in discomforts like occasional gas and bloating. However, and most importantly, the site says that GlutenEase is "not formulated" for people with celiac disease: This product is not intended to replace a gluten-free diet for individuals with celiac disease.

2.       Gluten Defense 

Gluten Defense is made by Enzymatic Therapy Inc., contains a similar blend of enzymes and includes DDP-IV, lactase and amylase. The site for Gluten Defense says the product is "specifically formulated to defend against hidden gluten" that can cause gas, bloating and indigestion. Gluten Defense helps you digest other proteins, fats and carbohydrates as well.

However, unlike GlutenEase, Gluten Defense offers no specific disclaimer for people with celiac disease. There is also no claim that the product is safe, or in any way formulated for people with celiac disease. But do not use these enzyme supplements if you have celiac disease.

3. Gluten digest 

Gluten Digest is manufactured by NOW International. The company claims that this product helps to digest gluten and cereal grains.  It contains Gluten Digest, with BioCore® DPP IV (Dipeptidyl peptidase IV),  a digestive enzyme which specifically breaks apart difficult-to-digest proline-containing peptides, which are generally known to come from dairy products and cereal grains.  Gluten digest also contains amylase and glucoamylase enzymes that assist in the breakdown of carbohydrates as well as proteases.

The company does give a caution however:  If you have Celiac Disease, use Gluten Digest only under your practitioner's supervision. They also state that any statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

 Do the claims made by the manufacturers of these "gluten digest" products mean that taking the supplement might offer people with celiac disease some extra protection when they are exposed to accidental gluten contamination?

The answer is that there is NO proven scientific evidence to say that this is the case and those with celiac disease really cannot afford to be blasé about it. The fact is that there is no guarantee that these supplements will break down 100% of the gluten so the risk is too great for celiacs. Even a trace of gluten can cause damage in a celiac so in order for it to work it would have to break down 100% of the gluten BEFORE it contacts the intestinal walls. This is NOT possible. The fact is that these enzyme supplements may break down a few molecules of the gluten protein, but no supplement exists that will make it safe for people with celiac disease to eat gluten again.

These products can be quite useful however for those people who do NOT have celiac disease, but who suffer from non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity is thought to be due to the person's lack of ability to produce the right enzymes required to break down gluten in the intestine. Therefore people suffering from this condition lack the enzyme in their gut which is required to break down gluten so it can be absorbed through the intestine. It is similar to people who suffer from lactose intolerance.

To control the symptoms of bloating and other intestinal symptoms, people with non-celiac gluten sensitivity also need to go on a gluten free diet. For this group of people the ingestion of a little bit of gluten may cause discomfort but is not life threatening in the long-term.  These commercially available "gluten digest" products may  provide the missing enzymes so the person can eat gluten without suffering.  

Pharmaceutical companies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars in research to create an enzyme-based drug that would permit people with celiac disease to consume gluten.  So maybe one day this will be a reality for celiacs, but NOT YET. Talk with your doctor BEFORE making any changes to your gluten free diet for celiac disease treatment. A completely gluten free diet is currently the only proven treatment for celiac disease. Read my book today to learn how.

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Are Australian and NZ Gluten Free Food Manufacturers Disadvantaged By the Detection Limited Not Being Stated?

 In the past 5 to 10 years the regulations relating to gluten free food labeling in various countries have progressed substantially. More people have become aware of what it means to eat gluten free food and manufacturers have got on the band wagon and more and more gluten free foods are available for purchase from supermarkets and specialty health stores.

 Check out my top 10 tips to achieve gluten free food

For consumer safety most countries have established food safety laws to protect people with food allergies and other eating requirements such as celiac disease. The laws on the labelling of food as gluten free are very tight and businesses who label product as gluten free must comply with the law of that country. Food manufacturers have a legal obligation as well as a duty of care to ensure that the food they serve to customers is safe and this extends to customers with celiac disease.

If a product is labeled as gluten free food then the manufacturer has to be absolutely sure that it is 100% gluten free to comply with the law. Food businesses have to make sure that they have processes and systems in place to ensure that the information they provide is accurate and can be checked by you the consumer.

These legal regulations provide consumers, especially those with celiac disease, the assurance that a gluten free claim on food products are consistent and reliable across the food industry. The regulations give consumers a standardised tool for managing their health and dietary intake. The good thing about having labelling laws is that it assures people with celiac disease that foods labelled gluten free have met a clear standard established and enforced by the FDA or other authorities.

The leading international authority on the labelling of gluten free food is the Codex Alimentarius, which is recognised as "The International Food Standard" and most countries have based their labelling laws on their criteria. The Codex standard for gluten was revised in 2008 and has a two-step approach for the classification of gluten free labeling. It specifies:

1.    Products can be labelled gluten free only if they meet the following criteria:

                              I.        not derived from gluten containing cereals and containing maximum 20 mg/kg (ppm) of gluten

                            II.        derived from gluten containing cereals which have been specially processed to remove gluten and the gluten level does not exceed 20 mg/kg (ppm) of gluten in total

2.    Rendered gluten free for products, such as specially processed wheat starch based products, with reduced gluten content above 20 to at a level of 100 mg/kg (ppm). How these products are labelled for the consumer has been left at a national level, so they could also be labeled Low Gluten Level or Very Low Gluten Level

The USA , Canada, UK and Southern European countries have all in the past few years adopted gluten free standards which adopt the Codex level of detection, yet the FSANZ standard  for Australian and NZ combined standard still require that food labeled as gluten free contains no detectable gluten:

1.    GLUTEN FREE - A claim to the effect that a food for special medical purposes is gluten free may be made only if the food contains no detectable gluten; and if it does not contain oats nor oat products; and it does not contain cereals containing gluten that have been malted, nor the products of such cereals.

2.    LOW GLUTEN CONTENT - A claim to the effect that a food for special medical purposes has a low gluten content may be made if the food contains no more than 20 mg gluten per 100 g of the food. (200 ppm)

This regulation results in Australia and NZ having the strictest standards for the labeling of 'gluten-free' foodstuffs which are out of whack with international best practice. This is because the detection limit required in the FSANZ standard is not specified, and as technical methods improve, detection limits are and will get lower and lower. This standard creates unnecessary compliance costs for food manufacturers in Australia and NZ, and unnecessarily limits the range of foodstuffs available to people suffering from celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis.

"Detectable" is not defined in the Code or in any piece of Australian or NZ regulatory guidance. Despite this, Australia's Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has expressed the view that 'gluten-free' ought to mean "absolutely no gluten whatsoever".

Also, there is no regulation on the testing methodologies used to test for gluten. The most internationally adopted method used to detect gluten in foods is the Gliadin ELISA test. The Limit of Detection (LOD) of this method which is determined by the manufacturer is 3 ppm. 

However the sample itself can interfere and make testing at this low level unreliable. It is therefore currently generally accepted that the minimum level of gluten that can be accurately quantified across a range of different food matrices using recommended ELISA methods is 5ppm which is the Limit of Quantitation (LOQ).  Hydrolysed and fermented products require a different testing method and the LOQ may go up to around 10ppm.

This means that foodstuffs labelled as 'gluten-free' in Australia and NZ are effectively required to contain no traces of gluten over 3-5 ppm depending on the method used. This is in comparison to other countries where the detection limit is < 20 ppm. There are concerns that in the future, improvements in detection technology may result in even lower detection limits becoming possible, such as  <1 ppm. Developments of that kind may result in a further contraction in the range of products available to those with gluten intolerance in Australia and NZ.

Australian and NZ health professionals are divided on the issue of the toxicity of oats and malt in individuals with celiac disease.  NZ health professionals consider that small amounts of oats and malt can be consumed by people with celiac disease. Conversely, Australian health professionals believe that there are some people with celiac disease that are unable to tolerate even the smallest amounts of oats and malt.  This standard takes into consideration the opposing views of Australian and NZ health professionals in terms of the toxicity of oats and malt and the dietary management of celiac disease.  

The level of 20 ppm gluten being defined as gluten free has been internationally accepted as been safe by medical experts. There is no evidence that this level of gluten causes any problem for a person with celiac disease. To the contrary, gastroenterologists worldwide have confirmed that a foodstuff containing <20 ppm of gluten is considered safe for celiacs. This view is consistent with leading scientific studies commissioned by Codex and others, which conclude that safe levels for gluten ingestion by celiac disease sufferers are actually much higher than the Australian and NZ's standard suggests. However, there are some professionals who argue that 10 ppm or less would be safer levels for celiacs.

I believe that Australia and NZ need to adopt the CODEX definition to give a level of international uniformity and to keep up with the regulations in other countries. It is essential that the international definition of gluten free is both achievable in commercial food manufacturing processes but it also needs to be safe for those with celiac disease.  It is also essential that the term gluten free is synonymous throughout the medical profession worldwide when discussing the treatment for celiac disease. The internationally accepted level of 20 ppm will achieve all these goals.

Australia and NZ food manufacturers are currently disadvantaged by these laws. It is just not the added cost of compliance, but if they export overseas they have to change the labeling on their products to meet international regulations. It makes sense that the gluten free standard in Australia and NZ should be the same as the widely accepted international standard of less than 20 ppm (parts per million) which has been adopted by the UK, Southern Europe, the USA and Canada; 20 ppm of gluten is a tiny amount equivalent to 0.002% of gluten in a product.

These countries adopted this standard after lengthy and rigorous scientific assessment which took into account the weight of scientific evidence, clinical observation and international expert medical opinion which all supported 20 ppm as a safe threshold for people with celiac disease. If it is not addressed soon, testing methods may become so sophisticated and sensitive to the detection of gluten that the gluten free food space in Australia and NZ could soon become near impossible for manufacturers to compete in. 

 Manufacturers - make sure your products comply with the law