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Dec/Jan 2009
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Great Grains - Gluten-Free Flours
If you think that gluten-free baking means you’re stuck with rice flour and cornstarch, think again. There is a world of delicious and nutritious alternative flours available made from grains, seeds, beans, tubers—and even grapes. Once you learn how to select and use these flours, you can continue making your favorite foods and add essential vitamins, minerals and fiber to your diet without compromising on taste. In addition to good flavor, many of these flours add rich hues to your baking, from the deep purple-red of cabernet flour to the buttery yellow of quinoa to the rich, whole-grain look of Montina. Use this primer to navigate the world of great grains and to incorporate new flours into your baking.
Tell Me More About Yeast
For more information about dysbiosis and ways to treat yeast overgrowth, check out these resources...
Finding Balance With a Anti-Yeast-Diet
Bee Wilder of Toronto is an active, vibrant 67-year-old woman. But she hasn’t always been this healthy. Years ago as a young single mother of two, Wilder suffered from a long list of chronic medical issues—recurrent bladder and vaginal infections, acid reflux, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome and other digestive problems—which had her physicians scratching their heads. She was sick for over 25 years with one malady or another as doctors treated each symptom as an unrelated illness. “My migraines were so severe that I would sometimes pass out. Often I had to rely on my mother to care for my children – and me,” Wilder says. Then in 1985, Kathleen Kerr, MD, one of Wilder’s physicians, suggested that Wilder read The Yeast Connection, by William Crook, MD. In his book, Crook contended that yeast infections were responsible for a host of health problems he was seeing in his patients. It seemed far-fetched to Wilder, the idea that all her seemingly unrelated problems could be caused by an overgrowth of something that occurs naturally in the body. But Kerr insisted that Wilder take the yeast issue seriously. That insistence, says Wilder, “saved my life.”
Is It Yeast?
The symptoms of thrush, athlete’s foot, jock itch or vaginal infection are easily diagnosed. But other yeast-induced infections are harder to spot. Often patients have a diverse collection of seemingly unrelated symptoms. Here’s how to help determine if you have a yeast problem.
Steps to Eating Healthy
Find a physician who is knowledgeable about yeast overgrowth. Clean up your diet. Eat yogurt and kefir with live cultures and no added sugar. Limit or avoid sugar and simple carbohydrates. Consume fewer starchy vegetables.
Yeast and Autistic Spectrum Disorder
If your child is on the autistic spectrum, consider having him or her tested for systemic Candida infection. ASD children can show symptoms of candidiasis —gas, bloating, “drunken” behaviors, such as uneven gait or inappropriate laughter.
Great Grains - Shopping Guide
Some gluten-free flours are available at your local grocery store. Others, like newcomer wine flours, can only be purchased online or from specialty and natural food stores. Here are additional sources for gluten-free flours.
Now Your Cooking With Great Grains
Gluten-free flours have different properties than wheat flour. Here are some basic guidelines for storing and using them successfully. Always use a combination of gluten-free flours, rather than just one. No single flour will do the trick. See page 62 for suggestions on basic flour combos that work best. To replace gluten properties in baking, use xanthan gum or guar gum, thickening agents that provide the necessary structure for leavening. Potato flour can also be used to improve structure.