Best Choices for gluten free foods and general cooking/health

Best Choices:

1. Brown rice over white rice: cook long grain organic varieties for lowest G.I. and to avoid genetically modified rice strains (GMO)
2. purple or red potatoes over white potatoes
3. fresh kernel corn or frozen corn
• over canned creamed corn
4. bean flours (garbanzo, fava, soy- except soy has many health drawbacks, etc), nuts flours (almond, hazelnut, etc), coconut flour, hemp, ground flax, quinoa (ground or flakes), rice bran, teff, and amaranth
   
• instead of white rice flour, potato flour, or white or yellow cornmeal/flour
5. fresh nuts and seeds
6. high fiber organic beans: black soy beans (low carb, high fiber and protein), black beans, garbanzos
7. lentils over rice or potatoes
8. Good fats: flax (omega 3), hemp (the ideal Omega 6 and Omega 3 balance), olive, avocado, coconut (medium chain saturated fat to boost metabolism and act as antivirual), walnuts (Omega 3), almonds (best for women for Magnesium content), brazil nuts, hazelnuts
• instead of non-organic peanuts (contain carcinogenic mold), cashews (fine nuts, just not as good as walnuts or almonds as far as good fats and minerals), any vegetable oils- the long chain unsaturated fat is now linked to heart disease instead of saturated fats like coconut (see current research and Udo’s book).
9. High Quality Protein: Wild caught Salmon (fresh and canned), tuna (low mercury, low to no salt if possible; limit ordinary “mercury-full” tuna to 2 cans per 50 lbs body weight per week), grass-fed (local if possible) beef, bison, turkey, chicken, tilapia, lamb
• instead of shellfish, bottom feeders (catfish), pork- most traife (non-Kosher) meats. This is since the traife meat has health detriments due to close contact of these animals with humans and the animals’ lifestyle- they tend to carry diseases which are easily transmitted to humans. Swordfish is very high in mercury, so pregnant women should limit canned tuna and swordfish. Farm raised fish is of lower quality since the ponds are overcrowded and the fish feed is of low grade- most fish end up becoming bottom feeding off the sunken decaying feed.
10. Cooking Oil: coconut oil is the only oil which does not break down and become toxic at medium to high temperatures; Raw butter (full fat preferable) for high heat is okay also- see Udo’s book
• Olive oil, flax, and hemp oils for salad dressings, marnides, etc (no high heat or frying).

Where the Typical Gluten Free Diet Fails

Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load

My first experience gluten free relied heavily upon internet recipes featuring the canonical prescriptions of rice, potatoes, tapioca, millet and the like. These foods are indeed gluten free, but as I would soon experience in a diabetic crash, they are very high useless carbohydrates with little fiber and sky high glycemic index (g.i.). A true healthy celiac diet must be gluten free but I do not think it needs to be dependent on low quality genetically modified high g.i. grains to be GF and pratical. Personally, I am a loose follower of the Paleo Diet since I am a strong protein and (good) fat metabolic type. I do eat beans and corn, but I like to rely on flax, hemp, coconut, almond, and garbanzo flours for myself in general since all of these are low net carb and low g.i. In my other cooking I stick to GF flours which are more economical and still high fiber per carb and low fat count, such as brown rice flours, buckwheat, quinoa, blue corn meal, and rice bran.

Some basic research into my hypoglycemic diabetic reaction to the prepackaged GF spice cake mix revealed the popular buzz about the importance of the glycemix index and load in diet. A great reference website for a list of g.i. of typical foods is at: http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm

Best Choices:

1. Brown rice over white rice: cook long grain organic varieties for lowest G.I. and to avoid genetically modified rice strains (GMO)
2. purple or red potatoes over white potatoes
3. fresh kernel corn or frozen corn
• over canned creamed corn
4. bean flours (garbanzo, fava, soy- except soy has many health drawbacks, etc), nuts flours (almond, hazelnut, etc), coconut flour, hemp, ground flax, quinoa (ground or flakes), rice bran, teff, and amaranth
   
• instead of white rice flour, potato flour, or white or yellow cornmeal/flour
5. fresh nuts and seeds
6. high fiber organic beans: black soy beans (low carb, high fiber and protein), black beans, garbanzos
7. Flax and bean flour based pizza crusts, breads, muffins, cakes, etc
   
8. lentils over rice or potatoes