Back is July, I revealed how those going gluten-free have double the amount of arsenic in their bodies and 70% more mercury (click here). This is due to the wide use of rice. Gluten-free foods, such as bread, pasta, cookies, and crackers, usually contain rice flour as a substitute for wheat flour. Now scientists at Harvard Univesity have found that gluten-free diets may increase the risk of diabetes.
Foods without gluten are often thought to be low in carbohydrates simply because they lack gluten-containing wheat flour. While wheat flour is a source of carbohydrates, gluten-free foods often contain other ingredients that are just as high if not higher in carbohydrates than wheat flour. In addition to rice flour, gluten-free foods tend to contain other low-protein, high carbohydrate ingredients such as potato starch flour. You may be in for a real shock when you read the nutrition labels on gluten-free foods!
After age 40, most of us become less carbohydrate tolerant. At that point, it is best to avoid grains altogether. This includes whole grains. To learn how to prepare delicious grain-free meals, I recommend The Grain-Free Family Table by Carrie Vitt; 30 Days Grain-Free by Cara Comini; and Without Grain by Hayley Barisa Ryczek.
