Recently it was brought to my attention that I made a rather large factual error in my post Gluten Free is Not Healthy. You see, in this post I claimed:
Gluten free goods are generally made with ingredients such as rice, corn, potatoes, sorghum, tapioca and millet, which are higher in carbohydrates and lower in protein and other nutrients than wheat flour.
I apologize, as I did make a mistake in claiming that sorghum is not as healthy as wheat flour itself. Sorghum is not higher in carbs and lower in protein as I claimed, as you can see in the tables below.
Those who addressed my mistake, also helped me crystallize my point, which is that grains are not a nutrient dense food when compared to meat, nuts and vegetables. I don’t eat grains. I’ve been entirely grain free since 2001.
Sorghum flour and wheat flour have a similar protein to carbohydrate ratio of 1:7. Sorghum flour is actually the winner when it comes to glycemic load.
However, take a peek at the table below. As you can see, almonds have a protein to carbohydrate ratio of 1:1 and a glycemic load of 0. Far superior to both wheat and sorghum.
There are many ways to look at nutrients. Addressing nutrition from the perspective of a carbohydrate to protein ratio is merely one very simplistic and myopic way. However, as someone with celiac, this type of analysis is critical because celiac and diabetes ride on the same gene. For this reason, I make a point of controlling my carbohydrate intake and making sure that any carbs I eat are slowed down by either protein or good fats.
Free exclusive eBook, plus recipes and health tips, delivered to your inbox.
To make things even more complex, let’s consider the protein to carbohydrate ratio of broccoli. It is 1:2, not as good as almond flour, yet far better than grains. However, I’ll take my broccoli over almonds any day. And then there are folks who can’t eat raw broccoli because of thyroid issues. But that’s a topic for another post entirely. I think you get the idea. Nutrition is complex.
My point? I wrote the post Gluten Free is Not Healthy to illustrate that fads can’t automatically make certain unhealthy foods healthy again, and that junk food is still junk even if it’s gluten free. I stand by that idea.
Finally, I want to thank you for your delightful comments, whether they agreed with my point or took it to task.
I am grateful for the respectful tone in which so many criticisms were made. The point of this blog is to provide information and conduct a positive and lively dialogue –that is the type of discusion that I will continue to encourage, and with which I will continue to directly engage on both Twitter and Facebook.
overdose also people says
Quality articles or reviews is the main to attract the viewers to
visit the site, that’s what this site is providing.
Molly says
I love this post! Gluten-free is not a weight-loss diet; it is a necessity for those who are intolerant of gluten. A gluten-free donut is still a donut.
To Donna: I don’t know if anyone responded to your post but almond flour and almond meal are basically interchangeable but almond meal is a bit coarser and oilier than almond flour. If you use almond meal instead of almond flour, your treats will probably be a little denser.
Donna Whitesel says
Hi. I just purchased your Almond Flour Cookbook in hopes of making my grandson some “grandma-made” treats. I went to Whole Foods, bought Bob’s Red Mill almond meal/flour, but now I’m worried it’s wrong for these recipes! Meal vs flour. Can you you assist?
Grandma Donna
Christina says
Elana, is your “diet” more GAPS, then Paleo? And, what is the basic difference of both if anyone knows please? Thank you!
Lisa says
Thanks Elana for pointing out that gluten free /= healthy.
I think we get into a lot of trouble because we use “diet” to mean both “what you eat” (whether or not you have a plan) and “a food plan meant to make you lose weight.” Similarly, “fat” is both a term for something that naturally or unnaturally exists in the food we eat and for being overweight.
It’s not all that surprising that many people hear “gluten-free diet” in the same way they hear “South Beach Diet” or “grapefruit diet.”
Gluten-free, grain-free, nightshade-free (to name a few) are all dietary components that work for some people to reduce certain health issues. And none of them are inherently healthy, even if you’re a person that they work for, as illustrated by my last night’s dinner of raw ginger snap cookies and passionfruit sorbet.
sandy says
Thank you Elana for sharing what you have learned along your life’s journey. I have a few autoimmune issues as well as type 2 diabetes. Upon diagnosis of the diabetes I began searching for low carb wheat flour alternatives after going through the diabetes education program offered by my local hospital. Needless to say the nutritionist had little to offer when I asked about replacing wheat flour.I began thinking about what celiac sufferers do, how do they deal with this hurdle of wheat flour(obviously for different reasons)I was thrilled to find your sight as well as a few others. I have since lost 100 lbs, astounded my dr. and diabetes team with my glucose control(in less than a year). I go to diabetes education classes and share food, recipes and information on flour alternatives. The nutritionist still scratches her head as to how I have done so on such a high calorie and fat content diet, but she is all for it. I encourage everyone to think outside the box and also to think for ones self.Find what works best. I also stumbled upon the paleo diet concept about the same time. My diet resemble it greatly(I have yogurt and cheese which is not true paleo). So thank you for sharing and giving me facts to chew on and recipes to try.
Amy says
I agree with you, Elana. Processed foods just aren’t worth it. I feel so much better since I’ve gone gluten free, and one of unexpected outcomes is that my appetite for sweetness/sugar has greatly decreased. I don’t crave candy or ice cream, whereas I used to crave them often.
Even a simple pitcher of cold water with cucumber slices is so much more appealing than juice or soda.
stephanie says
I just looked up brown rice pasta on the glycemic index and was horrified to find it was 92. I might as well eat ice cream. It must change the way it metabolizes in your system once you grind up the outer coating of the rice. I have gained weight since being gluten free. I really try to “not” eat many products that are gluten free-they are ridiculously expensive and also are not healthy overall.
Roberta says
Excellent information. I will pass this with my page.
Heather says
Fantastic post. I’ve been solidly grain free for a few months now (though with a few slip ups). I’ve been fighting candida, so the best way to me seemed to just go Paleo. I love your recipes!