Gluten-Free Foods

Fresh milk, butter, cheese, fruit, vegetables, legumes, seeds, red meat, chicken and seafood are all gluten free. Tea, coffee and wine can be consumed, but regular beers must be excluded.

Gluten-Free Flours, Grains & Alternatives

* amaranth
* arrowroot
* buckwheat
* carob
* corn (maize) including maize cornflour (cornstarch)
* guar gum
* legume flours including chickpea flour (besan)
* lentil flour
* lupin
* millet
* nut flours including almond and hazelnut meal
* polenta (cornmeal)
* potato flour (starch)
* psyllium
* quinoa
* rapeseed
* rice including rice bran, rice flour
* sago
* seeds including linseeds (flaxseeds), pepitas (pumpkin seeds), poppy seeds, sesame seeds
* sorghum
* soy flour
* tapioca
* xanthan gum

Taken from Healthy Food For Life
Info by Kim Faulkner- Hogg (BSc, Grad Dip Nutr & Diet)

Diabetic Diets

Thanks to scientific research, diabetic diets are no longer as restricted as they used to be. Many people think that as long as people with diabetes avoid sugar, they can eat anything else. However, just like everyone else, people with diabetes need to consider the quality of their whole diet.

If you have a relatively good control over your diabetes, sugar and other indulgences needn't be completely avoided, but they shouldn't be overeaten. Overeating any food can cause the blood glucose level to remain high for hours, causing problems such as tiredness, nausea and blurry vision. A dietitian will be able to give you advice about how to be flexible with holiday meals.

For example, if you've eaten some snacks before sitting down to a large main meal, eat only a small portion of dessert or eat something that contains less carbohydrate and kilojoules, such as fresh fruit. Alternatively, if you want to eat dessert, eat a smaller first course or main meal.

If you overeat one day, do some exercise to compensate and return to your normal diet as soon as possible.

Don't let the holidays become one long buffet, or rely on convenience and processed foods during the Christmas and New Year season.

These foods are often high in fat, sugar, salt and kilojoules. Instead, buy or make healthier versions of your favourite foods so you don't have to compromise your health just to indulge your tastebuds.

Taken from Healthy Food For Life
Info by Dr Susanna Holt (PhD, dietician)

Coeliac Nutrition

If you suffer from coeliac disease, it is not unusual to gain weight when you start a gluten-free diet because the body is beginning to fully absorb its food.

The first priority when starting the diet is to familiarise yourself with the foods you can have. Once you are feeling more comfortable, you can address any weight issues that arise.

Some people welcome the weight gain, but others do not. Some find that being unable to eat gluten-containing snacks means that they snack less, and this helps to maintain their weight.

Others may need to become aware of the amount of fats and oils contained in food, the portion size of the food they eat and the amount of exercise that they are doing.

Taken from Healthy Food For Life
Info by Kim Faulkner- Hogg (BSc, Grad Dip Nutr & Diet)