Of Gluten Intolerance,John Dunsmore and Genius

A former Scottish & Newcastle Chief Executive, John Dunsmore has joined the board of Genius Food, a fast growing Edinburgh company that specializes in gluten-free bread and cakes.

Besides becoming the non-executive director, Dunsmore also has taken a 5 percent stake in the firm.

Genius Chief Executive Roz Cushieri said Dunsmore's expertise would prove invaluable to the company which has helped to grow the market for gluten free bread by 250 percent since June 2009.

Dunsmore's appointment follows the recent news that Cairn Energy founder Sir Bill Gammell was joining Genius Foods as chairman. For the record, Gammell is gluten intolerant and originally invested in Genius in 2009 after having tasted the breads made by Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne, the company's founder.

Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne created the firm's first bread recipe after her son was diagnosed with coeliac disease. Her product can be found in every major supermarket in UK.

Genius is the best selling gluten free bread in the UK with more than 50% of the "free from" bread market and last year was introduced into North America with the signing of a deal with a US firm Glutino.

In addition to this success, it also won a contract for the Spanish stores of French supermarket giant Carrefour.

At the moment, Genius Foods is currently producing 22 different products including pancakes, pizzas and savory pies.

AT LAST, A GLUTEN FREE BEER THAT TASTE LIKE BEER

It's good to know that finally there's beer that taste like beer yet is gluten free. Produced by Widmer Bros. Brewing Co., it's called the OMISSION BEER. Maybe the brand refer to the fact that this beer is gluten free. Who knows.

Anyway from what I read in the Internet, it taste just like beer albeit lighter (the lager), but they said the Pale Ale is extremely tasty. You could forever drink it.

The Omission beer is considered gluten free since its's gluten content is under 20ppm. These are the steps taken by Widmer Bros. Brewing Co. to produce this gluten free beer:

Ingredient and style selection: Omission beers are brewed with low-protein barley. Style choices are based, in part, on ability to reliably reduce gluten-levels to well below strict standards.

Sanitization: All brewing equipment downstream from fermentation is freshly cleaned and sanitized for every batch of Omission beer. Unlike the process used in brewing other beers, where hot water rinse may be sufficient, equipment is cleaned and sanitized before Omission beers are brewed to avoid risk of cross contamination.

Brewers Clarex™: Brewers Clarex™, an enzyme developed by DSM Food Specialties and traditionally used to prevent chill-haze in beers, is added during the brewing process. The enzyme, which has been used by craft brewers around the world as a clarifying agent since it was introduced more than five years ago, works to break down proteins, including gluten, in the beer.

Testing: Every batch of Omission beer is tested for gluten by two independent labs using the R5 Competitive ELISA. Omission beer’s primary lab partner is Eurofins Scientific, the world leader in food and pharmaceutical products testing. Every batch of Omission beer is also tested by the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP) at the University of Nebraska. Tests are also conducted internally by the brewery at various stages in the brewing and packaging processes; within a month, Omission beers will be tested internally at the brewery using the R5 Competitive ELISA as well. No bottles of Omission are released to consumers until all results are reviewed and verified to contain gluten levels well below the international gluten-free standard of 20ppm or less.

Packaging: To further protect the integrity of the beers, Omission beers are only sold in bottles and never available on draught, where risk of cross contamination from tap lines or server error could threaten consumer safety.

Consumer Education: CBA is committed to sharing information about the beers, brewing processes and testing so consumers can make a confident choice when purchasing and drinking Omission beer. Consumers are encouraged to visit www.OmissionTests.com, where they can enter the date code stamped on their bottle and view their beer’s R5 competitive ELISA test results.

If it's around your available locally, why not give it a try?

GLUTEN FREE FOOD : what's in and what's out

Basically, by definition, gluten free diet is taking foods without the present of any protein gluten. We all know that gluten can be found in grains such as wheat, barley, rye and triticale (a cross between wheat and rye).

There are those who cannot tolerate gluten in their digestive system, thus having to take foods that are gluten free. Gluten can very damaging to Celiac Disease sufferers. Their only way out is to get into a gluten free diet treatment.

However, before switching into this diet, it's better to consult a dietitian first who will determine what works best for you, so you can have a proper healthy balanced diet.

Below are list of foods that are naturally gluten free:

Beans, seeds, nuts in their natural unprocessed form

Fresh eggs

Fresh meat, fish and poultry (stay way from it if it is breaded, batter-coated or marinated

Fruits and vegetables in their natural conditions (unprocessed)

Most dairy products

Also there are many grains and starches that can be use for a gluten free diet food. These includes:

Amaranth

Arrowroot

Buckwheat

Corn and cornmeal

Flax

Gluten free flour (rice,soy,corn,potato,bean)

Homing (a type of corn)

Millet

Quinoa

Rice

Sorghum

Soy

Tapioca

Teff

Do your best to avoid foods and drinks that contains:

Barley (malt, malt flavoring and malt vinegar are made from barley

Rye

Triticale

Avoid also these foods, they contain gluten from wheat:

Bulgur

Duram

Farina

Graham flour

Kamut

Semolina

Avoid these foods at all cost- unless it is certified gluten free:

Beer

Bread

Cakes and pies

Candies

Cereals

Cookies and crackers

Croutons

French fries

Gravies

Imitation meat or seafood

Matzo

Pastas

Processed luncheon meat

Salad dressing

There are risk though when using gluten free diet. Notably, these diets may have a low levels of certain much needed vitamins and nutrients. As a general guide, gluten free diets should have enough of these key nutrients

Iron

Calcium

Fiber

Thiamin

Riboflavin

Niacin

Folate

Those with Celiac Disease or Gluten Intolerance should stick to their diet because when you accidentally consume foods containing gluten, then it will usually result in severe abdominal pain or diarrhea. Though some people don't show symptoms or signs after eating gluten food, this doesn't mean that it's not damaging their intestinal villi.

Whether you show symptoms or not, the fact is that every trace amount of gluten in your diet will do some damage to your system. And if prolong, can cause a total disappearance of the intestinal villi, a hair like substance in small intestines that's responsible for the absorption of nutrients into our body.Take a bite..

GLUTON : FOR WHAT IT IS

Here's something to ponder while your at eating your gluten-free food.

It appears that gluten, for what it is have different pointers or meaning.

Here's the list:

glu·ten n.1. The mixture of proteins, including gliadins and glutelins, found in wheat grains, which are not soluble in water and which give wheat dough its elastic texture.

2. Any of the prolamins found in cereal grains, especially the prolamins in wheat, rye, barley, and possibly oats, that cause digestive disorders such as celiac disease. [French, from Latin glten, glue.] gluten·ous adj.

gluten [ˈgluːtən]n.A protein consisting of a mixture of glutelin and gliadin, present in cereal grains, esp wheat. A gluten-free diet is necessary in cases of coeliac disease [from Latin: glue] glutenous adj

gluten (gltn) A yellowish-gray, powdery mixture of plant proteins occurring in cereal grains such as wheat, rye, barley, and corn. The gluten in flour makes it ideal for baking, because the chainlike protein molecules of the gluten trap carbon dioxide and expand with it as it is heated. Gluten is also used as an adhesive and in making seasonings, especially monosodium glutamate (MSG).

There, I hope this will somehow helps to provide a better understanding of gluten

GLUTEN FREE RESTAURANT IN USA

I've came across this site that I think will be very helpful for those who takes the risk of eating outside more so if you are confirmed to have the Celia Disease or Gluten Intolerance. This site will help you to locate the nearest gluten free restaurant in your area. This site is accessible via iPhone/iPod, iPad and Android. This is important if you happens to travel to places you've never been and need to acquire foods that are gluten free.

When you enter this site Gluten Free Registry, you see a map of the USA. Just hover to any of the states and a new window will open where it will show you the latest location of any gluten free restaurant. It provides the name of the restaurant as well as it's recent location.

There is also a review done on this restaurant where diners will put their comment after tasting the foods in that particular restaurant. The more the "smileys" are added to the restaurant the more you can be assured of the quality of the gluten free foods served there.

So, once again, go to this site at Gluten Free Registry and locate the restaurant that are gluten free so you can have a meal with peace in mind and content that the foods you eat there are truly gluten free. Have a bite..