Where can I find these weird pastas? The gluten-free thread

Reading Sunset magazine and they talk about Gluten-free pastas: Quinoa-Corn and Rice-Potato-Soy Penne??

Tinkyáda brown-rice pastas, Schär corn-rice pastas, and nutty Ancient Harvest quinoa-corn pastas.

They sound tasty and interesting, but can i buy them in the slope? Anyone know? (I'm on a cooking, *not eating out,* kick right now. See my other post in the Eats board)

I would try Fairway (in the organic section) or Back to the Land or, if you have a friend who's a member, the Food Coop.

C-town on 9th has gluten-free quinoa pasta, not sure about the corn-rice-etc. parts.

I think most supermarkets carry gluten-free products right now. But unless someone you're cooking for has Celiac Sprue (gluten sensitive enteropathy), I don't see the point in low-protein (gluten is protein) carbohydrate products. Gluten is what give breads and pastas their chew. If you don't have a medical reason to not have gluten, you probably want the gluten. And by medical reason, I mean a specific disease (Celiac Sprue) that makes you not able to eat gluten, because gluten is otherwise healthy.

Interesting. Carny, what's up then with all these glutten-free diets? I LOVE pasta and I know carbs go straight to my hips, so I was trying to be a good girl 8-[

Carny, a similar question: my daughter has been avoiding gluten because she was told that gluten can exacerbate allergies (such as to pollen or to cat or dog saliva).

Any medical basis to think that might be true?

Oh, I'd like to know that too. I have serious cat & seasonal allergies ^^

Carnivore is absolutely right... no reason to eat gluten-free products unelss you have Celiac - I work with a woman who has a gluten allergy and she makes sure the rest of her family gets products with gluten

Wow, I hadn't even heard of this, but it's not the kind of thing I usually deal with. I did just skim through the last 10 years worth of relevant abstracts on PubMed. I couldn't find anything to support the idea that gluten exacerbates allergies other than allergies to wheat or gluten (which do definitely exist). A quick google search on "gluten and seasonal allergies" revealed hundreds of anecdotal non-medical sources advocating a gluten-free diet for allergies, but no medical sources. It's still possible this is true, since it's really not my area of expertise and there are substances that can non-specifically stimulate immune responses, but based on the limited search I just did, put me in the category of "skeptical."

Booklaw, has your daughter had any improvement in her allergies while following the diet?

Mamacita wrote: Interesting. Carny, what's up then with all these glutten-free diets? I LOVE pasta and I know carbs go straight to my hips, so I was trying to be a good girl 8-[

Gluten-free products have the same carbs as products with gluten. Gluten is protein.

It's great that these products are now available because for a long time it was hard for people with Celiac Sprue to find things they could safely eat. But now, I think the marketing machine has taken over, and they're using it to try to sell the products to people who have no particular need for them. Mind you, they won't hurt you; there's just no need.

For example, I happen to love these waffles:


But that's just because I like how they taste, not because I think I'll derive any particular benefit from them.

She thinks the gluten-free diet has helped her allergies. I'll see if I can get more specific info from her.

booklaw wrote: She thinks the gluten-free diet has helped her allergies. I'll see if I can get more specific info from her.

Hey, I can't argue with success. Even if it's only placebo effect, if it works for her it works for her.

Not that it proves the principle in general...

I think the marketing machine might have gone overboard with the gluten free stuff.

I was Watching DR OZ (don't laugh, it was a rare instance) and he was promoting gluten free foods as part of a daily healthy diet.

zomg, want those waffles!

I have some kind of gluten intolerance going on and it totally blows chunks.

Quinoa is great, also try Teff. It's what Ethiopian bread is made out of. Super-fine flour, no gluten, and a ton of iron.
www.teffco.com

vidro3 wrote: zomg, want those waffles!

I have some kind of gluten intolerance going on and it totally blows chunks.

Quinoa is great, also try Teff. It's what Ethiopian bread is made out of. Super-fine flour, no gluten, and a ton of iron.
www.teffco.com

Fresh Direct has them.