Healthy Gluten Free Consulting Can Help Individuals And Businesses

By Claudine Hodges


Food allergies have become a big issue and sometimes it seems like they are just a trend or a lifestyle choice. However, that is not the case, allergies are potentially lethal and can cause long term damage to a person's health. In the quest for sufferers to be healthy gluten free consulting can offer a range of services to improve lifestyle. It is also useful for those in the food industry who want to train their staff in gluten issues.

Recent research has shed new light on the problem and shown that it can be extremely detrimental to health for those whose bodies cannot process it. Gluten causes inflammation of the stomach and gut and possible even the cardiovascualr system. Over the years the toll exacted by the inflammation can be very serious. One study estimated that people with gluten intolerance have higher rates of heart disease and cancer than those who do not. On a daily basis the symptoms can be crippling making the person feel ill and suffer headaches, nausea, sickness, diarrhoeia and many other symptoms.

Understanding how food is produced and why industrial food producers use ingredients in ways we cannot imagine is essential when living wheat free. Most people who are diagnosed with an intolerance or celiacs disease have to spend a lot of time doing research and getting to grips with what gluten free actually means. This is because even a tiny amount of gluten can make them very sick.

Avoiding gluten is actually quite difficult as wheat is a versatile ingredient and is used in many ways. It crops up in surprising places such as ice creams, chocolate as it is used as a thickener by industrial food processors. It even appears in oats. This is because of cross-contamination. Oats do not actually contain gluten but they are often contaminated in factories.

Some households decide to go totally gluten free because the contamination issue requires a lot of attention to detail. Separate utensils, chopping boards and pans are all necessary. If, for example, a breaded shrimp has been fried in some oil then that oil cannot be used to make gluten free food. The smallest trace of gluten can contaminate everything.

Staff training is also important. Kitchen staff will need to learn about how to prepare and check ingredients and avoid contamination. Consultants can make sure that procedures comply with local regulations. They can also help with menu and recipe design. Producing high quality baked goods is not always straightforward. For example, different flours and additives such as xantham gum are needed to make bread.

For restaurants, caterers and professional cooks they offer classes on the history of the problem, food production and wheat substitutes. They can do in-house staff training to show kitchen teams how to avoid cross contamination. Waiting staff also need to learn about the issue to be able to communicate effectively with customers. A consultant can teach them which questions to ask and how to deal with queries.

Gluten free living is not a simple matter and the consequences for those with a food allergy can be very serious. Whether you suffer from an intolerance or work in the food preparation industry a consultant can help you learn about the necessary steps to making gluten free food. Healthy living is important for everyone and food intolerance need to be better understood so that sufferers do not live in pain or die early.




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