Q: How do I get enough fiber in a gluten-free diet?
A: Eating enough fiber is very important for people with celiac disease. Dietary fiber is the part of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes (dried beans, peas and lentils) that cannot be broken down by the digestive tract.
Fiber helps maintain regular bowel movements, often a cause of trouble for people with celiac. Some celiacs suffer with diarrhea before their diagnosis, but the intestinal damage heals after they are on a gluten-free diet. The diarrhea stops, but at times, constipation develops.
Other celiac sufferers may have experienced constipation prior to diagnosis, and find it gets worse once they’re on a gluten-free diet. In both cases, the constipation is a result of eliminating the foods they used to eat with high fiber: wheat bran, whole wheat breads and cereals.
Unfortunately, many gluten-free foods are made with starches and refined flours that are low in fiber, such as white rice flour, tapioca starch, corn starch and potato starch. The good news is there are many excellent gluten-free alternatives to whole wheat and wheat bran that are high in fiber.
Next: List of flours and fiber content
heart44
Hello Shelley,
Can you add coconut flour to your list? Bruce Fife, ND, published an excellent book, “Cooking with Coconut Flour”. The first 42 pages discuss the benefits of low carb, gluten free and Celiac Disease (page 9). Tropical nuts and oils are shunned due to misinformation, but are very healthy and beneficial. Coconut flour contain 61% fiber (the highest of all flours), water, protein, fat and carbohydrates are the other 39%.
Since coconut flour is so high in fiber it absorbs liquids very quickly, so it is very different from other flours, but produces an excellent product. My favorite recipe (one that I’ve adapted from Bruce’s book), is Banana Pecan Pancakes; so moist they need little or no maple syrup or honey.
michaeljshaw
Almond flour and buckwheat flour are great additions to one’s flour pantry, though they can be tricky to find even in health food stores so are often best bought online.
I’ve seen both of these used in gluten-free pancake recipes, so it’s possible to not have to use flours like tapioca and rice flour when making them.
Thanks–
MIchael of
Unrefined Sugar