Exploring the benefits of a gluten free diet

Background: Individuals in the general populations with a known gluten disorder is believed to be 6% and it is unclear why the gluten free diet (GFD) has risen sharply (28%) in recent years. However, science has revealed that gluten can cause colonic changes in those undiagnosed with a known gluten disorder. The ramifications of these changes are unknown. Three common ingredients found in gluten free products, such as pasta, are corn quinoa and rice. Evidence from the scientific literature has shown that corn and quinoa can produce more colonic hydrogen than refined wheat and rice, indicating that corn and quinoa have a reduced glycemic effect. Since rice and wheat have similar glycemic responses, corn and quinoa pastas would be expected to have a lower glycemic response than rice and wheat pasta

.

Aim The aim of his study was to examine the glycemic response to three different types of pasta: wheat, rice and corn. Breath hydrogen, assessment of mood states, blood glucose and insulin were collected after ingestion of these pastas to determine the glycemic effects of these foods.



Methods: A double blinded crossover study design was utilized on a group of healthy individuals, and the test meals of wheat, rice and combinations of rice/corn, and corn/quinoa pastas were consumed one week apart in random order. Collections of fasting venous blood samples for insulin analysis, capillary blood from a finger stick for glucose analysis, breath hydrogen samples and satiety scales were used for glycemic response and mood states were collected prior to the meal (baseline) and then again after ingestion of the test meals. Attempts were made to explore the glycemic response of these test meals in relation to mood states.



Results: The glucose response showed no significant difference at baseline (p = .683) among all groups and no significant differences were seen post treatment at 30 minutes (p = .875). However, after 60 minutes all of the glucose concentrations began to decline except for the rice pasta which peaked at 90 minutes and the wheat pasta gave the most sustained decrease. The AUC glucose values showed no significant difference at both 120 (p=0.196) and 240 (p=0.734) minutes but with wheat pasta producing the lowest mean value. The POMS scores showed no significant differences between groups over time (p=.239) but the wheat group produced the highest score (worsening moods states).



Conclusion: These results indicate that the formulation and processing of gluten free pastas may affect the rate and absorption and the subsequent glycemic response after the consumption of these foods. Whether or not wheat contains an ingredient that slows absorption and/or negatively affects mood remains undetermined warrants future research in this area.