If you have a wheat allergy, gluten intolerance, or Celiac Disease, you shouldn’t eat foods that contain gluten. They can damage your health and cause many problems. This is the reason why you should include gluten-free foods in your diet.
In addition, we believe that one of the best and tastiest foods out there is gluten-free pasta. They contain corn, gluten-free grains, rice, and quinoa. But, the best option for improving your health is adding some beans to your meal.
Not only are the beans gluten-free, but they are also rich in proteins and fiber. Therefore, they can be very helpful for bloating, anemia, headaches, and fatigue.
Bean Pasta and Regular Pasta
Bean pasta is not like the typical pasta. It contains a huge amount of nutrients which are crucial for the health. Plus, it is unbelievably tasty and very easy to make. But, the regular pasta contains carbs, gluten, and starch.
However, according to the latest research, gluten-free pasta might not be a perfect solution. Scientists believe that it might increase the risk of developing pre-diabetes, which in turn might lead to diabetes.
This is the reason why scientists turned to the idea to add more beans to the gluten-free pasta. According to Linn Steward, a dietitian from New York, the pasta that contains a lot of fibers, chickpeas, beans and green lentils, can be a perfect and a healthy choice.
Furthermore, she believes that by adding kale, spinach, and cauliflower to the bean pasta, you can get an even higher number of fibers and proteins from one meal.
Chickpea Mac and Cheese
Mac and cheese is one of the most popular meal out there. So, if you love eating it, you can always add some chickpeas to it to make it healthier. Chickpeas contain a lot of minerals like vitamin B, manganese, and folate.
As such, it can be very beneficial for the body and the overall health. But, it might be hard to replace wheat with refined carbohydrates. Another reason why you should try pulse-based pasta is because of the resistant starch.
It is like insoluble and soluble fiber. It doesn’t get digested in the stomach, but the bacteria in the large intestines digest it instead. Furthermore, legumes, resistant starch, and fibers have 20% more protein than rice and wheat.
In the end, you should be adding more beans and chickpeas to your meals if you want to improve your health.
What About Rice-Based Pasta?
Corn or rice-based pasta might cause some issues for your metabolism and health. Even though they are rich in proteins and fibers, they are filled with carbohydrates as well. As a result, the pasta might affect the blood sugar.
Therefore, people with diabetes should avoid them. According to a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, Guy Crosby, when you eat more gluten, you increase the chance of developing diabetes type 2.
His claims are even supported by a study from 2017. Scientists believe that if you take gluten on a daily basis, you will increase the chance of developing diabetes type 2 by 20%. To conclude this study, 200,000 people participated.
Some of them consumed 4 grams of gluten per day, while the others took it on a daily basis. In the end, the participants who ate less gluten had a decreased chance of developing diabetes type 2. However, it seemed that after eating corn and rice pasta, their blood glucose levels increased.
According to a pilot study in which 13 participants ate macaroni and cheese with brown rice, corn, rice, quinoa, and wheat, had a sudden jump in their blood glucose levels by 47%, compared to the other participants who consumed wheat pasta.
In addition, brown rice is 18% more dangerous for the blood sugar, and corn and quinoa are 14%. Even though you get a lot of fibers, your glycemic index will increase and cause slight changes to your body.
Finally, focusing on a gluten-free diet if you have a wheat allergy, gluten intolerance, or Celiac Disease, can prove useful. All you have to do is make sure that the changes you are trying to implement can positively affect your body.
So, make sure to pick something tasty, full of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals to improve your health.
Source: NPR | SCPR | Explore Cuisine
