Ask the Celiac Expert
How do I get enough fibre?
Q: How do I get enough fibre in a gluten-free diet?
A: Eating enough fibre is very important for people with celiac disease. Dietary fibre 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.
Fibre 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 fibre: wheat bran, whole wheat breads and cereals.
Unfortunately, many gluten-free foods are made with starches and refined flours that are low in fibre, 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 fibre.
Gluten-Free Grains, Flour & Starches
Almond Flour
112 g in 1 cup, 14.7 g of dietary fibre
Amaranth Seed
195 g in 1 cup, 18.1 g of dietary fibre
Amaranth Flour
135 g in 1 cup, 12.6 g of dietary fibre
Buckwheat Flour (whole groat – ensure it’s 100% buckwheat flour and not mixed with wheat flour)
120 g in 1 cup, 12 g of dietary fibre
Flax Seed
168 g in 1 cup, 45.9 g of dietary fibre
Flax Seed Meal (Ground Flax)
130 g in 1 cup, 35.5 g of dietary fibre
Chickpea Flour
120 g in 1 cup, 20.9 g of dietary fibre
Garfava ™ Flour
157 g in 1 cup, 12 g of dietary fibre
Mesquite Flour
146 g in 1 cup, 46.1 g of dietary fibre
Montina ™ Flour
150 g in 1 cup, 36 g of dietary fibre
Quinoa Grain
170 g in 1 cup, 10 g of dietary fibre
Quinoa Flour
112 g in 1 cup, 6.6 g of dietary fibre
Rolled Oats (pure, uncontaminated)*
105 g in 1 cup, 9 g of dietary fibre
Oat Bran (pure, uncontaminated)*
150 g in 1 cup, 18.7 g of dietary fibre
Oat Flour (pure, uncontaminated)*
120 g in 1 cup, 12 g of dietary fibre
Rice Bran
134 g in 1 cup, 39 g of dietary fibre
Teff Grain
180 g in 1 cup, 11.2 g of dietary fibre
Teff Flour
130 g in 1 cup, 8.7 g of dietary fibre
Gluten-Containing Flour
Wheat Bran
58 g in 1 cup, 24.8 g of dietary fibre
Whole Wheat Flour
120 g in 1 cup, 14.6 g of dietary fibre
White Flour
125 g in 1 cup, 3.4 g of dietary fibre
* Commercial oat products are contaminated with wheat, rye and/or barley. The only products that are allowed on a gluten-free diet are pure, uncontaminated specialty oats available in Canada from Cream Hill Estates and FarmPure Foods.
• All values, except oats, are from Gluten-Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide- Expanded Edition, 2006. by Shelley Case, RD.
• Rolled Oats from Cream Hill Estates
• Oat Bran and Oat Flour from FarmPure Foods
Increasing Your Fibre Intake
• Do it gradually. Start with a small amount and slowly increase it, to prevent major abdominal pain and gas.
• Increase consumption of fluids, especially water.
• When choosing gluten-free flour mixes or recipes, opt for ones with high-fibre flours and starches,
like those shown.
• Add oat bran, rice bran, ground flax or mesquite flour to baked products, pancake batter or hot cereals.
• Use brown rice, wild rice, buckwheat, quinoa or teff in salads or pilafs instead of white rice.
• Add chickpeas (garbanzo beans), kidney beans or other bean varieties to casseroles and salads.
• Make soups with lentils, split peas and/or beans.
• Choose high-fibre snacks such as nuts, seeds, dried
fruits, popcorn, gluten-free snack bars (with dried
fruits, nuts and seeds), raw vegetables and fruits.
• Add dried fruits, nuts or seeds to hot cereal, salads, stir-fry dishes, muffins, cookies and breads.
• Eat whole fruits and vegetables rather than drinking juice.
From the Summer 2007 issue of Allergic Living magazine.
Shelley Case, RD, is an international celiac nutrition expert, consulting dietitian and author of Gluten-Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide. See www.glutenfreediet.ca. Shelley Case is on the advisory boards of the Canadian Celiac Association, the Celiac Disease Foundation and the Gluten-Free Intolerance Group. Send your question to: editor@allergicliving.com
