What does grain-free mean?
Grain-free means the elimination of all grain and grain containing products from your diet. That includes wheat, rice, corn, oats, barley, and anything else that is considered a grain.
Additionally, grain-free and gluten-free don't mean the same thing. Going gluten-free doesn’t mean you’re grain-free. But if you're going grain-free, you're automatically gluten-free, because gluten is found in grains.
In other words, grain-free goes a step further than gluten-free alone.
Why Would Someone Choose to Go Grain-Free?
One reason people go grain-free is that grains aren’t the same as they were decades ago. They’re highly processed, they've been genetically modified, they're sprayed with pesticides, and as a result, today’s grains are causing health issues.
Dr. David Perlmutter wrote a great book called "Grain Brain," where he describes many of the issues with grains. And although gluten is getting lots of attention right now there are also some very serious health concerns with grains. That’s the main reason why we decided not to include grains in any of our products.
If you have an autoimmune disease, for example, you can be gluten-free and still have adverse reactions to grain. These can include brain fog, stomach aches, bloating, swelling, and inflammation.
It was really important for us to keep grains out of our baking mix as eliminating grains can provide relief to those with arthritis, autoimmune disease, and digestive issues.
We now know that grains are pro-inflammatory. And if you go and see a doctor well-versed in nutrition, they'll probably recommend a diet that eliminates certain pro-inflammatory foods for those with digestive and/or inflammatory issues. Eliminating grains is usually at the top of the list.
Modern Alternatives to Grain
For some, the idea of going grain-free is restrictive and very limiting. Typically, when you tell somebody you’re going grain-free, they assume you can never have bread again. Wheat, for example, is such a common ingredient found in so many foods. But it doesn’t have to be restrictive or limiting as there are so many other options now. In our Organic’ly recipes, we used almond flour, coconut flour, and arrowroot. They are all great grain-free alternatives to wheat.
And there are many other great options too, like cassava root flour and tiger nut flour. Using these alternatives allows someone to go grain-free while still enjoying bread, cupcakes, pancakes, and other favorites traditionally made with wheat. That's really been our main focus. Let's replace grains with something delicious that doesn’t compromise our health. And we've proven this concept with our baking mixes, which taste amazing.
Going grain-free doesn’t have to be a compromise anymore. If you can’t eat wheat, you don’t have to settle for products made with alternatives that don’t taste good.
As we discovered when we decided our whole family would go grain-free, eliminating grains doesn't have to be restrictive. It doesn't have to be limiting. We have two kids, and there are lots of really fun food products that they eat using the alternatives mentioned. You too can take advantage of the family health benefits that come with eliminating grains and still make amazing food.
Ready to go grain-free? Shop our Organic'ly products now.