037: Gluten-Free Grains, Spicy Mexican Rice, and Enzyme Innovations

April 2024

About Naturally Gluten-Free Digest

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Featured Article

How These 9 Gluten Free Grains Can Add Variety to Your Healthy Diet

Are you or someone you know struggling with celiac disease or gluten intolerance? If so, you may have heard about gluten free grains and wondered what they are and if they are a good choice for you.

In this overview we'll look at the benefits of gluten free grains, bust a few myths and brainstorm ideas for getting these flavor-filled nutrition bombs into your meals.

Go here for my complete guide to gluten free grains.

Featured Recipe

Spice up Your Dinner with Authentic Gluten Free Mexican Rice

Speaking of naturally gluten free grains, here is a recipe that will add a punch of color and spice up your meals.

Mexican cuisine is renowned for its vibrant flavors and colorful presentations and one staple dish that delivers every time is this Gluten Free Mexican Rice. 

Picture tender long grain rice in a delightful blend of tomato, onions, and peppers, then brought to life with a flavorful mix of spices. Add black beans and yellow corn for a pop of color and a punch of protein. 

If you are new to this whole gluten free thing, you may feel like you're missing out on fun and interesting foods. But many international cuisines, including Mexican have lots of naturally gluten-free options. It’s about knowing the right ingredients to use and the ones to avoid.

Go here for my Gluten Free Mexican Rice recipe and spice up your life too!

Let me know how you like it in the FB Group.

News From the Scientific Community

An Enzyme to Pulverize Gluten

In last month’s NGF Digest we talked about clinical trials for a drug that would calm down your T-cells so they don’t over-react when they see gluten and cause a reaction.

This months spotlight goes to an enzyme treatment called TAK-062 which is being investigated by Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

Enzymes are proteins that break the chemical bonds in molecules. If you are lactose intolerant, you may already know about an enzyme called lactase that breaks down lactose and makes it easier to digest.

In the case of TAK-062 (I assume if approved it will get a sexier name), it is an endopeptidase, a type of enzyme that can break down proteins. Gluten is a protein. I think you can see where this is going.

If TAK-062 works as intended, it will break down the gluten protein into smaller peptides that won’t be recognized as harmful by your immune system and won’t cause a reaction, or intestinal damage.

Clinical trials look promising. In phase 1 trials, TAK-062 was tested on healthy volunteers and individuals with celiac disease, showing that it could safely break down gluten without significant adverse effects.

Building on these promising results, Takeda has moved forward with phase 2 trials, which aim to evaluate the drug's efficacy and safety in a larger population of celiac disease patients. These trials will help determine the optimal dosage and the extent to which TAK-062 can protect against gluten-induced symptoms and intestinal damage.

This probably doesn’t mean you’ll be able to give up your gluten free diet. But it may mean that, at some point in the future, you’ll be able to pop a pill before a restaurant meal and protect yourself against cross contamination.

To learn more about this study go here: A Study of TAK-062 in Treatment of Active Celiac Disease in Participants Attempting a Gluten-Free Diet

I’d love to hear what you think. Are you excited about the possibility to pop a pill to guard against cross-contamination. How would it change your life? Would it make you less worried about travelling, socializing, eating in restaurants?

What I’m Reading

Gluten Freedom

The National Leading Expert Offers the Essential Guide to a Healthy, Gluten-Free Lifestyle

This book should be on the shelf of every person with celiac disease. Especially if you are newly diagnosed.

Dr. Fasano approaches Gluten Freedom from not only a place of great experience, but also from a place of great compassion. He tells the stories of many of his patients, both adults and children and how their struggles have fueled his search for treatments and a cure.

It is the first book I've read about Celiac disease that really gets into the mechanisms of how gluten affects people with and without celiac disease and especially, why we see symptoms outside of the gut.  It's the first work I've read that delves into the role of the microbiome in the development and perhaps at some point, control of celiac disease.

If you have celiac disease or you know someone who does, this is a great read and would make a very special, thoughtful gift.

Go here for my full review of Gluten Freedom and if it interest you, pick it up and give it a read.

More Reading

Check out my reading list. It’s a roundup of all the food related books I’ve curated for you along with my reviews.

Book Reviews: Interesting and Informative Books on Celiac Disease and Healthy Eating

Do you have any suggestions for additions to our library? Let the community know here on our FB Group.

That’s All For This Month

I’d love to hear from you. Let me know what you’d like to see in the newsletter. Just drop me a line from my Contact Page .

Talk to you soon.

Patty

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