Grain-Free Gourmet: Rediscover the Joy of Eating

Jenny Lass

What would you do if the comfort food you grew up loving suddenly made you sick? This is what 70 million Americans with digestive disorders experience, and many don’t find the relief they need through traditional medical interventions. The treatment options for gastrointestinal patients usually involve expensive medications with daunting side effects, such as bone thinning, rashes, night sweats and facial swelling.

Although drug treatment for conditions such as celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis is sometimes warranted, what happens when the drugs don’t work or if the side effects seem worse than the disease?

Jodi Bager, owner of JK Gourmet, an almond-flour baked goods company, initially endured drug treatment for her ulcerative colitis after the birth of her second child.

“I was going to the bathroom up to 30 times a day so my doctor gave me steroids,” says Bager, who is also co-author of Grain-Free Gourmet: Delicious Recipes for Healthy Living. “They worked well and I thought I was cured, but I got sick again when I stopped taking them.”

Steroids become less effective each time they’re used, so patients are left with little recourse if their symptoms return. That’s why Bager turned to the specific carbohydrate diet, which has been a welcome option for thousands of people around the world seeking long-term treatment options for intestinal conditions. The diet eliminates complex carbohydrates and disaccharides so food is easier to digest—that means no grains, starches or refined sugars. Bager has now been in remission for almost four years.

Gastrointestinal patients also may have lactose intolerance, often one of the first symptoms of an intestinal disease. Bager has found that old-aged cheeses, such as parmesan, brick, gouda, havarti, Swiss and cheddar, are naturally lactose-free due to their long fermentation time. The same principle applies to homemade lactose-free yogurt—the 24-hour fermentation allows the bacterial culture to break down the lactose, leaving easy-to-digest yogurt that can be used for cheesecake, cream cheese, ice cream and breads.

Bager is creative in the kitchen, using recipes free of all grains. Spaghetti squash, zucchini, egg, Enoki mushrooms and squid replace crepes and noodles. Cholesterol-lowering, vitamin-packed, high-fiber almond flour produces authentic-tasting baked goods that are also healthy.

“Food doesn’t have to be your enemy,” Bager says. “You can eat decadent food without the guilt if it’s made from the right ingredient and be healthier for it.”

Jenny Lass is a freelance medical writer based in Toronto. She is also a cooking instructor and co-author of Grain-Free Gourmet: Delicious Recipes for Healthy Living (Whitecap Books, 2005). Visit grainfreegourmet.com.