A NEW bread, especially designed for people sensitive to wheat, will be launched in Tuncurry next week.
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Local doctor Geoff Whitehouse and dietitian Kerith Duncanson through the Forster based company the Good Gut Group (GGG) have developed a breakthrough dough-based technology which will be used to create ‘better belly bread.’ It is designed for people who are sensitive to wheat, experience symptoms consistent with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and may be on a low FODMAP diet.
According to its founders, the bread is a tastier and healthier option than the gluten-free products that are currently on the market.
Dr Whitehouse says after eating gluten-free bread for a number of years as part of a low FODMAP diet, he was inspired to find a better alternative.
“Basically I feel the taste and texture of gluten free products are terrible,” Dr Whitehouse said.
“I got sick of eating gluten-free bread and wanted to enjoy eating bread again. Bread was also the obvious starting point for our business as it is the thing that most people miss if they have to cut out wheat.”
The bread’s technology builds on recent research from Monash University on IBS and fermentable sugars known as FODMAPs which cause gas formation and fluid shifts in the gut.
New research shows that the majority of people sensitive to wheat or with IBS will benefit from a diet low in FODMAPs.
Up until now, however, the only way to buy wheat-like products low in FODMAPs was to convert to a gluten-free diet.
Dr Duncanson says gluten-free products are often “inferior in texture and taste” when compared to products that contain gluten.
“Gluten-free products serve a role for coeliac disease but 90 per cent of people who use gluten free will feel just as good with our products and will enjoy a vast improvement in their culinary experience,” she said.
“It will also improve people’s diet as gluten free products are usually low in fibre and have a higher glycemic index than regular foods.”
As part of the development of the product, Dr Whitehouse and Dr Duncanson employed local baker, Daniel Henderson of Butterfingers Bakery in Tuncurry to help refine their bread line.
Samples were then sent to Monash University where they were tested and verified as low in FODMAPs. They then performed a pilot study on 20 people with IBS who were following a low FODMAP diet. At the end of the study, none of the participants who had added the GGG bread into their diet reported a recurrence of symptoms.
Local baker Daniel Henderson said it will be interesting to see people’s response to the bread locally.
“I’ve made gluten-free bread in the past and it’s just tasteless so this is definitely a healthier choice of bread.”
Better Belly Bread will be available at Butterfingers Bakery from next Wednesday (April 15). For more information visit http://goodgutgroup.com/
So, what are FODMAPs?
FODMAPs are a cluster of sugars found in food that can cause gut symptoms in sensitive people.
FODMAPS are an abbreviation for ‘fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharide’s and polyols.’ They are found in foods such as onions, garlic, beetroot, apples, wheat and dairy products, just to name a few.
Most of us can eat a meal loaded with these fermentable sugars and feel fine but one problem for IBS sufferers is that the nerve endings in their gut are extra-sensitive making them more likely to react with pain when gas distends their bowel.
“FODMAPs pass through the small intestine to the large bowel where they are fermented by naturally occurring bacteria. This results in the production of gas and additional fluid being drawn into the bowel,” Forster dietician Kerith Duncanson explains.
The low FODMAP diet was created by doctor Sue Sheppard in 1999. Through her research, Dr Sheppard has proven that by limiting dietary FODMAPs it is an effective treatment for people with symptoms of IBS rather than the traditionally recommended gluten free diet.
For more information about FODMAPs visit: http://www.med.monash.edu/cecs/gastro/fodmap/