An Allergy free Diet. . - Book Corners - Wheat Free, Sugar Free Gourmet Cooking - book review

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, April, 2002 by Thomas O'Bryan

Wheat Free, Sugar Free Gourmet Cooking

by Sue O'Brien

4409 North 22nd St., Tacoma, Washington 98406 USA; 253-756-1616

Second Edition 2001, ISBN 0-9714410-0-6.

"So Doctor, what do I feed him for breakfast if he's allergic to wheat and sugar?"

How many hundreds of times have we heard that in our practices? No matter what discipline and initial training we come from, whether it be Naturopathy, Chiropractic, Allopathic Medicine, Osteopathy, Nurse Practitioner, Nutritionist,... we would be hard pressed to find a single practitioner who can't testify to the many varied childhood (and adult) illnesses that are moved dramatically on the road to recovery by identifying and reducing exposure to food sensitivities. And the constant battle of giving our parents/patients healthy alternatives to what they are used to eating.

And once we make that recommendation "Well Mrs. Smith, it looks like little Johnny's ADHD (or asthma, or eczema, or bursts of anger, or bedwetting -- you fill in the blank), will be helped by reducing his exposure to sugar and wheat," then the question comes "so what do I feed him?"

Here's another tool in your black bag of options. Sue O'Brien's book Wheat Free, Sugar Free Gourmet Cooking is a masterpiece for a parent/ patient to avoid reinventing the wheel and suffering through weeks and months of frustrating dietary experimentation. The author's own experiences with chronic fatigue, food allergies and a myriad of symptoms fueled her creative venture and this book is the result.

The book is so well laid out, it is like holding the hand of the nervous apprehensive parent whose child is defiant and eats only what he likes. This book gives, in easily understood language answers to the questions we hear time and time again in our practices: "what do I use in place of sugar?" "what do I use in place of wheat?" "where do I find recipes my child will eat?"

Before we even get to the recipes themselves, her section on 'Sugar and Sugar Alternatives' introduces different fruit sweeteners, amazake, brown rice syrup, and 'Fruit Source' (a sweetener made from rice syrup and grape juice extract), and more importantly to the busy parent, where to get these products. Included are conversion ratios to substitute these products for family favorite recipes.

Her section on 'Wheat Alternatives' introduces rice flour (both white and brown), bean flours (garbanzo and lentil), tapioca flour, amaranth flour, oat flour, potato starch flour and soy flour. She identifies which flours are best for cookies, for granola bars, for apple crisp, for breads, sauces, and general baking. There is a list of 18 sources for these flours with their 800 numbers or addresses.

The next list is baking and cooking ingredients and includes cornstarch, arrowroot ("I am allergic to corn so I cannot use it and substitute arrowroot. Both work well"), baking soda, aluminum-free baking powder, soy, rice & almond milk, eggs and egg substitutes, guar gum, and xanthum gum ("great gluten substitutes").

Then come the recipes. And even here the author demonstrates her comprehensive experience and overview. Every recipe includes the preparation time, the cooking time, and nutritional analysis per serving (including calories, milligrams of cholesterol and salt, grams of fat, protein and carbohydrates). Here is the opportunity to introduce to our parent/patient the topic of insulin resistance and controlling the percentage of carbohydrates in a meal. Could we have it any easier as practitioners?

I participated in a 10-day course in 1999 with Jeff Bland, PhD, and the Institute For Functional Medicine to sharpen my diagnostic and therapeutic skills as a Functional Medicine Practitioner. The food served was as good if not better than the course! Sue O'Brien prepared these dishes. Many of us asked for recipes to take home and said "Sue, you've got to write a book." Well she has and here it is. Her labor is a 'labor of love' and much struggle as she battled to get a handle on her own chronic fatigue and allergies and still enjoy gourmet food. You will not be disappointed by this book.

Robert Rountree, MD says it very well on the back cover: "This book will be a godsend for those who want to eat wonderful, savory, foods and stay healthy. It is accessible, well organized, and enticing. I give it my highest stamp of approval."