If you’re making pizza, pasta or other treats, wheat is not the only flour you can use.
Considering that many people have wheat intolerances and allergies, it is good news that there are many unexpected plant foods that can be turned into flours. Some of these foods might be surprising - you may have never thought they could be turned into pizza crust.
Flour and Blood Sugar
Since blood sugar hugely affects your health, we’ll consider the effects of different flours on blood sugar levels.
Very low blood sugar will leave you feeling faint but high blood sugar is a problem for many more people.
Many grain flours can spike your blood sugar. Especially processed white flours that have had the fiber removed. When the fiber is removed, the sugar is absorbed into our blood more quickly.
Wheat and rice flours, as well as others, can raise blood sugar quickly. But there are lots of other flour options out there - flours that can stabilize your blood sugar.
The Problem with Blood Sugar Spikes
If your blood sugar is chronically high or spikes often, your health will suffer consequences. High blood sugar is implicated in just about every degenerative disease: cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, blindness, obesity, diabetes, and accelerated aging.
Why is high blood sugar connected with these diseases? Because it causes damage to cells and proteins in your body. High blood sugar wreaks havoc on your body by triggering destructive processes like oxidation, inflammation, and glycation.
The good news is that by eating healthy, lower sugar flours, you can avoid the pitfalls that come with sugar spikes. Here are some healthy flour choices:
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5 Healthy Flours
1. Coconut Flour
Coconut flour is made from the meat of coconuts - the rich white flakes of the plant. It makes for a dense and nutritious flour that has plenty of healthy fats.
Coconut flour is also very rich in fiber and low in carbs. It’s high fiber content is held responsible for its blood sugar-balancing effects (since fiber slows down sugar absorption) 2†. Researchers have tested coconut flour’s ability to stop sugar spikes by adding it to baked goods - and guess what: it works 2†!
This fiber is full of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) - healthy fats that actually speed up fat burning and promote weight loss, fight viruses and bacteria, and may help improve brain function 3,4,5†.
2. Cassava Flour
If you want some carbs but don’t want to eat processed flour, cassava flour is a good natural option. Cassava is a native root vegetable in South America. When you eat this flour, you’re eating the whole root.
Cassava is great for people with allergies or gut issues. It is allowed even in some strict paleo and anti-allergy and anti-autoimmunity diets.
The fiber in cassava will help feed good bacteria in your gut and fight inflammation that causes your gut to hurt 6†.
3. Sorghum Flour
Tannins and other phytochemicals in sorghum have many beneficial effects including fighting oxidative stress, inflammation, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and other bad things 7†.
Compared to wheat muffins, sorghum muffins caused eaters to have significantly lower blood sugar and insulin spikes following eating 8†. One measurement of blood sugar showed at 35% decrease in the sorghum group 8†.
Now that’s clear evidence that sorghum is way better for your blood sugar than wheat! Several other studies in animals have backed up sorghum’s blood sugar lowering effects.
4. Chickpea Flour
Yes, you can make flour out of legumes!
Chickpeas have a very low glycemic rating, meaning that they hardly raise blood sugar. No wonder - they’re packed with fiber.
Compared to white bread, chickpeas cause much lower sugar spikes - around 29-36% lower levels 9†. Additionally, chickpeas contain folate, vitamin K, zinc, copper, phosphorus, manganese, choline, and selenium.
Instead of the white, fluffy, nutritionally empty processed flours, chickpea flour is dense, hearty, and full of nutrition.
5. Almond Flour
If life gives you nuts, make flour. Almonds help keep blood sugar low, contain healthy fats, and fight oxidative stress 10†. They also lower “bad” LDL cholesterol that contributes to arterial plaque and heart attacks 11†.
Almonds are also packed with magnesium, copper, manganese, calcium and potassium.
Almond flour is one of the most popular flours used for low sugar paleo cake, breads, and other confectioneries. It’s a stark contrast to traditional carb-filled flours, as it packs a hearty protein punch - more than other wheat-free flours.
Do you have high blood sugar but LOVE carbs?
Want to do something about it without giving up all the foods you love?
You can help balance blood sugar levels within the normal range naturally using a variety of safe, effective natural remedies.
Click here to download the brand new FREE report by Nutritionist, Evan Burns, which shows you how you can still enjoy many of your favorite foods - including carbs - without causing your blood sugar to spike!
