Three Nutritious, Gluten-Free Alternatives To White Flour

It’s not difficult to find research lamenting the poor nutritional value of enriched white flour. Consuming this omniscient flour – which has been processed, bleached, and stripped of all its nutrients – has been repeatedly linked to constipation, diabetes, cancer, and more. Often, these conditions are related to white flour’s notoriously high concentrations of gluten, which negatively affects the health of most people – not just those with gluten intolerance or Celiac disease.

Fortunately, we don’t have to give up baked foods to remain healthy. A growing number of nutritious and gluten-free alternatives to white flour are available to purchase online or in health food stores, and several of them maintain (or improve upon) its taste and texture. The best of them are listed below.

Coconut Flour

Coconut flour is a sweet-tasting, low GI flour derived from coconut meat. Though it doesn’t taste strongly of coconuts, it does contain all their health benefits. For example, one tablespoon of coconut flour contains a whopping 10 grams of fiber, which is double the amount of fiber as wheat bran and 20 times as much fiber as white flour. Coconut flour is also high in protein and low in fat. Long-term consumption of it has been linked to reduced blood pressure and blood sugar, improved thyroid function, increased energy, and even a boosting of testosterone levels.

Though its clumpy texture might take some getting used to, baking with coconut flour is fun and many recipes accommodate it. That said, coconut flour is best-suited to baked desserts such as muffins, pancakes, and waffles.

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