This is the title of an article that I wrote for the May issue of The Woman Today magazine. I was asked to prepare a material on the popular topic of gluten, gluten sensitivity and Celiac disease for the May issue. I have studied about gluten in the CSNN but made additional research on the subject and summarized my findings in a reading that I hope you will find both interesting and useful. Some of the conclusions that are explained in details in the article are that due to our unhealthy eating habits and choices more and more people get diagnosed with gluten sensitivity and Celiac disease. The only solution for these people is to go totally gluten-free and to choose carefully their food. In the same time, the raising number of people affected by gluten opens a new market opportunity for producers who now try to present the gluten-free diet as a one-way ticket to the land of perfect health and super-stars body shape. They used to do the same thing with fat popularizing fat-free products. The fact though is that by removing a single food or food group from your diet, you hardly make the rest perfect! The gluten-free diet is certainly more healthy than a number of other diets mainly because it cuts off wheat and limits the number of foods one can eat, thus making it more difficult to overeat. In the same time, when you eat gluten-free, you may eventually go deficient on essential nutrients contained in the whole-grain wheat cultures. So unless, you suffer from gluten sensitivity and Celiac disease, going gluten-free for a few weeks is ok as a detox regime, but keeping it longer than that is not health-wise. You may read more details on the topic in the magazine which is also available as iPad app (but only in Bulgarian language, sorry guys!) So to compensate those of you who don’t read Bulgarian, I am sharing one of the recipes that accompany the material – lovely morning breakfast of gluten-free banana pancakes!

Gluten-free Banana Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe bananas
• 4 free-range eggs
• ¾ cup gluten-free flour ( I used almond flour, but buckwheat, chickpea and rice flour are also an option)
• 2 tbs coconut oil, divided
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Preparation: Peel and mash the bananas. Whisk the eggs. Mix together the bananas, the eggs, the flour, 1 tbs of coconut oil and the cinnamon. You may use the blender as well. Heat the non-sticking pan and grease the bottom with part of the remaining coconut oil. Pour with a small ladder from the batter, forming small American-style pancakes. When firm on the down-side, flip on the other side. For optimal result, keep the temperature low and allow enough time for firming. This batter makes approximately 20 small pancakes. P.S. Please note that this is not an author's recipe but something I came across long ago on the Internet and keep preparing ever since. Unfortunately, I have lost the original source but if somebody directs me to it, I will make a proper reference!