Tuesday August 5th, 2014 – 1pm
Posted Aug 5, 2014 02:55:13 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The fourth hour of the 570 Midday Show
1:00 Liz Pearson, dietician
If you’ve given up gluten, you could be doing your diet – and your body – a disservice. Depending on which gluten-free foods you swap for wheat, it’s possible you’re missing out on fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. A gluten-free diet is a necessity for people with celiac disease, an inherited disorder that causes the body’s immune system to attack the small intestine when gluten – a protein found in wheat, rye and barley – is consumed. In celiac disease, even tiny amounts of gluten can damage the small intestine and interfere with nutrient absorption. People with a condition called non-celiac gluten sensitivity also benefit by avoiding gluten. These individuals test negative for celiac disease but react poorly to gluten experiencing, such symptoms as bloating, abdominal pain, low energy and headaches. Recently, though, gluten-free diets have caught on with people who aren’t sensitive to the protein in the belief it’s a healthier way to eat. According to a study from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, one-third of participants perceived foods labelled gluten-free to be healthier than the gluten-containing version. In truth, this often isn’t the case. Many gluten-free foods are made from white rice flour and starches (e.g. potato, tapioca and cornstarch). As a result, they’re low in fibre and protein. Many gluten-free breads for example – even those labelled multigrain – have no more than one gram of fibre and two grams of protein per slice, one-third the fibre and half the protein found in many slices of 100 per cent whole wheat bread. Refined gluten-free breads, cereals, pastas and baked goods also have a high glycemic index, meaning they cause blood sugar and insulin to spike, which can trigger hunger and overeating. Baked goods formulated to be gluten-free may also be higher in added sugars and/or fats to improve their texture and taste. Not great news if you’re hoping to lose weight by going gluten-free. (Despite the claims found in the bestselling book Wheat Belly, there is no evidence that gluten, per se, causes obesity.)
1:30 Emma Carr, Acting Director with Big Brother Watch
Google has reported a man to the police after spotting images of child abuse on his Gmail account. The man, a convicted sex offender, was then arrested by police in Houston, Texas, after receiving a tip off from a child protection agency who said they had been contacted by the technology giant. Detective David Nettles said: “I can’t see that information, I can’t see that photo, but Google can.” Gmail is Google’s own email service and has over 400 million users worldwide. The search engine giant updated Gmail’s terms and conditions earlier in the year to acknowledge that email accounts were scanned for content to provide “personally relevant” adverts to users. The company has also spoken of being “proactive” in its work to remove images of child abuse from its search results, working with the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in the US to report the existence of images. The company also helps fund the Internet Watch Foundation, which is dedicated to finding and removing child abuse images from the web. However the arrest has prompted questions about privacy on the web and the reach of Google.
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