Why aren't gluten-free breads and pastas fortified?

[trents]

We all know that one concern we have when eating gluten-free is missing the vitamins that are added to the wheat flour used in mainstream bread and pasta products. These four used in these mainstream products has been "fortified" for many years with some key B vitamins. Why isn't this being done in the gluten-free food product manufacturing world? Surely, it can't be that expensive.

[cyclinglady]

I do not think it is the expense.  Many consumers do not want fortified products.  Even the manufacturers are actually cutting back because people are no longer deficient as they once were in the US.    Most of the fortification in the US was ramped up because of the war.  Young enlisted men were not healthy.  Poor and uneducated Southerners lived on corn and developed pellegra (something not seen in Native Americans because they knew how to get the most of this grain).    You can read the history here:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK208880/

[trents]

CL, I read the article you linked but let me challenge you on one statement you made: "Most of the fortification in the US was ramped up because of the war.  Young enlisted men were not healthy.  Poor and uneducated Southerners lived on corn . . . "

The article you linked does indicate malnutrition was an issue with many young enlistees. Here is the relevant paragraph I believe:

"Concurrent with these activities, the nutritional status of Americans was being questioned as a result of the poor nutritional status of young men enlisting for service during World War II. These concerns led to the National Nutrition Conference for Defense in May 1941, convened by President Roosevelt. An outcome of this conference was the recommendation for flour and bread enrichment using the existing standards developed by FDA (Quick and Murphy, 1982)."

I cannot find any statement in the article connecting this problem to "poor and uneducated Southerners" living on corn. The only regional references to nutritional deficiency diseases seems to be in regard to some Canadian provinces.

I grew up in the American South and lived at different times in Virginia, Maryland, Georgia and Alabama. Although I was primarily a city kid I had spent some summer vacations working in the farm fields alongside whites and blacks in the 50's, 60's and early 70's since several relatives were farmers. What I remember was that in the rural areas the people typically did not have much money but they had plenty of good food to eat because they grew it themselves. Nearly everyone had a garden and there was fresh produce for a large part of the year. If you know anything about southern cuisine there are a lot of greens and other fresh vegetables as a regular part of the diet. People in the rural areas had fresh eggs, chicken meat and pork available at all times. In fact, except for the high fat and high sodium content, I would venture to say that rural Southerners probably had better nutrition than most other Americans. Having said that, there would have been some exceptions in the remoter Appalachian areas of the South where there isn't an abundance of arable land.

Actually, your statement may be more true of the inner city neighborhoods of the industrial Northeast and Midwest, where a lot of Southerners migrated, looking for better paying vocations.

[cyclinglady]

Ah, sorry for the mis-communication and it was taken from other sources that I did not link.  When I meant uneducated, I was comparing Southerners  who did not process corn the way Native Americans did, thus causing Pellegra. Uneducated might not best be the best word, maybe culturally ignorant is a better choice.   Actually, Poster Boy and Knitty Kitty have provided a lot of information on the subject, but here is one of many articles on the subject:

https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/the-american-souths-deadly-diet

https://www.southernfoodways.org/malnourished-cultural-ignorance-paved-the-way-for-pellagra/

 

I think a Pellegra is pretty rare these days.  It is found in those who are alcoholics and it is possible (rare)  to have it if you are an undiagnosed celiac disease with severe damage, but it can resolve with healing.  I just recently saw this movie, “The Southerner”, in which Pellegra occurred along with many other struggles.  The director was nominated for an Academy Award.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Southerner_(film)

Please  do not think I was insulting Southerners.  I come from a stock of hillbillies (Scottish descent) along with some Irish, English and Polish. Those very people who immigrated to the North for better work after the depression.    I am sure I have other ties to many other groups of people.  My family lives in Georgia where I should be visiting if this pandemic was not going on.  Phone calls with my parents or Zoom meetings is not the same as sitting on a screened-in porch with a glass of iced tea and while rocking and talking.  

Edited July 27, 2020 by cyclinglady

[trents]

No, I wasn't insulted at all. I know you better than that by now and realize you would not poke at any social/ethnic class. Your comment just struck me as Hollywood-generated stereotypical. There are other good sources of niacin besides grains that most Southerners, even back then should have had access to and would likely have been a part of their diet such as chicken breasts, pork, peanuts and green peas and sweet potatoes. Some folks (not referring to you) have this image in their minds of rural southerners all being like ma and pa Kettle sitting on the porch all day long tipping up the jug of liquid corn. And there were some of those no doubt.

 

[Posterboy]

Trets Et Al,

Cyclinglady has given you good advise.....as she usually does.

I will try and be brief (as least for me).....I have other things I am working on these days...

I have summarized a lot of what I might say in this Posterboy blog post....so I wouldn't have to type everything out every time...

Pellagra shows up in other disease's today not as an independent diagnosis....

See these two articles that show's how it is being diagnosed as Lupus today...

https://www.academia.edu/24915500/Pellagra_in_a_patient_with_primary_Sjogrens_syndrome

https://www.dermatologyadvisor.com/home/decision-support-in-medicine/dermatology/pellagra/

It is commonly found by Dermatologist today because Pellagra means "Rough Skin" in Italian...

Here is a couple nice article's about Pellagra...

http://blogs.creighton.edu/heaney/2013/11/18/pellagra-and-the-four-ds/

https://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/March-2014/How-Wonder-Bread-Became-the-Healthand-then-the-Ill-Healthof-the-State/

The diet for much of the Poor South was Fatback (Meat) Cornmeal and Molasses or the 3 Ms diet leading to Pellagra.

By the 50s through education and more prosperous conditions after the war....the Poor Southern could branch out an afford a more diverse food supply .....that and by then they had enriched white bread that helped put the Pellagra epidemic in remission.

Sometime when I have more time....maybe in August I might write another blog post about it.

It was actually studied in prisons and to a similar degree in insane aslyums.....Prisoners could win there release by taking part in the studies.....and a "Pellagrin" was diagnosed when the "Skin Lesions" of Pellagra appeared...

Here is nice NIH article on it with pictures...

https://history.nih.gov/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=8883184

If you want to read up on it  you can google for "Goldbergers' War"...he was actually being considered for a Noble prize for this discovery....but he died before it could be awarded.....which disqualified him! How Ironic?

I am just trying to be brief tonight due to time constraints...

I hope this is helpful but it is not medical advise.

Posterboy,

[NoGlutenNoNutrients]

On 7/27/2020 at 2:08 AM, trents said:

We all know that one concern we have when eating gluten-free is missing the vitamins that are added to the wheat flour used in mainstream bread and pasta products. These four used in these mainstream products has been "fortified" for many years with some key B vitamins. Why isn't this being done in the gluten-free food product manufacturing world? Surely, it can't be that expensive.

I wondered the samething as well. I even called manufacturers about this and they had no answers for me. I did some digging and saw that legally gluten free grains aren't listed as required to be fortified with certain nutrients like other grains. Which is why I started to develop oddball deficiencies in B-vitamins cause the grains didn't contain them and I was feeling awful. I had to start taking a multivitamin to make up the difference. If I don't take my multi I feel awful. I think the celiac community should petition the government to update it's legislation on fortifying grains due to the fact that the laws were made back before celiac was a known thing and as prevalent as it is today. It should cover all grains because more people then ever rely on gluten free grains and our options are limited as it is while being further limited by trying to find fortified options. Not everyone wants to be dependent on a multi and would like to be able to eat without worries of deficiencies. I don't know why some people say pwople don't want fortification cause I definitely do. Thoughts on a petition?

[trents]

Personally, I don't mind taking a multi vit and other supplements to ensure that I get what my body needs. The amount of fortification of mainstream serial grains as required by the FDA doesn't amount to much anyway and was designed to prevent obvious nutritional deficiency diseases rather than provide optimum levels of nutrients.

[shadycharacter]

On 7/27/2020 at 8:08 AM, trents said:

We all know that one concern we have when eating gluten-free is missing the vitamins that are added to the wheat flour used in mainstream bread and pasta products. These four used in these mainstream products has been "fortified" for many years with some key B vitamins. Why isn't this being done in the gluten-free food product manufacturing world? Surely, it can't be that expensive.

In Sweden it's the other way round. Fortification of wheat stopped years ago, but one common brand of gluten free products, Semper, fortify their products with B1, B3, B6, folate and iron. 

[Nikhil12]

You bring up an excellent point regarding the lack of fortification in gluten-free food products. The reason why gluten-free products are not fortified with B vitamins is due to the varying nature of gluten-free ingredients. Unlike wheat flour, which is consistent in terms of nutrient content, gluten-free flours and ingredients can differ widely in their nutrient profile. As a result, fortifying gluten-free products with the correct amount of B vitamins can be challenging.

The fortification process requires manufacturers to add specific amounts of nutrients to their products, which can increase production costs. This cost increase may then be passed on to the consumers, which can make gluten-free products more expensive.

However, some gluten-free food manufacturers have started to fortify their products with B vitamins to meet the nutritional needs of people on a gluten-free diet. You can look for gluten-free products that are fortified with vitamins and minerals, such as B vitamins, iron, and calcium. Checking the food labels and ingredient lists can help you find such products.

If you're concerned about getting enough B vitamins on a gluten-free diet, you can also try to incorporate other gluten-free sources of B vitamins into your diet, such as fortified breakfast cereals, rice, quinoa, potatoes, and leafy green vegetables.