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What’s the Power of Coconut Flour?
You may have wondered why coconut flour is one of the base ingredients in our Macro Mixes porridges and premixes.
Well, if you weren’t wondering about this before, we bet you are now!
It’s certainly no coincidence that coconut flour features on many of our ingredient’s lists. It was chosen for a number of reasons, and we cannot wait to share some of these with you!
Waste-reduction:
Coconut flour is a by-product of coconut milk production 1 and is a way to use the coconut ‘flesh’ that is left behind once the milk has been removed.
After the milk has been drained from the whole coconut, there remains a white, firm ‘meat’ lining the inside of the coconut shell. This can be scraped out and turned into a number of delicious coco-nutty products, including coconut flour. When used for flour, it is grated and baked, and then ground to a fine texture 1,2.
It doesn’t take-over:
Coconut flour’s texture is quite similar to grain-based flours. It also doesn’t have a very strong flavour or taste 1. This means it pairs well with other ingredients and doesn’t dominate the flavour profile of any of our carefully crafted treats.
It’s gluten-free:
Gluten is a type of protein which occurs naturally in a number of grains, such as:
- barley
- rye
- and wheat 1,3
For those with wheat allergies, celiac disease and non-celiac wheat sensitivity; gluten can trigger a range of horrible symptoms and ill-health 1,2,4. Coconut flour does not contain any gluten, and therefore allows for our porridges and pre-mixes to be enjoyed by those who need to keep their diet gluten-free 1,2.
It’s low carb:
Our mission is to create macro-friendly goodies that are easily accessible to those following a range of different diets. Coconut flour’s low carbohydrate content helps us to keep our treats nutritionally balanced. It also makes our products a tasty option for those living a low-carb lifestyle, or those on the hunt for a low-carb snack 5,6.
It’s good for our guts!
A happy gut is a marvellous thing, and we love making your guts smile! Coconut flour is a great source of fibre, which ranks highly on a gut’s ‘list of favourite things’. The majority of this fibre is insoluble, which helps to prevent constipation by bulking up stools and smoothing your food’s journey through your gastrointestinal tract 1.
Coconut flour also feeds your gut microbiome with some soluble and fermentable fibres. These nourish the good bacteria living in your tum, which then not only support your digestion, but also produce fatty acids that boost gut-cell health 1,2!
This fabulous fibre not only helps to maintain a merry microbiome, but can also reportedly slow the rate at which sugars pass into our bloodstream. This, along with its relatively low carb content, helps to prevent coconut flour from spiking our blood sugar levels 1,2.
Overall, coconut flour is a versatile and nutritious ingredient that is compatible with a range of different dietary choices and lifestyles. We love helping you understand the careful decision making that has gone into designing our beloved MM range and we hope you’re now feeling full of coconut-flour-related-facts!
We don’t know about you, but all this chat has us looking for our next snack….
You can follow the scent of freshly baked goods to find us in the kitchen whipping up a batch of one our favourite Macro Mixes treats.
Written by: Claire Willows
References
1. Petre, A. (2019, May 8). Coconut Flour: Nutrition, benefits and more Retrieved from: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/coconut-flour#what-it-is
2. Levy, J. (2019, February 5). Coconut flour nutrition, benefits and how to use it! Retrieved from: https://draxe.com/nutrition/coconut-flour-nutrition/
3. Bradford, A. (2017, November 18). What is gluten? Retrieved from: https://www.livescience.com/53265-what-is-gluten.html
4. Uhde M, Ajamian M, Caio G, et al. (2016). Intestinal cell damage and systemic immune activation in individuals reporting sensitivity to wheat in the absence of coeliac disease. Gut 65:1930-1937. Retrieved from: https://gut.bmj.com/content/65/12/1930.full
5. Lodge, S. (2019, October 3). Coconut flour nutrition: How many carbs are in coconut flour? Retrieved from: https://perfectketo.com/is-coconut-flour-keto-friendly/
6. Ditch the Carbs. (Date unknown). The ultimate guide to low-carb flours. Retrieved from: https://www.ditchthecarbs.com/low-carb-flours/
