Is Low Gluten or Gluten Free For Me?

Posted on 19. Sep, 2011 by in Uncategorized

According to the latest t research from the Mayo Clinic, Celiac Disease affects approximately 1 in 100 people. The diagnosis of Celiac Disease is 4 times greater today than in the 1950’s (mayo clinic). Please visit or page on Celiac Disease. Click Here

If you are not gluten intolerant you may find yourself asking the question “Is there a health benefit for me to reduce my gluten intake or go Gluten-Free? Yes!

Limiting the amount of gluten in your diet can have beneficial results! Here are some positive outcomes you may experience as a result:

Make SMARTER food choices:

The most common foods containing gluten are pasta, crackers, bagels, bread, cake, pizza and cookies. These foods often have very little nutritional value and mostly made of starch and sugar. If you avoid these and choose foods such as vegetables, fruits, and lean protein, you are avoiding gluten and getting a higher amount of the daily nutrients your body requires.

Better Digestion:

Our body does not have ability to fully digest gluten. Limiting the amount of gluten or going gluten will increase your body’s ability to absorb more of the vitamins and nutrients and may lead you to better digestion of your food.

Feel Better : 

Celiac Disease

Posted on 20. Nov, 2009 by in Uncategorized

WHAT IS CELIAC DISEASE?

Celiac disease is considered an autoimmune intestinal disorder. It is a condition caused by eating an ingredient known as gluten. Gluten is found in wheat, barley, rye, and oats. When someone with celiac disease eats gluten, the immune system responds by attacking the villi (fine protrusions in the small intestine). The purpose of the villi is to capture food particles thereby slowing the passage of food. This allows the blood inside the villi to absorb the nutrients from the food and send those nutrients into the bloodstream. By attacking the villi, gluten hinders the body’s ability to absorb nutrients into the bloodstream. This can lead to malnourishment, a serious consequence of celiac disease.

Celiac disease may also be referred to as gluten intolerance or wheat sensitivity.

SYMPTOMS

Symptoms for celiac disease can include: weight loss, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, gas and bloating, general weakness or fatigue, stunted growth (in children), and osteoporosis.

HOW IS IT DIAGNOSED

Celiac disease appears to be hereditary. People with the disease carryhigher than normal levels of certain antibodies. A blood test that detects high levels of these antibodies is used to identify people who may need further testing. Confirmation of the diagnosis is done through a biopsy of a small portion of intestinal tissue to check for damage to the villi.

TREATMENT

Currently, the only treatment for celiac disease is a life-long gluten-free diet. A gluten-free diet means avoiding all foods that contain wheat, barley, rye and oats. We test all product for gluten free before shipping.

RESOURCES FOR CELIACS

Get Involved

Posted on 20. Nov, 2009 by in Stories

In recent years the consumption of snack items and “quickie” meals has increased, due largely to demands of work, home and family, all of which have led to less time to plan and serve nutritious meals. Increased time spent on “couch potato” activities, watching TV and movies has also increased consumption of snack items. Many items consumed as replacements for quick meals have been of low nutritional quality, and have even been proven to be harmful if taken to excess.

On the other extreme are nutritious, all-natural snacks, which have a reputation for being tasteless and uninteresting.

Kay’s Naturals products are intended to help break this chain of “junk food” snack consumption by offering nutritious snacks that are also fun to eat!

At Kay’s Naturals, our chief objective is to produce a quality line of nutrition-packed snacks, chips and cereals with a unique set of properties: delicious, all-natural, gluten-free, high-protein, high-fiber and lower fat.

Kay’s Naturals has spent years researching, developing, and test marketing products. Through this experience, we have found what the buying public already knows: consumers are ready for this new healthy concept in snack food and cereal products. We have developed products that allow consumers to indulge their cravings, while at the same time satisfying nutritional requirements for a healthy lifestyle.

Our products are attractive to anyone looking for a more nutritious gluten free snack food, but one of the unique aspects of our products is their appeal to many health conscious groups: fitness enthusiasts, vegetarians, heart patients, etc.

Our products have shown cross-generational appeal. The flavor and texture make the chips popular with children, teenagers, and adults alike. Further, the nutritional balance makes them an excellent, safe snack choice for each age group. In addition, these products provide a complete amino acid profile. We invite you try our snacks. We think you will find them uniquely satisfying!

Things You Should Know

Posted on 20. Nov, 2009 by in History

Why Kay’s Naturals?

At Kay’s Naturals we have surveyed the vast landscape of so-called nutritious foods and determined that the missing link is a Better Balance™of protein, carbohydrates, fiber and fats. Kay’s all-natural, gluten-free line seeks to fill this gap with food that has a healthy balance of great taste, low calories, lean soy protein, zero cholesterol, lower carbohydrates and fiber. Our foods also provide a complete amino acid profile.

A recent study from Harvard Medical School found that most gluten free products currently available in the market place are high in starch and that many gluten-free formulations lack essential nutrients.

How is Kay’s Naturals different?
Kay’s Naturals has chosen to focus on a healthier balance of ingredients:

  • 100% gluten-free

  • 30-35% natural soy protein

  • 10-18% healthy fats

  • 10-12% fiber

  • 20-40% carbohydrates

Every 1-ounce (28g) serving has:

  • 8-10gnatural soy protein

  • 100 -110 calories

  • 9g -13g carbohydrates

  • 1g – 3g fiber

  • Low saturated fats/no trans fats

Cost of Protein vs. Cost of Sugar and Starch
Most snacks and cereals are made of 80-90% starch and sugar. This is because starch
and sugar are cheap. Protein, on the other hand, costs 15-20 times more than starch or
sugar. Thus, most snack and cereal companies avoid using protein in their foods, and
even when they use protein, it is only a small percentage (8-10%) of the final product.

In addition, all Kay’s Naturals foods are always free of artificial sweeteners, flavors,
colors and preservatives.

ARE YOUR PRODUCTS RUN ON A GLUTEN FREE LINE?

We are often asked why we claim to be gluten free then make a disclosure on some of our packaging that wheat and gluten are run on the same lines. In 2009, we converted our entire prodution facility into wheat free & gluten free lines. Previously, the production facility made one product for another customer containing wheat that ran twice a year on the pretzel line, which is why we make the disclosure on the package.

We test our products at an outside lab with each run. This enables us to also check for any cross-contamination that may have happened before the raw ingredients reached our facility. We have had this testing program in place for a number of years and the products have tested gluten-free each time.

Once the facility was entirely wheat and gluten free, we became Gluten Free Certified by the Certified Gluten Free Organization (CGFO). GFCO is under the umbrella of the Gluten Intolerance Group®, also known as GIG®. Our products are also kosher certified under Orthodox Union (Circle U). As we order new packaging, the CGFO seal will appear on the package and “wheat” will be removed from the list of allergens. The wheat warning will still continue to appear on packaging already in stock until the old packaiging has been used.

Our Story

Posted on 20. Nov, 2009 by in History

The origins of Kay’s Naturals come from love.

Kay’s Naturals products were developed by Dr. Massoud Kazemzadeh (known as “Dr. Kay”) for his first wife Linda, a juvenile diabetic.

After receiving his Ph.D. in food science from Texas A & M University in the 1980s, Dr. Kay and Linda moved their young family to Minneapolis where Dr. Kay worked with several Fortune 500 companies in developing new snacks and cereals for the consumer market.

He was often concerned about the nutritional quality of the products he helped develop as they were nutrient poor – high in carbohydrates, but low in fiber and protein. After years of seeing his wife suffer with her illness he knew the marketplace offered few options for people with diabetes. A diabetic friendly diet is a reduced carbohydrate diet. All products in the snack and cereal markets – loved by consumers for their convenience – were mostly, if not all carbohydrate.

Sharing his thoughts with Linda, they developed the idea of starting a company that would make the snacks and cereals that consumers love in a healthier format: more protein and fiber. They registered the name “Kay’s Naturals” with the state of Minnesota and wrote a business plan. Dr. Kay began testing product prototypes. Sadly, just at this time, Linda’s diabetes took a turn for the worse and she passed away from complications related to diabetes in 1997.

After Linda’s passing, Kay’s Naturals would lay dormant for the next few years, but Dr. Kay and Linda’s dream was always present for him. He understood the food choice disadvantages facing people with diabetes and was committed to pursuing the plan he and Linda had worked so hard to develop. Eventually, Dr. Kay would marry Ann Jones, an attorney from Texas.

Understanding the importance of Linda and Dr. Kay’s dream, Ann would eventually take over the company and pursue marketing products for Kay’s Naturals. Dr. Kay would continue to develop light crunchy snacks and cereals that mimic popular consumer products with a healthier nutritional profile of approximately 33% soy protein, 10% fiber and 57% net carbohydrates. Today Kay’s Naturals sells a dozen products – 3 cereals, 5 snacks, 3 pretzels, 3 puffs and 2 cookies. With a food scientist at the helm, Kay’s Naturals is always developing new products.

Once the original product – Protein Chips – launched, Dr. Kay and Ann found that people with diabetes were not the only ones looking for products higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates. Athletes, body builders, individuals who have had weight loss (bariatric) surgery were among the groups that quickly responded to the company’s products. With the epidemic of obesity on the rise, Kay’s Naturals is committed to offering healthier, nutrient rich snack & cereal options to consumers. Eventually Dr. Kay found a wheat-gluten free formula worked very well for the products and all of our products have been gluten-free the line and wheat-free since January 2009.

Premier Products

Posted on 20. Nov, 2009 by in Our Products

Our Premier Product is the Protein Chip. Protein Chips are:

  • Delicious First Place Winner Natural Products Expo East, Taste of Expo
  • 110 calories per 1-ounce serving
  • 10g lean soy protein per 1-ounce serving & 33% PROTEIN!
  • 14g carbohydrates per 1-ounce serving
  • 3g fiber per 1-ounce serving
  • Low saturated fats / No trans fats / Zero cholesterol / No sugar substitutes
  • GLUTEN FREE
  • All natural ingredients

Our future products such will share the standard for high quality set by our Protein Chips.

*Regular potato chips have 10 grams of fat per serving. Protein Chips have 2.5 to 4.5 grams per serving

Who is Kay’s Gluten Free?

Posted on 29. Oct, 2009 by in Uncategorized

Welcome to Kay’s Naturals! We are dedicated to bringing to you, our customer, better alternatives to traditional gluten free snacks and cereals. Made with a better balance of soy protein, fiber, carbohydrates, and good fats, our products are nutrient rich and delicious. These uniquely satisfying snacks can help to sustain energy, help manage weight loss, help stabilize blood sugar, and help curb the appetite, whether at home, at work, or at play.