Gluconate, Gluten, and Sugar in Candida Diet – Thick and Heavy Kamut to Have

A friend is wondering today what the suffix gluconate means. She has been experiencing horrific leg cramps on account of her candida diet and has been told to get supplement with potassium. The supplements she has been taking are called potassium gluconate and say that they have 90 mg of potassium. But, she doesn’t understand what the gluconate is. She is worried that it is a sugar. She also gets confused about kamut, whether it is gluten free or not.

I agree that you need to be careful in reading ingredients. I take Potassium with each tablet containing (as per label) Elemental Potassium (Citrate) 99mg. I went a searching and I found a product that is probably similar to yours. When I look at the bottom of the page under ingredients, the first ingredient is Dextrose! I am no expert, but I wouldn’t take it myself. It is different with gluconate, though. If you remember high school chemistry, “-ate” is generally a suffix indicating a salt, just as “-ose” generally indicates a sugar. It is not sugar.

Regarding kamut, I have read both that kamut is gluten-free and that it contains gluten. Personally, I am sensitive to carbs and I feel worse after eating kamut bread. But, if you want to try it, make sure to buy a loaf that is very thick and heavy. I was once told by a health food store employee to beware kamut bread loaves that are high and fluffy and resemble whole wheat loaves: they likely have a yeast or riser in them that won’t sit well with you. You could try a recipe using soy flour or brown rice flour or oat bran to make something bread-like at home.