The Gluten-Free Fad.

If there's one topic I can honestly say I'm asked most about, it is the gluten-free phenomenon which has swept both the media and the grocery-aisles at increasing levels over the last few years. It is no secret that gluten intolerance has grown over the past decades (an intolerance is a digestive-system response to a food rather than an immune-response), but should everyone really go 'gluten-free' to be healthy?

I think not ... and I have to admit that as an individual who is (unfortunately) 'gluten-intolerant', it frustrates me to no end that the connotation of having to live gluten-free has become mangled with the words 'weight-loss', 'diet' and 'healthy' by the media, making those of us inflicted by this condition look like we are following the latest fad, when in fact, it is following us!

So - first things first. Why is gluten-intolerance on the rise? There seem to be 3 schools of thought on this:

1. Over the years, the harvesting practices of grains, mostly wheat, have been 'improved' and refined to increase yield, and it is believed that in this process, some of their properties have changed, morphing them from the original gluten-containing grains our digestive systems are used to.
2. Wheat, the most common gluten-containing grain, has become such a constant in the Western world that our intake far exceeds what it used to. Think about it: bread, bagels, muffins, cereals (hot and cold), cakes, pasta (including lasgana, macaroni and cheese etc), flour tortillas, crackers, salad dressing ... the list goes on and on and on ... all include wheat, and we haven't even touched on the other gluten-containing grains: rye, barley and triticale. From the moment we wake up to the moment we go to bed, we are literally bombarding our bodies with gluten, unless you are consciously avoiding it.
3. And finally, the explanation described by the Feb 2010 edition of Environmental Nutrition (yes, another reference to this periodical!) is that gluten and grains have been introduced relatively recently into the human diet, so we do not digest them effectively....

OK, ok, enough with the philosophizing ... let’s get to the point. Should you, or should you not, avoid gluten? The bones of the matter is this: if you do not feel any ill-effects from eating wheat-filled foods, I don't believe you should avoid gluten as part of a weight-loss push. If you are able to digest gluten effectively, the reason a 'gluten-free' diet may help you lose weight is nothing to do with eliminating gluten, but 100% due to the fact that you will be eliminating the majority of refined carbs from your diet, and this simple fact will most likely reduce your calorie intake. If you look at the (incomplete) list of gluten-containing foods above, you will understand that eliminating all these from your diet will most likely support some weight-loss! However, there are plenty of nutrition-benefits from whole-grains, including those that contain gluten, and eliminating these in favor of their often more-processed 'gluten-free' counterparts is not always a health-conscious choice.

However, should you suffer from negative effects of gluten, whether that be full-blown Celiac Disease or just a noticeable level of bloating, gas or abdominal pain, digestive upsets, energy challenges or unexplained weight loss or weight gain, then avoiding gluten might well be the answer. Enjoying alternative grains such as millet, amaranth, quinoa and brown rices can help fill the void, as can the plethora of gluten-free products which are now in the markets (although Shelley Case, RD, and gluten-free nutrition expert, does caution in the Environmental Nutrition article that gluten-free products can contain more sugars and fats than expected, and they are often not enriched with vitamins and minerals like the wheat products ... so don't go and buy out the entire gluten-free aisle without some sort of ingredient check!).

For people diagnosed with Celiac Disease, eating a gluten-fee diet is imperative, because even the smallest amount of gluten provokes an immune response which in turn causes damage to the small intestine and does not allow food to be absorbed properly. And because Celiac Disease is considered the most under diagnosed disease in America, I feel that this blog is incomplete without listing its symptoms (again, taken from the Feb 2010 Environmental Nutrition publication):

- Recurring bloating, gas or abdominal pain
- Chronic diarrhea, constipation or both
- Unexplained weight loss or weight gain
- Pale, foul-smelling stool
- Unexplained anemia
- Bone or Joint pain
- Behavior changes, depression, irritability
- Vitamin K deficiency
- Fatigue, weakeness or lack of energy
- Delayed growth or onset of puberty
- Failure to thrive (in infants)
- Missed menstrual periods
- Infertility (male and female)
- Spontaneous miscarriages
- Canker sores inside the mouth
- Tooth discoloration or loss of enamel

If you can related to some of these symptoms, you have a couple of options; you can either adopt a gluten-free diet for a trial period (such as 3 weeks) to see if it gives you relief, or you can talk to your doctor about a more specific test for this condition (though it's worthy to note that in many cases, your diet must include gluten to ensure accurate results).

Regardless of which side of the fence you fall, please, please don't assume that when someone says they avoid gluten, they are just enforcing the latest fad-diet on your dinner-party menu. Gluten-containing foods are delicious, and I for one, wish to hell I could enjoy them to the max!