There’s no doubt that you’ve heard the words “gluten free” floating around lately. Whether it was from your friend who is always trying the latest diet, your cousin newly diagnosed with celiac, or on that package of yummy-looking muffins at the grocery store that always seems to cost a little extra, it seems like it’s everywhere. There’s even a Gluten-Free Registered Nurse located right beneath the very office where I’m writing!
But what is a gluten free diet? Is it healthy? What the heck even is gluten? We’ll break down the basics and give you all the info you are in a position to decide when following this diet is the healthy choice and when it’s better to keep gluten in your diet.
What is gluten?
Gluten is kind of a general term for the proteins found in some grains. It is what gives dough its elasticity and is kind of the glue (get it, like glue-ten) that holds everything together. The principal grains that contain gluten are wheat, barley and rye. Though oats themselves don’t have gluten, it’s recommended to be careful around them too, because these are often grown, packaged and can make contact with other gluten-containing grains.
The Diet
So now, that we know what gluten is, the diet is simple, right? Just do not come near wheat, rye and barley. There’s more to it than you may think, though.
There are many foods with “hidden” gluten, meaning foods that you probably wouldn’t consider have wheat barley or rye in them. Here are some examples of gluten free dos and don’ts.
NO (CONTAINS GLUTEn)
Pastas
Breads
Oatmeal
Anything Whole Wheat
Greek Yogurt (with fruit added)
Most Condiments and Sauces
French Fries
Soy Sauce
Flour Tortillas
YES (gluten free)
Rice
Quinoa
Meat (unless breaded or prepared with most BBQ sauces)
Buttered Popcorn
Plain Potatoes
Beans
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Eggs
There are few motives people have while deciding to follow a gluten-free diet. A big one is celiac disease! We will discuss this in the next section, but the only “cure” for celiac disease is to eat gluten free. There are likewise some people who have an intolerance to gluten or wheat specifically. Others choose to eat gluten free in hopes of losing weight or living a healthy lifestyle in general.
Celiac Disease
Celiac is a genetic autoimmune disease that affects about 1% of the population in the United States. When gluten is consumed, the small intestine is affected, preventing nutrient absorption. This could lead to undernourishment because your body can’t use the nutrients it doesn’t absorb. If untreated, celiac disease could lead to other autoimmune diseases, thyroid disorder and a whole array of serious health problems.
The only cure for celiac disease is tantamount to follow a gluten-free diet. As noted above, this will eliminate anything that has wheat, barley, rye and this includes a ton of processed foods that you wouldn’t think of like ones mentioned above.
Gluten or wheat Intolerant
Being gluten intolerant is a little different than having celiac disease. For another 1% of the US population, they will test negative for celiac, but still experience some of the same symptoms. Often times it will be a wheat sensitivity instead of an all-over intolerance to gluten. In the past, it was believed that there wouldn’t be intestinal damage unless the patient absolutely had celiac disease. However, depending on a study done by Columbia University Medical Center, non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) and non-celiac wheat sensitivity (NCWS) are in fact valid conditions.
Though not as intense, wheat sensitivity or gluten intolerance can be treated the same way as celiac disease by eating a gluten free diet. Since they test negative for celiac disease, many come to a conclusion of having a gluten or wheat sensitivity simply by cutting out gluten and symptoms starting to subside.
The Other 98%
People with celiac disease and those who are gluten intolerant should definitely stay away from gluten (if that wasn’t clear above). As for the rest of us, though, gluten is not inherently unhealthy. It is in many sturdy and healthy grains that we would actually benefit from eating. Grains that contain gluten also have various nutrients in them like iron, fiber and B vitamins.
If you have read my other nutrition articles, you will say that i am a huge believer in lots of whole grains. They give you sustained energy, nutrients and they do a good job at keeping you full. By unnecessarily cutting out gluten, you would be missing out on some super nutritious whole grains and all the nutrients it includes.
It’s not me, it’s you
I think gluten is labeled “bad” not because gluten itself is injurious for you, but because some detrimental foods contain gluten.The problem may not be the gluten itself – it may be the foods that we happen to add gluten to. It’s true, there are plenty of foods that contain gluten that are not healthy for us, but that being said you can definitely eat a weak gluten free diet of Snickers and strawberry Pop-tarts!
Many people without celiac disease or a wheat/gluten intolerance realize that there are numerous gluten-containing foods out there that we are better off without. They decide to cut gluten entirely from their diet to avoid these foods and reach their goals. I believe we can avoid these foods while still getting nutrients from the salubrious sources of gluten.
So, what think i do?
If you are trying to find a diet plan that works or you and are considering a gluten free diet, my advice would go down straight to the source and cut out the problematic junk food instead. This way you’ll be cutting out the extra sugar and salt while being able to get nutrients like fiber from gluten-containing whole grains.
Of course, if you have celiac disease or have a wheat or gluten intolerance, staying away from gluten would be good for you! You may just have to start getting creative and find new recipes that work for you, but you can definitely get the nutrients you need if you are careful and do your research.