Anyone Else Suspect That the Gluten Free Thing Is Bunk?

Because I do. Even though I’ve lost 15 pounds and been mostly pain free on a diet that doesn’t include gluten, I still don’t think it’s the main reason I’m doing so well. And frankly, I wouldn’t have even tried a “gluten-free” diet because bread and butter, are like, well, my bread and butter! The only reason I stick with it is that I’m losing weight, I still haven’t reached my target weight, and the diet I’m on made it EASY. And that, my dear friends is The Pixies’ magic word for success, gluten free or otherwise.

But my suspicions are not without merit. As our nutritionist Barbara Lincoln writes this week, “Bread is not the devil!” And frankly, when I get down to my target weight I’ll be seeing just how “allergic” I really am towards the stuff. I have some other suspicions that it’s the impractical personality types like mine that tend to get on the diet trend wagon. That would be Organics (NFs) and Smarts (NTs), those big picture types who don’t think too much about the impracticality of trying on a diet that doesn’t include bread or butter for that matter. It makes eating out rather difficult and would probably quickly annoy those practical Classics (SJs) who tend to do best with Weight Watcher type diets. And I suspect Funs (SPs) would be annoyed by the no gluten thing, unless they truly did have celiac disease; then they would be impressed by the science of it and why bread has gotten such a bad rap as of late.

Barbara Lincoln, Classic Freedom (ESFJ):

“Bread is not the devil…”

Along with the paleo diet (to be discussed in the near future), clients often ask me about gluten. At dinner parties it has become very fashionable to discuss food intolerance. Most commonly, these are intolerances to gluten and dairy, however true food allergies are very serious.

A little bit of science: gluten is a protein processed from wheat and grains, including barley and rye. Gluten gives dough elasticity and it helps it rise and keep its shape. 

Some people suffer from celiac disease, which is a true gluten allergy. Symptoms include bloating abdominal discomfort and pain, diarrhea and muscular pain or imbalance. With celiac disease, individuals can actually lose a lot of weight when consuming products that contains gluten as their bodies can’t process this protein and it results in leeching the body of important minerals. There is a test that can determine whether one suffers from celiac disease. Most often, however, people suffer from a gluten intolerance or sensitivity (similar symptoms but less severe). And of course everyone would feel better consuming less pasta, muffins, white bread and cake. You can however become deficient in Vitamin B and Folic Acid if you cut out bread products completely; especially if you are pregnant or nursing.

If you want to have your bread and eat it too, look for the type that you can’t mold into a ball (it should have at least 5 grams of fiber per slice).  You could also consider trying quinoa!