Why Shouldn’t You Go Gluten Free?
Gluten free dieting is the thing. Why shouldn’t you go gluten free, too? All “health nuts” are doing it. It’s all over social media and the stars are doing it, so it must be legit, right?
Gluten free diets have helped a lot of people feel better. And a lot of people think that going gluten free is a good idea without talking to their doctor first.
Fact is, some of these people may not even be feeling better because of the gluten omission. It could be a wheat allergy or sensitivity, the salt in the bread, a completely different ingredient altogether. Or, it could be the day, hormones, or even a physiological or emotional association.
Unless you are properly diagnosed by a doctor for gluten intolerance specifically, there is absolutely no reason to go on a gluten-free diet.
Gluten doesn’t make you fat. And gluten is good for you if you’re not allergic to it. Gluten is a protein found in some grains, primarily wheat. It is not a fat. (If you’re truly allergic, gluten can cause inflammation and damage, affecting your intestines mainly, but also other parts of your body. )
Gluten is a protein you need for muscle gains in the gym!
As a server, I witnessed the gluten free diet preference all the time. We even had a special gluten free menu because so many people were “gluten free”.
For those who aren’t aware of much that goes along with this diet, they just characterize gluten free as being healthy, and do it out of a desire to do better with their weight control and overall health.
But why? Do you really know what gluten free means?
Going gluten free is simply eliminating a protein from your diet. Gluten free dieting should be considered for managing signs and symptoms of celiac disease and other medical conditions associated with gluten.
Celiac disease is when the small intestine is hypersensitive to gluten, leading to difficulty in digesting food.
While waitressing, I always asked my gluten free diners, “Is this a preference or an allergy?” (For safety reasons, of course). After working at this restaurant for over a year, out of however many people I asked over this period of time, (and this was a daily thing), I can only specifically remember less than 5 diners saying it was a legitimate allergy.
The gluten free statement comes up a lot in conversations I have when people talk with me about health, dieting and losing weight. Often I find that the term is thrown out there just because they heard it somewhere and want to sound knowledgeable on health and dieting for health.
Sadly, our health is not a common taught subject, and in order to truly be healthy, we have to really dig for the truth if we want it.
What social media determines is healthy isn’t always healthy.
I encourage you to go find out for yourself, talk to health professionals, talk to your doctor, find scientifically proven studies, on what “fad” diets promise to accomplish. Make sure it’s aligning with your specific goals, as well as your complete health, before jumping in with both feet. You need to find out the what and the why for new, emerging fad diets. Because not all diets are fit for all people.
It’s time to stop believing everything you hear and actually educate yourself on what good healthy eating really means.
There are so many “diets” circulating through social media and the internet. If you hear it more than once, unless you go research and read up about it yourself, you’ll probably just assume it’s good!
What does good healthy eating look like? Is it the Keto diet? DASH? Nordic? Ketogenic? Mediterranean Diet? Vegan? GFD (Gluten free diet)? (Didn’t yo momma teach you not to believe everything you see on TV?)
An article published in 2018 by Benjamin Niland, MD, and Brooks D. Cash, MD, said that, gluten-related diseases such as celiac disease and gluten ataxia are rare conditions, affecting less than 1% of the population in the United States.
So why would everybody go gluten free if only less than 1% of the population is actually allergic to gluten?
WHY? Because it is popular!
I’m going to continue this article next week, and I’ll warn you ahead of time, the next article about gluten free eating and why you shouldn’t do it, is going to be more “text book-like” in read-style because I’ll be including a lot of research and clips from studies done by educated people that actually know what they’re talking about!
I’ll be answering the real question on why gluten free dieting isn’t good for everybody.
Stay tuned NEXT WEDNESDAY for the rest of why you shouldn’t go gluten free… for health’s sake. (Unless, of course, you are truly diagnosed by your doctor with a gluten allergy!)
Part 2 here
If you have comments or questions on this topic, reach out! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life, so wherever you like to hang, you can reach me!