Are gluten free products healthy?
The Gluten Free Craze
Here is a craze if there ever was one. I got nothing against going Gluten Free, it’s not like gluten is an “Essential Nutrient”, but the reason behind the craze may have been misguided information.
I have been studying Nutrition for most of my life, and I think I can say as a fact, that the jury on the ultimate diet is NOT out yet, and it probably never will be.
In everything we eat, there will be always a personal individual factor, which always has to be considered. If a “Craze” comes along, presented excitingly on general and social media, facts become very blurry.
The 1. thing to remember is the good old saying;
“one man’s meat is another man’s poison” .. which for this article I like to translate as:
“One ‘person’s’ bread is another one’s poison”.
The 2. thing is to consider the fact that “going gluten free” in “isolation” without any other diet or lifestyle changes is a waste of time.
Just going off wheat is not producing any magic, unless you have a Gluten problem.
Before “going off” an isolated nutrient or food source, there are many other recommendation to follow up first.
By example, it is a well known fact that there is an over consumption of “wheat products”. – Why is that?
Wheat is the main source of Gluten, and Gluten is the “stuff” that makes everything nice and fluffy, perfect for baking, and that seems to be what people like. And because we like it so much, we stuff our faces with it; – hand me another doughnut, follow that with pizza, and a croissant, chuck in a handful of bikkies, the list goes on. Everything is wheat/gluten, all snacks and meals somehow contain wheat or gluten. It’s all too much, and by the way, did you noticed that all portion sizes are getting bigger and bigger?
It is just too much my friends!
This over consumption has to stop first, if you like to change to a more healthy lifestyle, change the basic parts of your diet and lifestyle first.
Cut out refined and processed food as much as possible, that alone will have a bigger impact than just going off gluten.
I have checked some of the Gluten Free Products in the super markets, and I can tell you right here, processed food is processed food, with or without gluten, makes no difference.
Whenever gluten is taken out, see what is left and what has been added to that product.
Don’t get me wrong, there are fantastic healthy Gluten free products around, but what I am saying; just because it’s Gluten free, doesn’t make it healthy.
Try to get away from the artificial perception that Gluten free makes something automatically healthy!
Note: If there is a need for using gluten-free, then it is vital to avoid products with gluten.
If not Gluten sensitive, go on a good fresh food diet and cut down on grains, pasta, bread, bikkies etc.
Self prescribing a Gluten Free Diet, just because it is the latest Craze is definitely not a good idea. There is also the problem that self prescribing means that you may change when the next so called diet guru proclaims another optimal cure for everything.
And finally, I will let you in on a not well understood diet secret …
Attention – Diet Secret
Anyone, who eats what a lot people seem to consume, lots of junk and processed food and drinks, lots of sugar and salt and sweets and everything on the super market shelf’s, and if those people who eat that are also overweight and having lifestyle disease problems, they all will improve if they do the following:
For 10 weeks, go on any healthy diet you fancy, and guess what, you will improve.
A 10 week challenge is just clever marketing, because for most people it will work with any type of healthy diet.
Why does it work?
It’s not so much of what you eat on that diet, it is much, much more of “what you don’t eat” that does the trick!
… and yes, if you go on a Gluten Free Diet for 10 weeks you are likely to improve, BUT NOT because it is Gluten free, …… BUT because you would cut down drastically on carbohydrate, sugar, salt, Grain-Gluten type foods like pasta, cake, bread etc.. –
That was the diet secret no one is telling you about 🙂
Crunch Craze Column … Dieter L.
Feel free to reply with your comment …..
