Gluten Free Is Not a Diet - It's a Disease- PART 2

PART 2: Is Gluten Free Good for The Non-Celiac?

As the title says, when it comes to going gluten free, it's not a choice for me, it's a necessity. For me going gluten free is something I have to do to not only get myself healthy, but maintain that health for the rest of my life without risking even further health complications like colon and intestinal cancers, ulcers, diverticulitis, infertility, miscarriage, anemia, vitamin deficiencies, and many more.  And yet so many people ask me if they should also be making these changes to their diet - not because of suspected Celiac symptoms, but for overall health.  While I've always been open to other people's varying ideas about health and fitness, even when they deviate from my own, this one comes down to science, not opinion, so I feel confident in telling you unequivocally: Non-Celiacs should not pursue a gluten-free diet. Here's why:

While people will argue and profess the benefits of carb-free or fat-free items all day long, and never come to an agreement, going gluten-free is very different. Where as carbs and fat are 2 of your 3 necessary daily macro-nutrients [Protein being the third], gluten is not something we necessarily need to live. However, the substance in which it naturally occurs is something incredibly healthy and one which, for non-Celiacs, should be a staple of your diet: Wheat.

Gluten-Free foods are rarely, if ever, less calorie dense than their wheat-based counterparts. In fact, one of the unfortunate facts we Celiacs face when going gluten free, is when we can find suitable alternative GF foods, they are almost always less healthy. Where you'd find wheat or whole wheat in any standard cookie, pasta, or bread item it's replaced with either corn products, or potato starch/flour. These items may act as a suitable substitute for taste, but they are much higher glycemic than their whole grain counterparts, and completely and totally lacking in any fiber content. 

For example in my earliest weeks of going gluten free, I was able to find a pretty tasty GF corn-based pasta. But when I went home and compared it to my husband's whole wheat pasta I had been eating only month's earlier, I was disappointed to see that not only was it higher glycemic for being corn rather than wheat based, of it's 41g of carbs per 2oz serving, <1 was from fiber, where as my husbands had 42g of carbs per 2oz serving, and 6g of fiber, while being much lower glycemic. And this is what I face with each GF option I find. While I'm thankful to find them at all, GF foods are not something I can use regularly in place of what I formerly ate. Because of the lack of comparable nutritional value, I'm better off adding these in occasionally, and instead adding in more fruits and vegetables, especially to make up for the fiber that's already hard to find as a Celiac.

And then there's the fat. GF foods are much higher in saturated fats especially, as manufacturers struggle to not only recreate foods, but their texture as well. No one wants to bite into a dry, tasteless, crumbly muffin. Check out this cookie I found at a local supermarket last week. As fast as I yelled "Cliff - check it out! Gluten free cookies!" I took one look at the label, and back to the shelf it went:

THREE HUNDRED TWENTY CALORIES!? 150 of which are from fat!? People I cannot begin to describe to you how ridiculous that is - especially when this cookie wasn't even as big as a 4oz hamburger patty. NOT WORTH IT! But when and if I ever want to have a cookie again - these are the kinds of concessions I'll have to make.

If I have 133 people reading this blog, chances are one or two of you have Celiac, can relate to the symptoms and experiences I've had, and really should start going gluten free. For the rest of you I can tell you in all honesty as someone who IS benefiting from a GF diet, that aside from Celiac or wheat allergies of some kind, there is no need for you to pursue this type of overwhelming change in your diet.  As you can see from the lengthy list I posted in Part 1 of this series, it's not at all as simple as eliminating bread and cereal - there are wheat byproducts in 90% of our food supply (raw fruits, veggies, and dairy excluded). The work it takes to make certain of this is quite exhausting, and if my health didn't depend on it I wouldn't be doing it at all. If limiting your intake of gluten means you are willing to permanently cut out the starchy, refined carbohydrates, and processed foods so many people are dependent on - yes there's some benefit to that side of it.  But is gluten free a diet fad? Absolutely not. It's form of medication and treatment, for a disease that.. well has no other medication or treatment. It's the way I must live to stay alive, and to stay healthy.

I'd like to take the opportunity of having your attention to ask you to take another 30 seconds to help Celiacs like myself around the country.  At this time there is no law mandating brands take the time to mark their products as Gluten Free unless they choose to do so. And most do not. This makes the life of a Celiac even tougher, and we must make the choice to stick to the 1% of items that are appropriately marked, or risk redosing ourselves.  At this time there is an effort being put forth through the FDA that all Gluten Free products be labeled consistently, so that the 7+% of the population that has Celiac can have more confidence in the products we buy, as well as more variety, however small.  Please click the following link, scroll down to where it says 'Sign the Petition'. Simply enter your name and email (you will NOT be spammed) to sign and help them know that people out there like me NEED this. Thank you so much.

Please go to:  http://www.1in133.org/you/