The Gluten-Free Trend

Gluten is a protein composite found in wheat, barley, rye, and related species of plants. It has gained popular notice over the last few years as the culprit in celiac disease. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes the body to attack the small intestine in response to gluten consumption, creating an inflammatory reaction in the tissue. As a result, the intestinal villi that line the surface of the small intestine shorten. The villi normally act to increase the surface area of the small intestine, helping it absorb nutrients from food. When the villi become blunted, the body is less able to utilize the food you consume, leading to weight loss, anemia, osteoporosis, fatigue, and vitamin deficiencies including A, D, E, K, and some B vitamins. Fortunately, celiac disease affects only about 1% of the US population. However, over the last few years, a growing trend has emerged of non-celiac individuals adhering to a gluten-free diet. But why? Are they on to someth ing important or are they just mindlessly feeding on the latest fad diet hype and paranoia?

The Hartman Group, a market research firm, did some work to determine who is buying gluten-free products and why. One of the most striking findings was that only 7.5% of the people surveyed who had recently bought a gluten-free product had celiac disease. The other 92.5% fell into one of three categories, defined in the Hartman data as, Those with an overall interest in health and wellness, those with an interest in ascetic-based practices of self-improvement, and the ever present fad dieters looking for the flavor of the month diet trend. Clearly, the last of the three groups is the least rational of all. Blindly going along with the latest fad diet is obviously a horrible idea. The nature of fad diets is to rely on hype, marketing, and often outright lies in order to make a quick buck off uneducated people. Not a plan for success. Anyway, its clear that this group of gluten-free purchasers is not operating on logical principles, so they are discarded from our discussion.

The next group is possibly the most interesting, if not mysterious: those adhering to a gluten-free diet because they seem to equate asceticism with self-improvement. Asceticism is the practice of self-denial in order to attain personal and/or spiritual discipline or other benefit. Unfortunately for these individuals, in area of human nutrition (and many other facets of life) discomfort, denial, and limiting choices without necessity are rarely useful solutions. The mindset of pain = good runs rampant through the modern exercise and nutrition culture. Burnout sets, regularly practiced forced reps, the grapefruit diet, and the ridiculously named bootcamp phenomenon are all examples of exercise and dietary regimens that focus mainly not on progress and sustainability but on maximizing exertion and discomfort. The fact is that these misguided methods produce short-term benefits at best and are often detrimental to progress. Limiting ones food options without reasonable cause and believing that self-denial is a viable way to maximize nutrition and fitness are simply counterproductive. This groups choice to maintain a gluten-free lifestyle is based not on science, but on an entirely misguided theory of how best to achieve optimal health and wellness.

Finally, we come to the last bunch of non-celiac gluten-free fans. These folks abhor wheat protein because of their overall interest in health and wellness. While these individuals may mean well in their attempts to optimize their diet, Id bet that most of them were simply duped at some point into thinking that gluten is bad for the general population and not just for celiac sufferers. Lets investigate some of the lies being spouted by the non-celiac, anti-gluten crowd and see where the health and wellness people might have been led astray.

First, theres the claim that wheat products lead to blood sugar spikes and problems with insulin regulation. While its true that refined wheat products can negatively influence blood sugar stability, 100% whole wheat products generally have quite low glycemic indices and are productive additions to many meals. In addition, the wheat that is removed from gluten-free foods is often replaced with another refined flour, often from potato, corn, or rice. The high GIs of these ingredients make it unlikely that the gluten-free version of a product normally made from wheat flour will be any better than the original at controlling blood glucose and insulin levels. In fact, the gluten-free versions are very often worse! Unfortunately for celiac sufferers, its common for a patient to gain weight after being placed on a gluten-free diet. The idea that gluten-free means better blood glucose control is simply backwards.

Next up is the idea that gluten causes leaky gut disease. Leaky gut occurs when the proteins that bind together the cells lining the intestines stop working normally. This disruption allows nutrients and microorganisms from food to pass inappropriately through the intestinal wall and into the body. Symptoms of the disease include abdominal pain, muscle cramps and pains, malnutrition, poor exercise tolerance, and numerous other problems. Anti-gluten fanatics would have you believe that gluten consumption causes leaky gut even in people without celiac or other digestive diseases. However, the evidence indicates that leaky gut is not a cause but in fact an effect of celiac disease. When gluten inflames the intestines of a celiac sufferer, the intercellular proteins of the intestinal walls can become damaged, bringing about leaky gut. For those with a normal reaction to gluten, however, the inflammation and the resulting leaky gut do not occur. As with many subjects in science in general and especially in nutrition, the direction of causality is incredibly important. Understanding the difference between an association and a causal link is fundamental to effectively understanding scientific writing and to protecting yourself from the hype and lies of nutritional fanatics. Objective assessment is key.

Clearly, gluten-free diets are appropriate for those people with hypersensitivity to gluten. However, for those people with healthy guts able to process gluten products, a gluten-free diet is not a good idea. While Im all for reducing high GI carbohydrates and controlling blood sugar and insulin levels properly, abhorring gluten is a terrible way to do it. Nutrient deficiencies, inconvenience, and increased cost of food are three reasons to avoid a gluten-free diet. Not to mention that the ideas behind the application of this medical diet to healthy individuals are simply foolish. Construct your dietary plans in a rational manner, using principles that provide you with nutritional guidelines that are not only effective, but also reasonable and sustainable within your lifestyle. Dont fall for the hype and misinformation of the gluten-free crowd. If you need to avoid gluten, then definitely do what you need to do in order to take care of your body. If you believe that you ma y be presenting symptoms of gluten hypersensitivity, you can easily be tested by a doctor using blood tests and an intestinal biopsy. However, if you are not part of the 1% of Americans who suffer from celiac disease then learn use wheat and other grain products for their many benefits and see them as positive tools in your nutritional arsenal, not as enemies to be avoided at all cost.

iAutoblog the premier autoblogger software