Being on a gluten free diet is one of the latest eating fads. Often a person will go on a gluten free diet because it has been recommended by a friend, a yoga teacher or some other well-meaning person. In fact, it is well documented that if you do not need to for medical reasons, going on a gluten free diet offers no advantage. Commercial products labelled "gluten-free" from supermarkets offer NO nutritional benefit over regular foods and the fact that the term is being used by manufacturers to infer healthiness and is not warranted.
8 reasons why a gluten free diet isn't always the answer:
1. It won't help you lose weight
Despite the hype a gluten free diet does not help you to lose weight. In fact, many gluten free foods have the same or higher kilojoules. Most people with celiac disease cannot absorb nutrients so they lose weight before being diagnosed. They have trouble with digestion and often have diarrhoea and fat in their faeces. But they lose a lot of weight BEFORE they get a correct diagnosis. Once they get the right diagnosis and start on a gluten free diet, they often put on weight because they're absorbing their food properly. In fact, eating gluten free may make you put on weight.
2. It won't help your digestion
A gluten free diet does not help you to digest your food better. Don't believe the tales that without gluten, your digestion will improve so you'll absorb fewer kilojoules.
3. Gluten free food can be highly refined and processed
Foods sold as "gluten-free" such as biscuits, cakes, bread and flour mixes are made from purified starches such as maize starch, white rice flour, potato flour, tapioca starch and soy flour. When you remove gluten, you remove the element that gives bread and cakes elasticity and a pleasing texture. So flours, baking mixes labelled "gluten-free" need the help of speciality ingredients like:
- fibres such as carboxymethylcellulose or methylcellulose
- stabilising gums such as xanthan or guar which add elasticity and minimises the crumbliness
4. Gluten free foods have a high GI
Many gluten free breads, flours, muffins or biscuits are made from rice flour or potato flour, which gives them a high Glycemic Index (GI). This means they are rapidly digested and absorbed – the opposite of what's suggested for weight loss and blood glucose control in diabetes.
5. Gluten free foods ar low in fibre which may result in constipation
We need fibre to stay regular and maintain bowel health. Most of our fibre comes from breads and breakfast cereals which are usually made from wheat, oats, rye or barley. Initially, when you are diagnosed with celiac disease, a low fibre diet may be an advantage if your bowel is inflamed. But you will need to boost your fibre content with some gluten free options such as rice bran, psyllium husks, Metamucil, ground legumes and more vegetables and legumes such as baked beans or lentil soup.
6. The grains are not often wholegrain
Which means you don't get the goodness from the germ and bran layers of the entire grain.
7. Expensive
It is a fact, gluten free products are more expensive. Whereas a 1kg pack of wheaten plain flour is pretty cheap, maybe $2-3, a speciality gluten free flour may start at $3-4 per kg and some self-raising rice flours sell for a huge $13 per kg. If you're buying at health food stores, the cost soars even higher. At cafes and restaurants, there is often and additional charge for a gluten free menu because the ingredients are more expensive and the production of gluten free products requires that cross contamination does not occur, meaning it takes longer to prepare.
8. It's hard work
There is no doubt about it, maintaining a strict gluten free diet can be hard work. Eating gluten free day in and day out needs planning, checking of all food labels and constant scrutiny when you eat out. You have to become an expert label reader and you have to put in procedures in your kitchen to prevent cross contamination. If you don't do it properly then your upset tummy will know for hours after if you take the risk. And long term the dangers of severe illness are very high.
Summary
A special gluten free diet is only necessary to help treat medical problems like celiac disease, gluten intolerance and other gluten-related conditions. For the normal person, a gluten free diet won't necessarily cause you harm but it will not do you any good either. It is simply not necessary, and if you do decide to eat gluten free you need to understand the risks as discussed above.
If you're suffering from bloating, pain or excessive wind, make an appointment to see your doctor for a referral to a gastroenterologist for a test. Don't start on a gluten free diet yourself without a proper diagnosis. You will manage a gluten free diet much more easily if you are told that is your only option to live healthily. It can be easy if you know how.
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