I was looking through a little pamphlet from Consumer Reports and an article caught my eye about the Gluten Myth.
I have several friends and relatives who are following a gluten free diet hoping it will make them healthier. I haven't done it just because it's too hard to avoid wheat products.
I looked it up on WebMD and it said that by avoiding gluten you could also be depriving yourself of vitamins, minerals and fiber.
If you have celiac disease or are sensitive to gluten you should definitely avoid it. However, if you're a normal person, it's apparently truly unnecessary.
Phew! I can keep eating my cereal or oatmeal every morning.
I looked it up on WebMD and it said that by avoiding gluten you could also be depriving yourself of vitamins, minerals and fiber.
If you have celiac disease or are sensitive to gluten you should definitely avoid it. However, if you're a normal person, it's apparently truly unnecessary.
Phew! I can keep eating my cereal or oatmeal every morning.
Variety and fresh food. That seems to work for most of us.
ReplyDeleteI so agree, Kay. It's been a ridiculous fad, begun by a quack. For those who ARE Celiac, they have benefitted, since everywhere we go they are advertising them as 'gluten free!' Really dumb, though.
ReplyDeleteEat food, most plants, balanced. sigh.
But have you ever tried to convince a self-diagnosed gluten free person that it isn't necessary? I don't think I know one person who practices a gluten free diet that has been told by a doctor to do so.
ReplyDeleteI'm eating less and my digestive system seems to prefer it. I haven't cut it out totally. For instance I just ate a carrot cake :)
ReplyDeleteI think it's another fraud. Most people are not Celiac. It's actually quite rare.
ReplyDeleteMy oldest daughter developed a gluten intolerance after having surgery. Not sure why. It's like an allergic reaction for her. So if she comes in contact with it in any form she reacts. She was a bread baker so she gave away all the pans and dishes she used for that. I had to do a major cleaning of her kitchen and dining room to rid the house of any gluten. She also has the same problem with peas and beans. As a child she developed allergic reactions to many of the common antibiotics. The doctor told us that everyone is one dose away from an allergic reaction so I cause her number was up with gluten.
ReplyDeletesorry, "cause" should read "guess"
DeleteI read the book "Wheat Belly" a few years back and stopped eating regular bread. I still eat plenty of gluten in rye bread and was able to lose 15 pounds and keep it off by not eating as much wheat. But I do still eat it. Yesterday I had a biscotti with my latte. :-)
ReplyDeletethe anti-gluten thing is really a fad. I like my wheat
ReplyDeleteThanks for this most sensible advice Kay!
ReplyDeleteIt is way too strict for me to even attempt and while I am not Oprah-esque, I do like my whole wheat bread.
ReplyDeleteFor those who suffer from Celiac disease 'gluten free' products are wonderful. Those folks have always had a hard time finding foods to accommodate their needs. For the general public it's that herd mentality. Making a lot of money for somebody though.
ReplyDeleteRight! Gluten is good food UNLESS you have Celiac!
ReplyDeleteYes, I do trust consumer reports. :)
ReplyDeleteI like wheat and couldn't eat daily without it!
ReplyDeleteNot sure what to believe. Something is going wrong with our environment/world that causes health problems that were not around in the old days. (I am sounding like the old people who used to talk about the old days, lol.) It started with peanut allergies. NObody had peanut allergies before, and airlines used to give peanuts to everyone as snacks. Is it the fault of the peanuts now, or that something else has been introduced to our young people and they have all kinds of allergies?
ReplyDeleteEven if those in charge knew what was causing these problems, would they really tell us? We just have to do the best with what we have. I'm on a slow and easy path of doing good things for myself. One of them is drinking tea from kalamungai leaves, aka moringe, since the neighbor's bush is coming into our yard. I'll be doing a post about it in the next month or so. Maybe that is what you could plant in the place where your papaya tree used to be? It's not pretty, it might have invasive roots (not sure, need to find out), but it seems to be one of the most nutrient rich foods and good for us. You see this bush everywhere because Filipinos eat the bean pods in their cooking.
One never knows what or who to believe these days... First, something is not good for us --and then it IS.... Who knows?????? Crazy --isn't it?
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Betsy
I've always wondered about the validity of gluten free benefits. However, I've been in too many arguments with my daughter.
ReplyDeleteI would hate to have to give up my oatmeal in the morning. Unless you have a serious dietary problem, I'd say the moderation thing is a good way to go.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. there are so many food fads and people love to jump on the bandwagon without good reason, or even good judgement.
ReplyDeleteI don't get online much so I've missed reading many posts. I say high-five to you if you have no problem with bread/gluten. I read and research the gluten topic and I'm still confused. Everyone has a different idea and so many of the symptoms are the same when it involves our organs. I knew there was a problem in my body and I thought it might be that gluten factor, but then I found out I had an overgrowth of yeast (candida) and it was aggravated by eating yeasted foods. Then too, most of the grains are supposed to be genetically modified (GMO's), whereas, for instance, the whole wheat plant of say, over 60 years ago was much shorter and today's can be 2 feet tall. So there seems to be a difference in our wheat than that of our parents. Then my research journey took me into biofilms. I had never heard of them and I noticed that anti-candida caps. were sold but never any mention about the biofilms where the candida hides in the body. Then I found that it's been fairly recent that it's been discovered that the biofilms have to first be broken up or eliminated before the anti-fungals can reach the candida because when the biofilms are there, they have a place to hide. It also seems one has to almost dynamite the biofilms to get rid of them. LOL
ReplyDeleteThen too, a lot of allopathic doctors regard candida as something that is all in one's head (but certainly not all). I had heard that candida was caused by antibiotics and i hardly ever have taken any in my whole life and that was why I had never suspected that I could have it, but I have found out that there are many other causes of candida too. I did find out by my own trials that candida is a frightful yeast and is much aggravated by what I eat. I love a little bit of toast with my eggs so I thought the sprouted wheat breads (like the Ezekiel breads) would be OK but now I'm reading negative on that one too.
I've learned so much but who to believe? I miss my bread and I had just been getting into making my own sourdough bread when all this discovery about yeast and bread and the candidasis was thrust upon me. I am so happy for you that you do not have a problem with bread but I just thought that perhaps this information might be useful for some of your readers. The person who discovered all the yeast in my body was my hydrotherapist and as I began working on it, I knew with her 35 years of experience, she was spot on. I will say that with Candida, one is not really sick but you know you're not really well either.
I now make a kind of a flat bread with Quinoa that I devised on my own. Not very tasty but I look at it that it's better
than no bread. If I utter a complaint around my hydrotherapist, she always reminds me of my age..... but between you and me..... old age sucks when yeast is involved. LOL
Take care, Kay
Hello Manzanita! Thank you so much for your very informative comment. There's so much we don't know. I hadn't heard about candida. I get the same sort of reminder from my doctors too... the age thing, I mean.
DeleteI think for most it has to do with the additives in some commercial baked goods. I never have problems with things I make myself with organic ingredients. I do have a friend who is very gluten sensitive, and she sure gets the eye-rolls whenever we go out to eat, as if she is being unreasonable or spoiled, not the case at all with her.
ReplyDelete