The first time we will analyze is the gluten free diet. Gluten Free is one of the hottest diet trends right now. So it's crucial you understand where it comes from and what it has to offer. Many blogs and magazines will tell you that gluten can be extremely dangerous and getting off it has changed their lives completely. As you know, if you read my blog, I'm always a little skeptical about such absolute statements, especially when those people are also selling their own products. So let's look for ourselves and see what gluten is really all about.
Gluten is a naturally occurring composite of two proteins, glutamine and gliadin. That is found mostly in rye, wheat and barley products. It's the substance that makes too resilient and stretchy and it's also often used as a thickening agent and other foods. Because gluten makes big products more elastic. It's often found in things like pizza dough, pastas, breads and crackers. Now that doesn't sound too bad.
Write? Well, it can be problematic for some people. Because gluten molecules aren't broken down by heat or directly digested, they will be absorbed by the small intestines, which can provoke an autoimmune response and some people. These people will then get headaches, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and generally feel bloated. Things can get even worse and result in gut inflammation if these people keep eating gluten. Now, this sounds pretty bad, right?
But here's the good news. All these symptoms occur only in the people with celiac disease, which is verifiable by the presence of certain antibodies produced in response to glue. It's estimated that between point three and 1.2% of the population has celiac disease, which means that you probably don't. Now what about healthy people without celiac disease? Should they also avoid gluten? Unfortunately, the answer is it depends.
According to recent research for every person who has celiac disease, they're probably six or seven people who have a gluten sensitive Which means you get symptoms similar to sell it, but you don't have the antibodies or intestinal damage. Sounds like a lot, but that's still only between three to 7% of all people. So you probably don't have gluten sensitivity either. What this means is that the vast majority of people don't need to follow a gluten free diet. In fact, the gluten free diet itself offers no special health benefits. And most gluten free products tend to be less nutritious, low end protein, higher and fat and cost more than double.
This is also the reason why many people with celiac disease that are forced to follow a gluten free diet have micronutrient deficiencies simply because it's more difficult for them to follow a well balanced diet. Now, I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's more difficult. Another thing that is sometimes mentioned but completely made up is that a gluten free diet will help you lose weight faster. Even on a gluten free diet, you still have to follow the rules of weight loss that I explained earlier. Meaning you have to create a calorie deficit Now I don't want to completely bash gluten free diets because there are a few studies that indicate that over time, diets high in gluten can cause damage to the intestinal cells and non celiac people. The problem is researchers still don't know why this is and the evidence isn't clearly linked to gluten as a trigger.
What this means is that if you want to play it safe, limit your gluten intake to a few meals a week. Other than that, however, you don't have to worry about it.