Are gluten and dairy unhealthy?
imanibelle
Posts: 130 Member
I'd mentioned to my dad that I wanted to go grocery shopping when I got my paycheck. He said I should learn the healthiest things to eat. I said I thought healthy eating meant protein, complex carbs, fruits and veggies. He said oatmeal and whole wheat were unhealthy due to gluten, and dairy was also bad. Is that true? I'm confused.
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Replies
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They're unhealthy for some people, but not for everyone3
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If you are allergic to them then they are unhealthy.
If you are not allergic to them then they are only unhealthy if eaten in excess.12 -
Gluten is unhealthy if you have been diagnosed with Celiacs disease https://celiac.org/celiac-disease/understanding-celiac-disease-2/what-is-celiac-disease/
Dairy is bad for you if you are lactose intolerant http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lactose-intolerance/basics/definition/con-20027906
I eat dairy daily for protein and calcium. I eat whole wheat and grains for fiber. I am healthy. Maybe you can ask your doctor to recommend a good diet.
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Oats contain avenin and not gluten.
Sorry but your Dad really hasn't got a clue.16 -
I do want to go to school to be a dietitian. When I read or hear stuff, though, I don't know what to believe. It would make things a bit harder if gluten was forbidden. My dad still eats it, but says he's going to change the way he eats in the near future, but that it will be a big transition. We're both overweight.0
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Gluten is bad if you have celiac, and dairy can be bad if you are lactose intolerant or have some kind of allergy. Lactose intolerance is common, but how common depends on ethnic background, for example it's quite uncommon among those whose ancestry is from Northern and Western Europe (and a variety of other places).
So no, it's not generally "bad." ;-)
[Edit: I wrote a bunch of extra stuff I decided not to post and see I totally cross posted, oh well!)0 -
Thanks, everyone. I will check the articles out.1
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imanibelle wrote: »I do want to go to school to be a dietitian. When I read or hear stuff, though, I don't know what to believe. It would make things a bit harder if gluten was forbidden. My dad still eats it, but says he's going to change the way he eats in the near future, but that it will be a big transition. We're both overweight.
Good on you.
Would recommend reading Alan Aragon - really knows his stuff but puts it across in a really accessible way.3 -
Agree that Alan Aragon is a great source.
A book I'd recommend as a good starting point and fun read is Matt Fitzgerald, Diet Cults.
For a pretty sensible approach to dieting I think Fat Loss Happens on Monday is worth looking at.2 -
imanibelle wrote: »I do want to go to school to be a dietitian. When I read or hear stuff, though, I don't know what to believe. It would make things a bit harder if gluten was forbidden. My dad still eats it, but says he's going to change the way he eats in the near future, but that it will be a big transition. We're both overweight.
Good on you.
Would recommend reading Alan Aragon - really knows his stuff but puts it across in a really accessible way.
Thank you!!! I will research him.1 -
Only if you are allergic. Otherwise, no.1
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Someone mentioned oats don't have gluten. From my understanding oats often have significant cross contamination with wheat products/gluten. If you truly have a gluten allergy or sensitivity, oats might not be the best idea. I love oats!2
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MichelleLaree13 wrote: »Someone mentioned oats don't have gluten. From my understanding oats often have significant cross contamination with wheat products/gluten. If you truly have a gluten allergy or sensitivity, oats might not be the best idea. I love oats!
You can get gluten free oats.
To be gluten free, oats need to be grown on dedicated fields and processed on dedicated equipment.
Cross contamination happens because oats are often grown in rotation with gluten containing crops and volunteers from previous year's harvest pop up in the oat crops. The oats are also often processed on equipment shared with gluten containing grains.
I have celiac disease and can comfortably eat certified gluten free oats, thankfully!3 -
Only if you have celiac disease, lactose intolerance or some kind of allergy to them, otherwise no.1
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GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »MichelleLaree13 wrote: »Someone mentioned oats don't have gluten. From my understanding oats often have significant cross contamination with wheat products/gluten. If you truly have a gluten allergy or sensitivity, oats might not be the best idea. I love oats!
You can get gluten free oats.
To be gluten free, oats need to be grown on dedicated fields and processed on dedicated equipment.
Cross contamination happens because oats are often grown in rotation with gluten containing crops and volunteers from previous year's harvest pop up in the oat crops. The oats are also often processed on equipment shared with gluten containing grains.
I have celiac disease and can comfortably eat certified gluten free oats, thankfully!GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »MichelleLaree13 wrote: »Someone mentioned oats don't have gluten. From my understanding oats often have significant cross contamination with wheat products/gluten. If you truly have a gluten allergy or sensitivity, oats might not be the best idea. I love oats!
You can get gluten free oats.
To be gluten free, oats need to be grown on dedicated fields and processed on dedicated equipment.
Cross contamination happens because oats are often grown in rotation with gluten containing crops and volunteers from previous year's harvest pop up in the oat crops. The oats are also often processed on equipment shared with gluten containing grains.
I have celiac disease and can comfortably eat certified gluten free oats, thankfully!
However, to be certified GF, in the US, they only have to test under 220ppm for gluten containing grains. So they am be certified GF and contain 219ppm. If you are extremely sensitive, or allergic, they can still trigger a response.1 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »MichelleLaree13 wrote: »Someone mentioned oats don't have gluten. From my understanding oats often have significant cross contamination with wheat products/gluten. If you truly have a gluten allergy or sensitivity, oats might not be the best idea. I love oats!
You can get gluten free oats.
To be gluten free, oats need to be grown on dedicated fields and processed on dedicated equipment.
Cross contamination happens because oats are often grown in rotation with gluten containing crops and volunteers from previous year's harvest pop up in the oat crops. The oats are also often processed on equipment shared with gluten containing grains.
I have celiac disease and can comfortably eat certified gluten free oats, thankfully!GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »MichelleLaree13 wrote: »Someone mentioned oats don't have gluten. From my understanding oats often have significant cross contamination with wheat products/gluten. If you truly have a gluten allergy or sensitivity, oats might not be the best idea. I love oats!
You can get gluten free oats.
To be gluten free, oats need to be grown on dedicated fields and processed on dedicated equipment.
Cross contamination happens because oats are often grown in rotation with gluten containing crops and volunteers from previous year's harvest pop up in the oat crops. The oats are also often processed on equipment shared with gluten containing grains.
I have celiac disease and can comfortably eat certified gluten free oats, thankfully!
However, to be certified GF, in the US, they only have to test under 220ppm for gluten containing grains. So they am be certified GF and contain 219ppm. If you are extremely sensitive, or allergic, they can still trigger a response.
The FDA regulation is for 20ppm, not 220ppm.
Yes, I am aware that some people can still react to even that small amount.0 -
Gluten is unhealthy for people with Celiac desease. It is not unhealthy for the general population. Lactose is fine unless you have Lactose intolerance.
I know this has been stated above already but so many people seem to not know this that I want to reiterate.0 -
Sans health conditions, no.
Neither is required to maintain a healthy diet, however.0 -
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My primary care doctor, who also practices functional medicine, recommends that everyone reduce or eliminate gluten. She says there is much more gluten in the type of wheat grown in America than the type grown in Europe.
She says that whether you are sensitive to gluten or not, it is unhealthy because it coats the lining of your intestine and blocks nutrients from being absorbed. She focused especially on the importance of antioxidants, and how gluten can negate the benefits of superfoods in your diet.
When I stopped eating breads, crackers etc, I noticed my stomach shrank within days. I was not aware I was bloated, but the difference was remarkable. I rarely have gassy episodes now, where they used to be a daily annoyance.
I think your idea of a healthy diet of protein, complex carbs, fruit and veggies is good. Add some healthy fats to that and you're doing well. If you want to go the extra mile and make sure you're getting the best nutrition, maybe reducing gluten is a good idea.
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As others have said gluten or dairy are only to be avoided if you have a specific intolerance. (Early post by other contributor has useful links).
More importantly products free of something contain other products to compensate so can be higher in calories. So actually can be unhelpful to weight lose.
My approach to eating healthily is to have less processed food. I don't avoid anything but have lots of fresh fruit and veg and cook most meals from scratch.
(It can also save you £s /$s. )
My healthy diet does include alcohol , shop bread , butter - all in moderation.
Good Luck to you and your dad. You're starting off well by asking questions.1 -
I would add that eliminating these foods won't cause weight loss. I am very gluten sensitive (not Celiac, but gluten gives me the squats), and eliminated gluten from my diet 5 years ago. I weigh more now. It's all CICO.
Also, I ate gluten on purpose last week while in Italy to test for myself the "European wheat is more tolerable" theory. Complete fail. Thank goodness we were hiking and not on a long train ride!2 -
If you don't have a specific insensitivity to gluten or dairy there is no advantage whatsoever to cutting them arbitrarily out of your diet. Another point to consider is that many gluten-free products are higher in calories than their gluten-containing counterparts. This is because additional ingredients are added in order to mimic the stretchy texture of gluten, and these tend to be calorie-dense. So if you're trying to control your calorie intake (which I assume you are, given you are using a calorie-counting app), buying gluten-free products may make it harder to stick to your calorie goals. Only buy them if you know you need them - they're more expensive anyway!1
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CynthiasChoice wrote: »My primary care doctor, who also practices functional medicine, recommends that everyone reduce or eliminate gluten. She says there is much more gluten in the type of wheat grown in America than the type grown in Europe.
She says that whether you are sensitive to gluten or not, it is unhealthy because it coats the lining of your intestine and blocks nutrients from being absorbed. She focused especially on the importance of antioxidants, and how gluten can negate the benefits of superfoods in your diet.
If you have sources for any of this, I'd be interested, but I'm afraid it sounds like total woo. It would be nice to think actual doctors never peddle woo, but sadly we don't live in that world.
As a keen bread maker, I can absolutely debunk the idea that there's a blanket difference in gluten levels between USA and Europe. It's completely false.
Gluten level in flour (called flour "strength") cannot fly under the radar, it is very obvious in use, and dictates whether flour can be used for yeast bread (strong flour) or is only suitable for pastry, cakes or quick breads (weak flour).
Flour on both sides of the Atlantic comes in the full range of strengths (interesting factoid, the wide spectrum of flour strength between Northern and Southern USA is the historic reason why yeast bread was popular in the North, while the South favoured biscuits and quick breads).
The idea that flour in Europe (a continent that subsists massively on yeast bread) could somehow be secretly low in gluten and that not be noticed, not be any kind of problem, is daft.
You can't make pizza without strong flour. Or baguettes.
Your doctor is spouting nonsense.10 -
They're only unhealthy if you have an allergy....CynthiasChoice wrote: »My primary care doctor, who also practices functional medicine, recommends that everyone reduce or eliminate gluten. She says there is much more gluten in the type of wheat grown in America than the type grown in Europe.
She says that whether you are sensitive to gluten or not, it is unhealthy because it coats the lining of your intestine and blocks nutrients from being absorbed. She focused especially on the importance of antioxidants, and how gluten can negate the benefits of superfoods in your diet.
When I stopped eating breads, crackers etc, I noticed my stomach shrank within days. I was not aware I was bloated, but the difference was remarkable. I rarely have gassy episodes now, where they used to be a daily annoyance.
I think your idea of a healthy diet of protein, complex carbs, fruit and veggies is good. Add some healthy fats to that and you're doing well. If you want to go the extra mile and make sure you're getting the best nutrition, maybe reducing gluten is a good idea.
Your doctor is nonsense...3 -
And on the flip side, just because something is gluten free does not make it healthy. There are plenty of gluten free cookies and cakes. Most candy is gluten free. My husband has a gluten intolerance and when ever we go to Baskin Robins, he enjoys the Reese Sundae which clocks in at over 1,000 calories. He also enjoy's 32 ounce root beer floats, which I am sure are also well over 1,000 calories.1
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Here's the straight skinny from a reliable source: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/gluten/
You may indeed be gluten-sensitive if removing gluten from your diet reduced a symptom. Your doctor, however, has bought into some strange, and not well documented, woo.
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When I was around 12, my doctor put it nicely that I needed to start watching what I eat because quite frankly I was overweight (170 pounds). The biggest thing she suggested was to cut out the "full fat" dairy, if not all together. Long story sort, I did. And guess what? The weight fell off. (Now 125 pounds)
As far as gluten goes, unless you have an allergy, eating it isn't 100% percent unhealthy. That being said, avoiding gluten would help cut out a lot of carbs, which if you're trying to lose weight, can help you to do so.0
Feel foolish now. Thanks for the info, though! 
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