Low carbs and gluten free items?

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Raven2evil
Raven2evil Posts: 73 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm trying to figure out a little more about the pros and cons about going low carb. I've been doing a lot of reading about cutting out carbs as much as possible due to the fact that our ancestors didn't each as many carbs as we do now or at least as many processed carbs. If you think this is a good way to do it or already do this what have you changed? My biggest curiosity with lowering the carbs or trying to go back to basics like that I've wanted to know more about gluten free items. Do they taste different and can you tell any difference from before going gluten free and after?

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  • LRoslin
    LRoslin Posts: 128
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    Your post doesn't make it clear if you need to eat a gluten free diet for medical reasons, or if you think you can cut carbs by eating gluten free. I can tell you as somebody who has followed a gluten free diet for the past 5 years, it definitely is not a low carb diet if you just sub in GF bread products for the wheat-based kind. The gluten free baked products like English muffins and bread will have the same, if not more, carbs as the regular kind. Plus they are highly processed, so if you don't want to eat processed carbs, give them a pass.

    That said, you can follow a low carb diet that is also gluten free, if you focus on vegetables, fruits, eggs, meat, fish and dairy and use whole grains such as brown rice in moderation.
  • Raven2evil
    Raven2evil Posts: 73 Member
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    I don't need to eat GF products I was just curious if it was "better" to. The going low carb part is slightly different question on if going low carb is a good lifestyle. Sorry wasn't 100% sure how to word this question.
  • WannabeStressFree
    WannabeStressFree Posts: 340 Member
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    I've tried several low carb diets, and too low carb content made me cry. So now I avoid Refned carbs, but I do eat fruits and veggies, a ton actually. You gain nutrients that way as well.

    If you eat a lot of processed carbs, going gluten free might make you avoid them, but as the other poster said, you can equally eat garbage as gluten free processed foods.

    My 2cents is to go minimally processed, if you want to eat closer to our ancestors, that's the premise of the Paleo diet, I'm starting to research that, it seems healthier to me than just going low carb.
  • rachellouisa2014
    rachellouisa2014 Posts: 8
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    Hey :)

    I am a vegetarian and have been trying to do more low carb recipes 'cause since lack of meat, the carbs sort of bulk up a plate. However, instead of eating bad carbs, I've been trying to eat good carbs; brown rice, quinoa, wholemeal bread and the like. Less sugary carbs.

    My mum has coeliac disease which means she can't eat gluten for medical reasons. If it is a medical reason you're cutting it out, it will help with weight loss, you won't be so bloated, less wind, more energy, less aches and pains, be able to sleep better, less gastric problems and the list goes on. But if you're just doing it for general reasons, I'm not sure what the benefits of cutting it out would be. The health benefits my mum experienced were because she had been suffering with an allergy/intolerance for so long and once she cut it all out her health was being restored.

    The gluten free products are okay but they aren't that great compared to normal processed foods. I actually do a lot of her cooking now, because she's elderly, I mainly cook her a lot of vegetable based recipes, lentil and the like foods. (She still sneaks some gluten occasionally because she's baddd! :p)
  • rachellouisa2014
    rachellouisa2014 Posts: 8
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    http://www.pinterest.com/websitedesigner/low-carb-vegetarian-recipes/

    This is a site I like to use for recipes. Have a google and I'm sure you'll find some others.
  • akaMrsmojo
    akaMrsmojo Posts: 762 Member
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    I don't need to eat GF products I was just curious if it was "better" to. The going low carb part is slightly different question on if going low carb is a good lifestyle. Sorry wasn't 100% sure how to word this question.

    GF items are only better if you have a Gluten intolerance or Celiac. I am Celiac and yes they taste different. They generally have more carbs. That being said, I do not subscribe to the low-carb diet.Your body needs a certain amount.
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
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    I don't need to eat GF products I was just curious if it was "better" to. The going low carb part is slightly different question on if going low carb is a good lifestyle. Sorry wasn't 100% sure how to word this question.

    GF items are only better if you have a Gluten intolerance or Celiac. I am Celiac and yes they taste different. They generally have more carbs. That being said, I do not subscribe to the low-carb diet.Your body needs a certain amount.

    ^^ TRUE

    We have a lot of celiac disease in our family, so I've eaten a lot of GF food over the years. Gluten free food tastes different (and sorry... much of it is not as good) and often has more carbs, more calories and more fat. Gluten-free is also a lot more expensive.

    I wouldn't bother going gluten-free unless you have a medical reason to do so.
  • aNewYear123
    aNewYear123 Posts: 279 Member
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    Going gluten free won't do anything for you unless your body doesn't tolerate gluten, like people who are allergic to peanuts don't eat peanut butter.

    If you have celiac or even a wheat intolerance, then going gluten free will be very beneficial to your health. That doesn't mean that you will necessarily be eating healthy things - as you will likely be eating bread made from rice, corn, or potato rather than wheat; and cookies made with flours other than wheat flour in addition to adding in things like xanthum gum or guar gum to them to make the texture better - but you won't be actually making yourself sick by eating something to which your body is allergic.

    If you want to eat lower carb or less processed food, go for it. Just know that gluten free is not designed to be a diet choice to eat 'healthier', it is a diet choice for people with medical conditions where the gluten makes them sick.
  • maryernst58
    maryernst58 Posts: 1
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    Hi, I just recently joined but am a firm advocate for the gluten free. About 1 1/2 years ago I read the book, "Wheat Belly" by Dr. Davis (cardiologist) and it's really very interesting and enlightening. He also refers back to the hunter-gatherer in all of us. In the book the subject of "gluten free" products was addressed and makes a lot of sense. Even though the products are indeed gluten free, they are also very expensive and have other high carb fillers in them to make them palatable. On the Wheat Belly diet I went from 215# to 192# in about 10 weeks. I did walk 1/2 hour every day and paid attention to portion sizes (no measuring...just didn't pile my plate like I am inclined to do). Hope this helps. I went off the diet and after a few months of eating bread and other wheat products I have gained all of the weight back. So I'm starting over from scratch!
  • Raven2evil
    Raven2evil Posts: 73 Member
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    See I don't know if I have a wheat intolerance but it sounds like sometimes you can't entirely tell? But I guess ill just stick to normal healthy carbs then. Thanks all for the advice.
  • hoopylass
    hoopylass Posts: 8 Member
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    See I don't know if I have a wheat intolerance but it sounds like sometimes you can't entirely tell? But I guess ill just stick to normal healthy carbs then. Thanks all for the advice.

    Trust me you would know. I have a wheat intolerance and when I eat something non gluten I get terrible stomach cramps, bloating and usually end up huddled in the loo.
  • naariel
    naariel Posts: 37
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    If by gluten free items you mean "gluten free version of typical gluten items" like GF pasta, bread etc. then you're not really cutting the processed foods. Doing it to go back to ancestor diet is total nonsense. Processed foods don't mean gluten. It means, well, processed. And GF pasta, bread etc. is just as much processed. If you need/want less gluten only, without consideration for processing, it's great. It's allowing gluten intolerant people to have a "normal" processed western diet. If you do it to get back to basics, it's ridiculously counterproductive. It will cost more for exactly the same: not basic at all.

    If by gluten free items you mean items that don't contain gluten, then, for low carb, you have meat and eggs, olives, nuts, ... All those barely contain any carb (usually less than 1g per serving), they're proteins and/or fats.
    Other fruits and veggies for non-processed carbs.

    I'm gluten intolerant (with other food intolerances/triggers of my medical immune condition), and I don't eat GF version of gluten items. I fear contamination, it's too pricey for what it is (if I have to take out my wallet, I'd rather have a steak than a gluten free lemon cake) and can't have rice as well, and rice flour is a big part of industrial gluten free items. So I just cut it all. My diet is basically a version of paleo/primal. And I'm not looking back, I feel great, have a lot more energy and less digestive problems.
  • rachellouisa2014
    rachellouisa2014 Posts: 8
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    See I don't know if I have a wheat intolerance but it sounds like sometimes you can't entirely tell? But I guess ill just stick to normal healthy carbs then. Thanks all for the advice.

    You would probably have a lot of symptoms and if there is a family history the doctors should test you. It's usually tested via blood test and I think my mum had one of those stomach camera things, maybe a biopsy? I don't know.

    As I said, her benefits were weight loss, less wind, less aches and pains, more energy, better sleep, less gastric problems and so forth. But cutting it out without a medical reason, I don't know what the benefits would be.

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