Is gluten free a fad like fat free was?

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Replies

  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
    Fad unless youre one of the very few with celiac's disease
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    Read Wheat Belly and make your own decision. The doctor who wrote the book explains that most of the population has some kind of wheat sensitivity but shows its face in various ways. Weight gain is just one of them. Other stuff includes acne, IBS and a large range of other symptoms. It's the best book I ever read and I'm so glad that I read it before it was too late. It's a life changer for sure.

    This is on my list to read. I limit wheat and grains to once a week on my cheat day and notice that I feel bloated and just slow and lazy when I eat them. I also find that limiting them gives me more steady energy throughout the day. I don't feel tired an hour after lunch like I do if I eat a bunch of bread or rice.

    For people who are truly allergic it can be a life altering experience to get diagnosed and on a gluten-free diet. I've seen people truly transformed by it.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    If it's a fad, I am grateful for it. I don't avoid gluten entirely, but I do try to limit it and not over indulge in foods that contain it. I grew up eating lots of breads and pasta. I never realized that kind of bloated/icky feeling I got after eating wasn't necessarily from having too much. It wasn't until I started losing weight that I realized that feeling wasn't directly related to quantity of food but type of food.

    I still consume gluten (though I am very careful about serving sizes) because I am not a serious case -- but I am glad to have the knowledge.
  • akaMrsmojo
    akaMrsmojo Posts: 762 Member
    Fad unless youre one of the very few with celiac's disease

    1 in 133 is not a very few. It is scary number.
  • SnicciFit
    SnicciFit Posts: 967 Member
    If you have a valid 'issue' then it's good to go. If you don't - eat normal! Apparently if you focus on solely gluten free and you don't have an intolerance you may actually be doing more harm than good!

    Harm, how? Also, what does it mean to "eat normal"? To eat a lot of processed food?
  • SnicciFit
    SnicciFit Posts: 967 Member
    1 in 133 people in America are gluten intolerant. Only 10 percent know it. The drugs companies do not care about because the cure is diet. Doctors get information and continuing education from the pharmaceutical industry. It is not a fad but it is not a weight loss plan either.

    ^^this! The weigh loss that (usually) comes with it is a side effect of being healthier.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
    Wheat Belly is full of half-truths and speculation. It is not backed by rigorous scientific experiment.
    Read this:
    http://noglutennoproblem.blogspot.ca/2012/03/wheat-belly-busted.html
  • charliesangel13
    charliesangel13 Posts: 25 Member
    Read Wheat Belly and make your own decision. The doctor who wrote the book explains that most of the population has some kind of wheat sensitivity but shows its face in various ways. Weight gain is just one of them. Other stuff includes acne, IBS and a large range of other symptoms. It's the best book I ever read and I'm so glad that I read it before it was too late. It's a life changer for sure.

    This is on my list to read. I limit wheat and grains to once a week on my cheat day and notice that I feel bloated and just slow and lazy when I eat them. I also find that limiting them gives me more steady energy throughout the day. I don't feel tired an hour after lunch like I do if I eat a bunch of bread or rice.

    For people who are truly allergic it can be a life altering experience to get diagnosed and on a gluten-free diet. I've seen people truly transformed by it.

    Hi there! I'm right there with you on the energy level observation. I find if I replace wheat with healthy fats, carbs and proteins, I do not have the roller coaster blood sugar crashes. There are definitely loads of benefits to the lifestyle.

    You'll enjoy Wheat Belly. He goes into great detail, and some of it is kind of techy, but loads of great info. A lot of it is shocking to say the least. For example, how you can test your blood sugar after wheat and after eating chocolate, and wheat raises blood sugar HIGHER than chocolate. This is true because my brother is diabetic and has tested his theories. Crazy stuff like that.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,332 Member
    Wheat Belly is full of half-truths and speculation. It is not backed by rigorous scientific experiment.
    Read this:
    http://noglutennoproblem.blogspot.ca/2012/03/wheat-belly-busted.html

    Ha ha :laugh: Don't use blogspot as a source for reliable info.

    I have no postition on gluten. Well, except I only have it once a week. But, blogspot is not a resource. Anyone can say anything in a blog or book. Doesn't make it so.
  • TrishLG
    TrishLG Posts: 173 Member
    I am intolerant of gluten. I think it is the leaky gut thing. If I eat bread, my finger joints swell so that I can not even bend my fingers. Very painful. However, I do think this was a blessings. I think that wheat spikes hunger. If I had toast and eggs for breakfast, I was hungry an hour later.
    I tried high lean protein and vegetable diet and found my arthritis subsided, my hunger became managable, and finally when I added other starches, corn, potatoes, peas, beans, they did not spike my hunger so I regained control.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    Whether or not it is a fad, it is not like fat free unless the food manufactures start making gluten free foods that are worse for us than the original!

    It isn't like fat free unless people start thinking "well, it is gluten free, so it must be good for me!"

    Hopefully, we have come far enough to avoid going through all that again, but folks like day fixes and industry likes money.
  • hbunting86
    hbunting86 Posts: 952 Member
    Hi

    Thought I'd reply to this.

    There seems to be some myth circulating within the weight loss world that by removing wheat/gluten from your diet you're magically going to lose weight. This isn't the case but unfortunately for those of us with Celiac's disease, it does kind of make a mockery of our diet. I eat gluten free because I have to. I can't share a toaster with my flatmates and have to be ultra careful of cross-contamination. If I eat gluten the effects stay with me for days and it's not pretty :(

    Like anything, for those who can eat wheat and gluten it's the same principle - calories in vs. calories out. I can't eat gluten but the principle applies to me for weight loss. There's no point me eating half a bag of potatoes and a kilo of rice...

    Fat free has been around for a long, long time in the literature. It's a fad that keeps circulating and no doubt in years to come the same will happen with low carb (see Dukan and Atkins for prime examples of such) and also now gluten free. We've only just really moved into an era where we have the means and ability to test for allergies and intolerances. Again, there's a difference there. People can be intolerant to something without being allergic to it. Just think of people who are allergic to bee/was stings and go into anaphylactic shock. Although with gluten allergies the reaction isn't so severe it would restrict your airways, the damage you can do to your intestines over a long period of time can be quite devastating and leave you much more susceptible to bowel and stomach cancers. It also takes a very long time to repair that damage, as I'm finding out.

    So, in terms of being a fad - yes it's been embraced by some parts of the diet industry as such and hopefully it dissipates as quickly as it arrived. Plus, it gives food companies the opportunity to embrace this fad and charge an extortionate amount for gluten free products which, in my opinion should be affordable to those who really need to buy them as an alternative rather than a preference.

    H :)
  • heatherheyns
    heatherheyns Posts: 144 Member
    Like many things, it's become a fad. However, many people do have a gluten intolerance and don't realize it. It's unfortunate that people see it as such a fad now, because it makes it VERY difficult for a person with Celiac or an intolerance to actually have that respected. I will have many servers roll their eyes, or people make dumb comments, assuming that I eat gluten free because of some dubious health concerns or some book I read or interview on television. It means it isn't taken as seriously, and for many people it IS a serious issue.
  • BoomstickChick
    BoomstickChick Posts: 428 Member
    I think people that go gluten free just to do it are silly. If there's a medical reason, I don't consider it a fad. It does help a lot of people. A lot of people have diseases and disorders that cause them to be intolerant to gluten.
  • BoomstickChick
    BoomstickChick Posts: 428 Member
    Like many things, it's become a fad. However, many people do have a gluten intolerance and don't realize it. It's unfortunate that people see it as such a fad now, because it makes it VERY difficult for a person with Celiac or an intolerance to actually have that respected. I will have many servers roll their eyes, or people make dumb comments, assuming that I eat gluten free because of some dubious health concerns or some book I read or interview on television. It means it isn't taken as seriously, and for many people it IS a serious issue.

    I feel the same way. My husband was just diagnosed with Crohn's and he needs to watch what he eats. I'm doing the diet with him because of my thyroid disorder, which supposedly, gluten free is supposed to help. Not everyone does it just to be "cool."
  • akaMrsmojo
    akaMrsmojo Posts: 762 Member
    Like many things, it's become a fad. However, many people do have a gluten intolerance and don't realize it. It's unfortunate that people see it as such a fad now, because it makes it VERY difficult for a person with Celiac or an intolerance to actually have that respected. I will have many servers roll their eyes, or people make dumb comments, assuming that I eat gluten free because of some dubious health concerns or some book I read or interview on television. It means it isn't taken as seriously, and for many people it IS a serious issue.

    In the same boat, when I first went Gluten Free. My friends and family were so confused. I got snotty comments that I was following some trend diet. When I got better. My color returned. My random stomach episodes stopped, they now understand.

    I think it is so underdiagnosed, so when people try the diet they start to feel better. It is not for everyone. The only weight thing that ever happened with me, I got better so I could exercise again. GF foods are higher in calories.
  • SnicciFit
    SnicciFit Posts: 967 Member
    Whether or not it is a fad, it is not like fat free unless the food manufactures start making gluten free foods that are worse for us than the original!

    It isn't like fat free unless people start thinking "well, it is gluten free, so it must be good for me!"

    Hopefully, we have come far enough to avoid going through all that again, but folks like day fixes and industry likes money.

    Unfortunately, I think this has already happened. Gluten-free junk food is everywhere now. It's still junk food.
  • norrisski
    norrisski Posts: 1,217 Member
    Yes, the only people who need gluten free are those with celic disease. High calorie food, high carbohydrates is high calorie food no matter what it is called.
  • charliesangel13
    charliesangel13 Posts: 25 Member
    Wheat Belly is full of half-truths and speculation. It is not backed by rigorous scientific experiment.
    Read this:
    http://noglutennoproblem.blogspot.ca/2012/03/wheat-belly-busted.html

    Ha ha :laugh: Don't use blogspot as a source for reliable info.

    I have no postition on gluten. Well, except I only have it once a week. But, blogspot is not a resource. Anyone can say anything in a blog or book. Doesn't make it so.

    I have to agree with you there. I'm going strictly on my personal experience. I won't say going wheat free increased my weight loss. I've been stalled for quite some time since I haven't been moving enough. However, the other health benefits I mentioned previously are true.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
    Wheat Belly is full of half-truths and speculation. It is not backed by rigorous scientific experiment.
    Read this:
    http://noglutennoproblem.blogspot.ca/2012/03/wheat-belly-busted.html

    Ha ha :laugh: Don't use blogspot as a source for reliable info.

    I have no postition on gluten. Well, except I only have it once a week. But, blogspot is not a resource. Anyone can say anything in a blog or book. Doesn't make it so.

    I'll use any link I would like thanks.
    The link is not a scientific journal but explains quite well where Davis speculated and was intellectually dishonest.
    It also gives cites to the journals in question which Davis misquotes.

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