Gluten: to eat or not to eat?

Gluten: to eat or not to eat? Are you hearing this question everywhere? I am! Maybe it’s just because I’m in the health industry, but this is such a hot question right now and there is a lot of confusion and controversy around gluten. I am not a medical professional or a scientist, but I am a person with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and a person who has experimented A LOT with the impact of gluten in my diet. So, I’d like to think that my thoughts might be able to help clear up some of the confusion around gluten intake for you!

What is gluten?
Gluten is a protein composite found in many grains, including wheat, barley, rye, etc. It acts as a binding agent.

Why are people cutting it out?
1. They have celiac disease and are actually allergic to gluten. Eating gluten will cause a whole lot of digestive problems for them and hinder their immune system.
2. They are (or think they are) sensitive to gluten.
3. They hear it’s bad for them but actually have no idea.

Personally, I fall into category #2. After being diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome several years ago, I experimented with eliminating and reintroducing numerous foods. I found gluten-containing foods to be one of the main triggers for my irritable bowels. Because I was feeling so much better without eating these foods, I didn’t even want to reintroduce them. I did eat a bagel after about one month without eating gluten and got a terrible stomachache! Otherwise, I’ve eaten mostly gluten-free for the past three years (unless it was an accidental consumption or a bite of someone else’s cookie or bread).

Why gluten-free eating was good and bad for me:
The first year that I eliminated gluten, I still consumed a lot of processed foods. For example, instead of eating pretzels or Wheat Thins, I bought gluten-free crackers, gluten-free bread, and gluten-free pretzels. I felt a little bit better (perhaps because I couldn’t afford as many processed foods), but not much. I continued to eliminate things from my diet to the point where I was really not enjoying eating or cooking at all. No one wants that!

Gluten-free eating has been good for me because it has caused me to be much more aware of what I’m putting into my body and how it makes me feel. I have since learned that gluten itself is probably not the issue for me. Rather, it is all of the sugar and chemicals and that are in gluten-containing foods. I feel better than I have in years, not necessarily because there is no gluten in my diet, but because I’m eating real foods.

I think the reason most people feel better on a gluten-free diet is because they are reducing or eliminating processed foods, not because they are actually allergic to gluten. I still don’t eat pizza or pasta and I probably won’t because I don’t miss them. I also don’t eat gluten-free pizza or pasta because they are likely to be loaded with a bunch of processed junk too. I am, however, slowly reintroducing some glutenous foods, like an occasional piece of bread or regular oats (oats are inherently gluten-free, but often contain gluten due to cross-contamination).

My recommendations for folks who wonder what role gluten should play in their diet:
1. Be open to experimenting with your diet! And, don’t stop experimenting. Try excluding gluten-containing foods (or even better, try excluding processed foods) for a couple of weeks and notice how you feel. Base your decision on how your body responds.
2. Incorporate more whole foods (foods that are from the earth and will rot) into your diet instead of buying gluten-free products. Like any other product in the grocery store, this is a money-maker! Most of the time, gluten-free products are NOT healthier than gluten-containing products. Generally, they have to add in a bunch of other things to make the food bind (and taste good).

If you do experiment with elimination, I’d love to hear how it goes for you! Send me an email at rachel@nepheshwellness.org.

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