The Gluten-Free Craze

Are you eating gluten-free?  If you aren’t, you probably know someone who is.  Gluten is a sticky protein found in wheat, rye, kamut, spelt and barley.

Some people legitimately need to eat gluten-free because they have a condition known as Celiac which means that their body reacts very negatively to gluten.  Others are choosing to eat gluten-free because of the health benefits.  This is where things get a little more complicated than just avoiding gluten for health reasons.

Unfortunately, due to the current popularity of eating gluten-free, the processed food industry has jumped on the bandwagon and they have been very quick to provide us with many gluten-free options in the form of bread, muffins, bagels, cookies, pretzels, buns, pizza crusts, etc.

From a nutritional perspective, when you look at the ingredients in many gluten-free products, you will see many high-starch carbohydrates such as white rice, corn flour and sugars such as maltodextrin, tapioca, potato starch – the list goes on and on.  Are these ingredients truly health-promoting?  The simple answer is NO!  They fall in to the processed carbohydrate family and none of us benefit from having these kinds of carbohydrates in our diet.  These are the carbohydrates that cause blood sugar imbalances and lead to type 2 or lifestyle diabetes.

A truly healthier option is to get the majority of our carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables.  I suggest that my clients keep their grain consumption to one meal a day and to choose a whole grain such as brown rice or quinoa in its whole form, which is cooked on top of the stove.  Anything made from flour is not a whole grain.

We are seeing many Hollywood stars eating gluten-free to keep their great figures; however they are not just eating gluten-free products.  They are not starving either!  They are eating good quality protein, good quality fats along with fruits, vegetables and whole cooked gluten-free grains on occasion.  Their well-balanced lifestyle diets have been developed for them by nutritionists.

By eating good quality protein, good fats and most of your carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables at every meal and snack, you will keep your blood sugar in balance, which will give you stable energy throughout the day and keep diabetes at bay!

Kim Edmundson is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist & BIE Practitioner. She can be reached by email: kim@divinewellness.ca, web: www.divinewellness.ca, Facebook, or Twitter: @Divine_Wellness.