The Gluten Free Diet

Many people are jumping on the “Gluten Free” bandwagon, anticipating it will have beneficial effects like promoting weight loss or even ‘cleansing’ effects.  In reality, the gluten free diet is necessary–and helpful–only for people who have a true allergy to gluten, which is a diagnosable and treatable condition called Celiac Sprue.

When people with celiac sprue ingest wheat products–like bread, cereals, crackers, and other grain products made from wheat–they experience an inflammatory reaction in the small intestine.  The result is pain, mal-absorption, and often weight loss.  The condition may be diagnosed at any age, and results from a true allergy to the protein (called gluten) found in wheat, barley, rye, and to a lesser extent, oats.  Some people have been suffering diarrhea, abdominal pain, and weight loss for many years before they realize this is not normal and seek the advice of a qualified physician to get to the root of the problem.

Diagnosis is possible from a small bowel biopsy and also a blood test.  Dietary elimination of products containing gluten can also suggest a positive diagnosis if symptoms go into remission.  It’s fairly difficult to live on a gluten-free diet since a small amount of gluten can find its way into a large number of products, and the celiac sufferer is quite sensitive to exposure.  Followers of the diet benefit from the recent surge of  gluten-free products that are available today: breads (made from potato or corn flour), cereals, crackers, brownies, muffins, and pastas that were previously off-limits for the gluten-free diner are now common items on the shelves in the “health foods” aisles.

The presence of these items in healthy food sections may be what had led so many people to believe they can somehow promote well-being.  But, in fact, eliminating wheat and other grains from the diet brings absolutely no benefit to a healthy person who is hoping to “feel better” or lose weight.  Gluten-free substitutes for cakes and muffins are rarely as tasty as the original product (although they are starting to get better), and usually more expensive.  The only benefit for the average person following a gluten-free diet,  as one dietitian pointed out, is that people may feel better on a gluten free diet because they are ingesting fewer processed foods and turning to more fresh fruits and vegetables to round out their intake.

For reliable information on celiac sprue visit the organization’s website at http://www.csaceliacs.org/.

Use the following link for Gluten products at Amazon.
Photo credit: sidewalk flying

Written by Laurie Beebe

About The Author: Laurie Beebe has been a registered dietitian for 25 years and is certified in adult weight management. Laurie currently serves as a diet coach and life coach at www.mycoachlaurie.com

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