Gluten free food : Separate the wheat from the chaff

Gluten free food is on page.

Last year, in North America, there was a clear augmentation of the sale of gluten free foods and products. This popularity is thanks to Hollywood actors which adopted this diet to lose weight and gain in vitality. This craze of actors to gluten free foods is from autors that published books showing the well-founded of this steps. Autors in favour to this type of foods boast the lost of weight provoked with the removal of corn and gluten. In the facts, its more like a substantial removal of carbohydrate off foods. Lost of weight is generated by the diminution marked by cereals products and an increase of fruits and vegetables consumption. These one are less dense in calories than bakeries products, and so, create a caloric deficit that allow the gain of weight. happy to lose weight, people feels better and haves more energy.

Recently, Dr Davis, cardiologist, published a book on the subject. Acconrding to these sayings, wheat is toxical and responsible of numerous disease. Since then, peoples tried and attributed some changes in their life to the benefits of a wheat free alimentation.

On the other side, Dr Joseph Murray, gastroenterologist at Mayo clinic advise people against the adoption of a wheat free or gluten free diet without medical advices. This author of many books about gluten says that someone who proclaims himself gluten intolerant and follow this diet, may feels better for a while. However, it could hide symptoms of Crohn's disease, gastric ulcer or colon cancer.

Warning needed.

Recently, the FMOQ (Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec) ad the OPDQ (Ordre professionnel des diététistes du Québec) published a warning for the systematic adoption of this diet. Adopting a gluten free diet can make establishing a diagnosis hard and in absence of diagnosis, we may have more tendencies to be tempted by smaller quantities by moments. This can provoke serious symptoms that wont be attributed to celiac disease since markers will be blurred by the previous removal of gluten.

Gluten free diet, essential for some.

On the other side, we recognize that 1% of wolrdwide population is affected by celiac disease. A condition implying removal of all forms of wheat, and so, gluten, also all other cereals that contains the acronyms, oat, barley, triticale. All these products that may contains gluten have to be removed from wheat bread to ground pepper that may be contaminated by gluten... The complexity of this diet imply a medical and nutritional following without what, deficiencies and anemias could appear.

More, the scientific community estimated that 15% of the North American population could have an hypersensibility to gluten. Especially, we found cases of symptoms of irritable bowel that show sensibility to gluten.

To see clearer.

All this isn't completely white, nor black. here are my suggestion as a nutritionist;

• Firstly, if you adopt wheat and gluten free food; consult your physician to valid the well founded of your approach.
• Secondarily, meet with a nutrionist to help you equilibrate your alimentation to avoid potential gain of weight, creation of deficiencies in nutrients and anemias.

Solutions to succeed.

For those this diet is right, here tips to healthily adopt a free gluten alimentation;

1. Be part of la Fondation québécoise de la maladie coeliaque or l'Association canadienne de la maladie coeliaque. These associations gives lots of informations and a useful network. The Quebec fondation published a useful guide of ingredients to allowed and avoid. This pocket guide is essential to search and avoid consumption of contaminated foods.
2. Instead of systematicaly replace bakeries products by gluten free versions, go for more vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, dairy products and substitute, fish, puoltry and other meats. Too much commercial products may increased the overload of concentrated sugar and lipîds, which is not at all at advantage on health plan.
3. Stay raw. as less as possible of transformed , packed or canned foods.
4. Cook yourself bakeries products. Prepare all-purpose flour mix and use it instead of flour that contains wheat or gluten. It is wise to use a mix which the weight and volume are comparable to one of an all-purpose wheat flour. Thereby, you will have better results in your recipes.
5. Consults relatable resources. Access to numerous informations on the web can lead you to confusion on credible informations. Trust governmental institutions, organisms with a sientific review committee or associations or grouping linked with a disease or a condition. Here a list not limited of credible links related to gluten free fooding and nutrition in general :

Fondation québécoise de la maladie coeliaque : http://fqmc.org/

Association canadienne de la maladie coeliaque : www.celiac.ca/

Extenso : http:www.extenso.org

Santé Canada : http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/pubs/securit/glutenconn-lien gluten-fra.php

 i Oat does not contain gliadin, the protein fraction of gluten responsible of celiac disease. However, it contain filbert, which has a chemical structure. So, we recommand to limit its use and be sure of its purity.