Gluten Free is not healthy? Blasphemy –you must think someone has hijacked my blog, but it’s true. Just because a food is gluten free does not mean it is healthy.
Sadly, the recent popularity of “gluten free” has many thinking that if they eliminate gluten, they are on a healthy diet. As Michael Pollan wrote last year in the New York Times Magazine, “Gluten has become the bad nutrient of the moment.”
I think it’s time for those of us in the gluten free blogoshpere to admit that villainizing one ingredient is not enough when it comes to eating well.
With all of the hype surrounding gluten free, no one mentions the dirty little secret of the Standard Gluten Free Diet. Few realize that when it comes to gluten free baked goods such as bread, snacks, and desserts, gluten free food is not as nutritious as “regular” food. That’s because gluten free goods are generally made with ingredients such as rice, corn, potatoes, sorghum, tapioca and millet, which are higher in carbohydrates and lower in protein and other nutrients than wheat flour. Sad, but true. The typical gluten free ingredients that are used in place of wheat are less nutritious than wheat itself.
The Gluten Free diet is a very specific requirement for very specific people –those with celiac, gluten intolerance or gluten sensitivity. People with these conditions have to eliminate gluten from their diets to make sure their body doesn’t deteriorate. Let’s remember though, that doing so doesn’t actually speak to eating the diet and consuming the foods that allow your body to thrive. Those are two separate things. Therefore, the millions of Americans jumping on the gluten free bandwagon, who believe that eliminating one ingredient is a quick fix are short changing themselves.
If you have any of the above conditions (and it’s a good idea to go to a doctor and get tested if you think you might) remove gluten from your diet. For that matter, if something makes you feel sick, get it out of your diet! However, if you think eliminating one food gives you a free pass to eat processed gluten free goods made from rice, corn, etc., and that this will make you healthy, guess again.
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The best path to wellness is a well rounded diet which includes many foods –it is far more work than simply bastardizing one ingredient, such as gluten.
What does eating healthy entail? Consuming a diverse array of nutrient dense foods every day; day after day. When I was a little girl, my Dad told me to eat the rainbow. So I’m staying away from fad diets and sticking with Dad’s advice. I have to agree with him, eating close to the earth is, and always has been, the way to go.
Trista says
I love this post! Thanks for bringing this discussion up Elana. It is so true. Replacing gluten foods with gluten free alternatives is a distaster waiting to happen. Gluten is bad, but so are processed carbohydrates. Real food made with real ingredients is answer.
Megan says
Nutrition is such a personalized experience. I agree with and eat very similarly to Elana. i have hashi’s/gluten intolerance and am still figuring out what works best for me. I eat paleo for the most part, but lately have been realizing its a bit too low carb for me (eating too low carb can stress your thyroid) and have recently discovered that I do best adding in a bit of “safe” starches like potatoes and white rice here or there. I’m active and this addition seems to really help. Even though I elminated almost everything, I recently discovered I might have a FODMAP issue (cherries and apples caused major discomfort and that tipped me off!) so am exploring how to deal with that.
I think eating whole.unprocessed.nutrient dense FOOD is the key to health. Frankenfoods/overly sweetened/modified food should be eliminated. Treats like on this site should be indulged in occasionally and not an every day thing – at least for me. I agree with some that the flour blends made with rice, tapioca, potatoes etc are helpful and sometimes a bit easier to digest than almond or coconut flour…I use them all, but again, only for special occasions. Corn can mess with my belly so I limit that as well.
What works for me, may not work for you….what do they say? Your mileage may vary :)
Allie K says
I LOVE this post (and most of your posts). I shared it on my Facebook page (small readership:P). This is what I’m ALWAYS trying to tell people.
I DO eat gluten (although not much anymore) but I don’t eat dairy, soy or sugar-cane. Whenever I splurge and eat “fake” cheese – Daiya – for example – I don’t claim that I’m eating healthier. I’m eating processed cheese, it just happens to be better for ME than real cheese but I’m by NO means claiming to be healthier. The healthier choice in these scenarios is to always just remove!
Eat lots of veggies, fruit, nuts, meat (if that’s your thing) and eat it in the best possible form that you can. Occasionally eat rice or rice pasta if you need to, but balance it out with more whole eating. I love the eat the rainbow concept. I hated that I had to eat healthy as a kid and rebelled against in during my whole cooking-for-myself-for-the-first-time 10 years of my life, but now it’s all about fresh fresh fresh again!
This gluten-free trend will likely carry over to new things soon. For example: why is no one talking about the amount of processed SOY people are eating? Just because soy falls in the healthy food section, doesn’t mean a person should consume ALL of those things! Balance, balance, balance!
I got into a rant.. Great post :) @changingkitchen
Brynn says
I found that complex carbs matched with coconut flour and a very digestable carb such as Hawaiian Taro Flour/Powder is the best combination for nutrients. The only certified gluten-free taro powder is from Voyaging Foods since they manufacture their Hawaiian Taro powder in Hawaii at http://www.voyagingfoods.com. Look for gluten free with natural Vitamin B6, Thiamin, Vitamin E, fiber and iron. Not easy but they are out there!
Caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy says
i agree, sad but true. whole foods is the way to go! :)
Finley Kelly says
Hi! Elana,
Your article about the glten free diet is so true in my case. I have been trying hard to stay away from wheat. But not only wheat. Actually, all grains. Even then, I still had a sensitivity to a lot of other foods. Mine is not severe. My skin would become hyper sensitive.
This January I started making water kefir. I really needed the probiotics! Dairy was also out so the water kefir was great! Since then, I have been able to eat a bit of wheat. The other grains seem to be the ones I still react to the most, but a lot less than before! I am able to eat a variety of foods again!
Thanks for the information!
Finley
Kathi says
My only comment would be that the headline should have read: Gluten Free is Not “Necessarily” Healthy. Many of the gluten free products contain other not so healthy ingredients. I agree gluten is probably not good for anyone.
Scentsy says
I heard a quote the other day that is along the lines of your advice… “if earth made it, eat it. If man made it, don’t.” I think this is where white flour appliess. Gluten tolerance or not, I think this is good advice to live by. :)
peacebeme says
I really like this post but perhaps for a different reason than you intended. I am somewhat conflicted about the gluten-free craze. It has really been great for me drawing attention to the gluten-free lifestyle because restaurants and especially stores carry more gluten-free products. However, I agree that gluten-free shouldn’t in and of itself be associated with healthy. When being gluten-free becomes a diet fad, it takes away from the actual seriousness of the health problems experienced by people with celiac disease and real gluten intolerance. I’ve had too many people, upon finding out that I can’t eat gluten, say to me, “Oh I’ve been thinking of trying that. I heard it’s really healthy”. These are people that don’t have any other health problems. Most of them just want to lose weight. I explained to them that it’s really only for people who are intolerant. I hate people assuming that I’m just on some fad diet, when it’s a lifestyle thing for me that is really important. The reason a lot of people feel better on a gluten-free diet is because most gluten-free products don’t have preservatives in them, as they are made by small companies. As this movement becomes more popular, big-name brands are touting their gluten-free products that aren’t preservative-free/junk free ingredients (Zataran’s comes to mind-some of their products contain MSG but are still gluten-free!).
kmorganics says
Gluten Free is not always about being unhealthy it is about not tolerating gluten. There are people such as those with celiacs that can not tolerate Gluten, as well as others that get deathly ill when they eat gluten. It is about educating yourslef with a nutritionist’s help and learning what you can tolerate and what not. There are some good gluten free foods with very low sugar, low sodium, healthy qualities and so much more. Education is key. Do your homework and you will find some very good healthy foods that Gluten Free and good for a healthy diet. kmorganics.com