Is Gluten Free making us Fat?

Its a funny thing!  I never thought I would say that I was glad that I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease before "gluten-free" was a phrase that everybody knew. But I am.

When I was diagnosed, there were no gluten free flours in the stores, and no gluten free pizzas, cookies or bread were readily available.  And this was difficult.  I had to figure out how to eat a fresh, unprocessed diet.  I had to learn what nutrients I was lacking in my gluten free diet and find replacement foods.  I had to learn how to use the different types of gluten free flours that I bought online, and how to make that flour taste as good as "normal" food.  It took time and effort but I learned so much about good nutrition and good diet in the process.

Now, gluten free food is readily available in almost every grocery store.  Gluten free hamburger buns, hot dog rolls, pizza, bread, cookies, pretzels - you name it, you can probably get it gluten free.  

Great, you think! and yet I have spoken to so many people who have been put on a gluten free diet and have gained 10 to 20 pounds in 6 months and can't understand why.  A gluten free diet can be a healthy diet as long as you stay with fresh unprocessed foods, limiting your bread foods and taking a good multivitamin every day.  

However, what is happening to many people is that they are told they need to go on a gluten free diet and then they just go to the stores and replace their old glutenous diet of breads, pizzas etc with gluten free breads, pizzas etc.   

This just does not give you a healthy gluten free diet.  Gluten free bread products tend to be higher in calories and lower in nutritional value than the enriched wheat breads you used to eat.  Because they are lower nutritionally, you can get hungry again sooner and need to eat again to maintain your energy level throughout the day.  However, this means that your intake of calories per day can increase dramatically and result in the weight gain that so many people are complaining about and also in the lack of energy and tiredness that is the result of  a nutritionally deficient diet.

 

It is really great to have the selection of gluten free products that are readily available, but it is also really essential to know the specifics of a nutritious gluten free diet, so we can make educated choices about what we eat, and can knowingly choose a healthy gluten free lifestyle.