Fitness Friday: The Gluten Free Craze

[pc747]

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It is Friday yet again and along with it being the end of the week for many of us, Friday brings with it another Fitness Friday article where the goal each week is to improve daily in mind, body, and spirit. As of late I have noticed that everything now is "gluten free". Gluten free crackers, gluten free cookies (which are horrible by the way), gluten free seasoning,etc. Gluten free has become the new fat free where manufacturers try and make money off the newest health craze. Let's start by defining what gluten is. According to wiki, gluten is a protein composite found in wheat and other grains. So basically that chewy texture you taste in breads are a result of gluten.

So why is gluten bad?

Well the diet started because there are some people who are allergic to gluten and as a result causes inflammation in the small intestine (celiac disease). As you see the diet was not a diet for losing weight but helping people with food allergies. So going gluten free to lose weight when you are not allergic to gluten may be a waste of your time. Whether it be fat free, gluten free, or sugar free the best way to lose weight and/or live a healthier lifestyle is to keep it simple and fill your plate with more produce and lean meats and stay away from the food on the shelves (ie processed foods).

Do not be a victim of the latest craze no matter what some person at the barber, salon, or gym tell you. Do the research for yourself and dig deep into what anyone tell you and if it sounds to good to be true then it probably is. The idea that you can continue to eat junk food such as pizza, cookies, ice cream, cake, etc as long as it is gluten/fat/sugar free is only going to set you up for a disappointing fall.

 

[pjkump]

You are correct in saying it is a fad and that a lot of people are into but yes it is not a weight loss program by any means. One of the benefits to us is the prices have come down some since it is more popular. Don't knock gluten free products as being terrible tho' until you have tried them all! My wife has celiac disease and has been doing gluten free since 2004. Many things are actually better than the non-gluten free version. Cottage Inn pizza, Udi's bread for toasting, home made cookies (that are actually fantastic ), and several others. They have certainly come a long, long way in the last 10 years.

 

[cr6]

Great post PC!
What makes it (fad diets & whatnot) worse, are when people like Dr Oz go on national tv spouting all this nonsense and the general public takes what he says as absolute fact. A modern day snake oil salesman is at its finest.

S5 tap'n

 

[pc747]

You are correct in saying it is a fad and that a lot of people are into but yes it is not a weight loss program by any means. One of the benefits to us is the prices have come down some since it is more popular. Don't knock gluten free products as being terrible tho' until you have tried them all! My wife has celiac disease and has been doing gluten free since 2004. Many things are actually better than the non-gluten free version. Cottage Inn pizza, Udi's bread for toasting, home made cookies (that are actually fantastic ), and several others. They have certainly come a long, long way in the last 10 years.

You are correct there are some things gluten free that taste pretty good. And for those like your wife it is good to have a viable option.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk 2

 

[mikekhelxD]

As a nutritional science student, this is a good post telling people not to buy onto the gluten free craze. Being also situated here at Los Angeles, it's funny how so much health conscious people go by what the new fad is.

Although it is a fad, the best benefit of it is like what pjkump said, prices going down for gluten free products and that there more varities being push out. Whether companies main objective is to make money off the craze, it is at least helping others such as pj's wife to have more accessibility to a variety of gluten fee products. It is no joke having to go through grocery shopping with a celiac condition as it requires lots of energy looking carefully at the food labels. Also, going out to eat I assume is quiet hard as well.

To make it more difficult in regards to gluten field, having celiac disease and gluten sensitivity almost possesses the similar or the same symptoms.

Gluten...what is it? Jimmy Kimmel asks.

 

[jcalandria]

Yeah, the gluten free dad was an amazing marketing ploy that created an entire industry to fool the masses....genius but quite evil

 

[thunderbolt_nick]

I can't stand people who make a fad of something with no scientific evidence to back it up. You know what the new fad is now? Bullet coffee. For those who aren't familiar with it, it is where you drink nothing but coffee. Not just any coffee, it is filled with butter... Yeah... Fattening butter. *sigh* Stop being lazy people. Just eat less portions with less sugar. That simple.

 

[Huannsaiy]

Want to get the body ,do healthy exercise, in addition there is no other way

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

My biggest problem with gluten-free people is their evangelism. Forever trying to get me to try their gluten free dessert, or dish, and going on about how good for you it is to stop eating gluten.

Whatever. Just eat your hard bread and cookies and leave those of us that have no problem with gluten alone!

 

[94lt1]

Want to get the body ,do healthy exercise, in addition there is no other way

Not entirely true.. While exercise is important.. Proper nutrition plays a huge part in it. Some people think they can eat what they want, as long as they workout a few days a week.. This isn't so.. You have to properly fuel your body, to get the results people are looking for.