“A lot of people can’t eat gluten for medical reasons, and that I get… But a lot of people here don’t eat gluten because someone in their yoga class told them not to.” Jimmy Kimmel is probably the only person who is capable of creating a statement with such truth and humor, and his sentiment segued into a hilarious portion of his show called Pedestrian Question. During this segment, correspondents ask folks awkward questions or questions that produce awkward answers. In the episode this quote comes from, correspondents in Los Angeles ask people if they are on a gluten-free diet, and if they know what gluten is. The responses vary from slightly embarrassing to painfully perplexing, and all of the answers are incorrect. The point of the video was obviously to entertain Kimmel’s audience, but it shows the complete ignorance Americans have about their own dietary habits. A gluten-free diet emerged as a treatment for the symptoms of celiac disease, but has become a popular dietary choice that supposedly promises greater health and lower weight. But the knowledge that dietitians, and, to an even greater degree, the American public, have about gluten is pretty limited. People who blindly follow others into carb-less oblivion need to slow down and read the facts about what it means to be gluten free.
According to “Scientific American,” gluten is a combination of two proteins, glutenin and gliadin, that is found in many wheat products and is responsible for the elasticity of dough. Gluten is not limited to only wheat products, however. It is also found in other grains such as kamut, barley, rye, soy sauce and some salad dressings. For people who have been diagnosed with celiac disease, this protein triggers an autoimmune response in the small intestines, leading to an inflammation of the digestive organ. This painful problem creates a plethora of undesirable side effects, so people with celiac disease are highly encouraged to follow strict gluten-free diets. People who do not have celiac disease digest gluten just fine.
The source of this gluten-free fad is not science, or nutrition, or even statistics, but a bunch of ignorant people making uneducated statements about an extremely broad and relatively unknown topic that they know absolutely nothing about. There, I said it. People who claim that engaging in the gluten-free madness has lowered numbers on the scale and taken inches off their waist are a victim of the good ol’ placebo effect.
According to hard scientific evidence, a gluten-free diet should do no such thing. In fact, it is much more likely to cause weight gain, diabetes and hypertension. Removing gluten from foods means adding something else, and this is usually more fat, sugar or salt, all of which are undeniably detrimental to human health. Gluten-free foods also tend to have less fiber than their counterparts. This, along with the misconception Americans have about gluten-free foods being healthier, contributes to larger portion sizes.
For example, when Gwyneth Paltrow gushes over how wonderful gluten-free doughnuts are, fans get the idea that a gluten-free doughnut is somehow healthier than a standard one. This is probably because of who is endorsing the product – an unusually thin and beautiful woman. If Gwyneth Paltrow can eat gluten-free doughnuts and remain thin, then I can eat gluten-free doughnuts and remain thin, right? Wrong. A doughnut is a doughnut, and it is not going to be healthy no matter how much gluten you take out. Same with pizza, and beer, and baked goods, and any other highly processed food. Gluten-free diets often include an excess of fruits, vegetables and nuts to replace the nutritional value of whole grains, but those foods are not exclusive to a gluten-free diet. The bottom line: unless you have been told by a medical professional that you should consider a gluten-free diet – don’t.
The gluten-free fad is going to pass, just like every other massive diet that has no physiological evidence to support it. There will undoubtedly be another diet right around the corner that will entice the public into cutting out entire food groups and depriving countless bodies of imperative nutrients. When this happens, my only advice is to do the research. Thoroughly research what you are doing to your body, because we are only given one, and it is vital that we take care of it.