To be or not to be Gluten-Free

This week the FDA released the first standards on what manufacturers can label as gluten-free. You might be shocked to know that prior to this, manufacturers were left up to their own judgement about what is gluten-free, of course they are also allowed to call things "all natural" without standards, so maybe this didn't surprise you. However, if you are one of the 3 million Americans with Celiac, this should be a welcome change.

What is gluten anyway? Gluten is a protein found in foods processed from wheat and related grains, such as rye and barley. Gluten is found in many products including bread, cereal, beer, soy sauce, flavored chips, and many many others. 

How do you know if you have Celiac? How do you know if you should be gluten-free? 

• First of all - being gluten-free is not a diet strategy. Removing processed products from your diet is a good change to make, but gluten has protein and nutrients that are good for you. Often gluten-free products have quite a few processed ingredients that you might not want to eat either. According to nutritionfacts.org, there was a study conducted last year that suggested that being on a gluten-free diet was actually bad for your good bacteria in your gut, so a gluten-free diet is not for everyone. 
• If you have noticeable symptoms such as the classic features of Celiac: diarrhea, weight loss, and malnutrition, or latent symptoms such as isolated nutrient deficiencies but no gastrointestinal symptoms, then you should see your doctor and get tested. 
• If your doctor rules out Celiac, but you suspect you might have a sensitivity, try an elimination diet. This means remove all gluten from your diet for a period of at least 2 weeks and see how you feel. Reintroduce gluten at the end of your 2 week period and again assess how you feel. If you have a sensitivity, you should have a noticeable difference when you start eating it again. Based on how you feel, you can make the decision as to whether to continue eating it or not.
• Be aware that gluten is found in many, many products. There are plenty of gluten-free alternatives, but if you suspect you have a sensitivity, do your research on what removing it from your diet means and what foods are affected.
• If you try the elimination diet and don't see a difference between when you eat gluten and when you don't, good news! You probably don't have a sensitivity and can continue eating gluten (preferably in the form of whole grains).

If you need assistance with the elimination diet or have more questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at jessi.toye@toyeconsulting.com.