Gluten-free (trends, part 1)

++ Gluten-free diets have been in the headlines - and manufacturers have noticed.  This is a boon to people who have a medical reason for avoiding gluten - now, it's easier for them to find foods they can eat.  Gluten is found in wheat, rye, and barley, or foods containing these grains.   Incidentally, this does Not mean that gluten-free diets are low-carb diets.

Following a gluten-free diet is very important to people for people with Celiac disease.  Most people with Celiac disease also avoid oats because of a high probability of cross-contamination when several foods are processed in the same factory.  If a person with Celiac disease eats food with gluten, he/she will have an immune reaction that causes bloating, malnutrition, and damage to the intestines.  People with certain other medical conditions are less sensitive to gluten, but still fare better if they avoid it.

This is NOT something to self-diagnose - for several reasons; the main ones are:   your symptoms may be caused by something else, which then goes untreated; you are likely to eliminate a whole category of foods (grains) from your diet, along with the other nutrients found in those foods; following this diet if that's not necessary is a needless expense; foods you substitute for grains may not be healthier for you.  If you have been diagnosed with Celiac disease (or other gluten sensitivity), you should have been referred to a registered dietitian, who can help you draw up a food plan that you can live with, but still identifies and avoids all sources of gluten; and also includes the missing nutrients in other ways, including "safe" grain products. 

What other trends have you noticed lately?  Would you like to have more information on any of them? If so, leave a comment and I'll include information in a future post.

Trends - introduction

++  What's old is new again!  Trends in food, fashion, home furnishings, you name it!  What do they have in common?  My Grandmother used to say, "Save that shirt.  It will be back in style in 7 years."  Even if the timing varies, "retro" comes back in style.  Details change, but the basics come back periodically.  For the next few posts, we will look at some of the food trends that have returned recently.

To judge the value of any diet, or to develop a good food plan, it helps to remember a few key points:

1. Diets that restrict certain foods, or groups of foods, often lead to a lack of key nutrients.  Sometimes, the handling of the food makes it a poor choice:  examples are highly processed foods that have essential parts removed in production, foods that could be contaminated, etc.  But, the basic foods themselves could have still been a part of a good diet. 
2. Diets that stress one food - like eating cabbage soup every day - can also lead to nutrient imbalances.  The only good thing about these diets is that many people soon get so tired of them that they don't stick with the diet for long.
3. Many specialty diets are more expensive to follow than how "grandma" told you to eat. Your grandma did say to eat your vegetables, and not gorge on dessert, right? 
4. Many people respond to a restrictive diet by starting to crave the foods the diet forbids.  An 80/20 food plan can help you get off to a good start if you want to improve your diet.  80% of the time, eat healthy foods in healthy amounts.  You can find suggestions for this with a guide like ChooseMyPlate.  The other 20% of the time (and gradually less), you can indulge.

Next up:  gluten-free.  See you soon.