The term Gluten free has become a bit of a buzz word over the last few years….
Lots of products now boast that their ingredients are gluten free and it’s used heavily to market and sell just about any and every food choice you can think of.
So what is Gluten ? And what does it mean if a food choice is Gluten free?
This is a simple question that’s often overlooked………..
Gluten is a mix of proteins found in grains with the main focus often being on:
Wheat
Rye
Barley
Think of Gluten as the glue that holds the food together……….
Some people genuinely suffer from what’s known as Celiac Disease (gluten causes the immune system to trigger an abnormal response) and in turn these people suffer some pretty horrific issues including extreme bloating & fatigue, & generally feeling pretty garbage!
Long term sufferers of celiac disease (without treatment) can also end up with increased risk of osteoporosis & anaemia…..
So it can be a serious issue………..
IF (keyword number 1) you are genuinely a diagnosed (key word number 2) sufferer………
I know several people who suffer pretty bad and have to make conscious choices & decisions on a daily basis..
These decisions centre around excluding certain foods from their diet.
If you are not diagnosed with an intolerance you don’t need to go the potential inconvenience & hassle of doing this!
Likewise, if you genuinely feel better in terms of digestion & performance for not including a certain food choice in your diet, then crack on!
Bread is a bit example of this, often people will cut out bread and, as a result, reduce body fat and therefore link the exclusion of bread to weight loss and bread becomes ‘bad’….
However, the result of weight loss is often down to simply being in a calorie deficit…
Think about it:
What has more calories?
A chicken sandwich or a chicken salad?
Bread isn’t your enemy (unless you ARE intolerant)…..
Carbs aren’t your enemy……
An excessive calorie intake is your enemy.
Remember that just because a food is labelled ‘gluten free’ it’s not calorie free………….
The best plan nutritional plan for YOU is the one that YOU can stick to.
In the world of results, adherence is key and consistency is key….
That’s all for today, until next time,
Tristan ‘loves a bagel’ Buttle
P.S – a Costa ‘gluten free’ brownie has round 410 kcal……………….