Gluten Free Diets

Brian Dunning from Skeptoid just released another interesting episode. This time about Gluten Free Diets, which I thought would interest some people here.

Robb Wolf released a book a little while ago about being gluten-free, another interesting read. Also I would suggest looking at the Perfect Health Diet written by the Jaminets, another very interesting book dealing with similar topics.

I only had time for a cursory glance at the article but it felt to me as if the author claims that gluten can't be all that bad because it's a natural protein... as if everything 'natural' is good for your health... which of course is nonsense. But I may have gotten it completely wrong, I'll need to read it more thoroughly later today.

Biomieg, you can also listen to it. It's a podcast.

He takes a balanced look at the topic and doesn't commit to the "natural fallacy". He is just pointing out the (for most people) unnecessary hype about "gluten free", which seems to be the latest craze in nutrition, right after paleo.

This

It is true that a small number of people are born with gluten sensitivies that reduce their ability to tolerate it to varying degrees. Something of a non-sequitur line of reasoning has followed, that if some people can't tolerate it, it therefore must be generally bad for everyone.

or the last paragraph

So think of gluten sensitivities in the same way you'd think of bee stings or peanut allergies: of great and very real concern to a small number of people, of some concern for a few more, and of no concern to the rest of us. Don't let anyone tell you that gluten is harming you in some way that's so far not supported by any science, or that you should avoid it for the purpose of general wellness. For most of us, gluten is our friend; but never forget that it is also, like many compounds, definitely harmful to some.

sums it up nicely.

Thanks, Greg!

Still, even if gluten messes with my body so little that it might not be registered as an actual allergy I'd rather avoid it. Even if it's just to avoid a slight release of cortisol. That being said my diet is not in place right now, but will be as soon as I'm back home.

I agree. It doesn't exactly seem optimal. There are people who can handle various volumes of this or that but it doesn't mean that they wouldn't experience better results if they removed it.

For those interested, here is a response by Robb Wolf.

Greg,

what is your take on Robb Wolf's response?

Ed

His response is pretty much what you would expect from anyone who defends a fringe believe and has a product to sell.

He nicely copied and pasted a couple of studies which at first sight look pretty intimidating.

As one commenter said "I can say 3 articles on a topic is interesting, but hardly a theoretical framework.".

Other commenters have pointed out there are some issues with them. Like small sample size of 29 people etc. .

Whenever someone makes claims like

"Lose fat. Look younger. Feel great. Avoid cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimers"

the alarm bells should go off. I mean, who honestly can take a statement like this seriously? I don't understand how people can accept these miracle claims. Especially when they are not backed up enough by extraordinary evidence and are only put forward by very few health professionals.

That said, I do not argue that this special diet wouldn't be effective in terms of an overall healthy lifestyle. But that can be said for almost all diets. Becoming aware about what you eat is a good thing and will benefit most people.

Well I'd say there is plenty of science supporting a paleo diet. Maybe that's just me.

gymgreg said:

Whenever someone makes claims like

"Lose fat. Look younger. Feel great. Avoid cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimers"

the alarm bells should go off. I mean, who honestly can take a statement like this seriously? I don't understand how people can accept these miracle claims. Especially when they are not backed up enough by extraordinary evidence and are only put forward by very few health professionals.

I disagree, I do not believe these are obscene claims.

Also, about the "3 articles" comment, that is not a an attempt at a theoretical framework.

And I believe there is plenty of evidence in support of this way of eating. It is not all in the form of double-blind placebo controlled studies, however it is out there.

My question to you Greg was not meant to bait you or anything, I was just curious as to your opinion on Robb's response after the article you posted.

Ed

Watch the Mat Lalonde seminar posted here on the site and tell me there are not evidence for a grain, legume and dairy free diet. AKA Paleo diet.

Watch the Mat Lalonde seminar posted here on the site and tell me there are not evidence for a grain, legume and dairy free diet. AKA Paleo diet.

Razz, you seem to think that I am against this particular diet. Let me repeat that I would encourage anybody to take a look at paleo or other diets for that matter. Becoming aware to be aware about what you put into your body will almost certainly improve your life.

Can paleo provide a balanced diet? Sure. Does it provide miracles? Definitely not.

And claiming that it does is what bothers me.

Of course it would be so nice to have a single solution that allows you to "Avoid cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimers".

If someone could show this to work, it would rain Nobel prizes.

I'm glad you're not against it. Still, it is not miracles Greg. Check the Mat Lalonde seminar. The science is there, a paleo diet does improve/counter these diseases

Those claims certainly seem overzealous when labeled "miracles", but I feel this is simply an attempt to discredit them. In fact, the only people who label them miracles are those who brush off this way of eating as a fringe diet or fad. I doubt anybody thinks that loosing weight, feeling good and avoiding disease is truly miraculous. In fact, it should be the normal course of a human life, but because we are so unhealthy as a whole things like disease seem commonplace. So to avoid disease suddenly is a miracle? Not in my mind, and I would bet not in the mind of Robb Wolf. If Robb claimed his version of paleo makes everyone on the internet get along and treat each other respectfully, that would be a miracle.

Furthermore, it is important to realize that "paleo" as a diet is still in it's infancy, and to prove scientifically that a diet philosophy "works" would take numerous studies over the course of lifetimes. There will always be early adopters for anything, able to bear the burden of ridicule, but those who say it can't be done shouldn't feel the need to interrupt those who are doing it. We will be the idiots who test out these "miracles" and science will eventually catch up, for better or for worse.

The claims may seem a bit like miracle claims, but how else would you describe a type one diabetics pancreas resuming its creation of insulin or a cancer patients cancer not growing anymore. Just with diet alone. The "miracle" is that we have these diseases in the first place.

The author of the article would be correct but I think he underestimates how many people really have issues with gluten. If you want to know, simply eat some and check the inflammation response...for the next couple weeks..

If you want to know, try to not eat it for 1-2 weeks or even a month. Gives me some nasty diarrhea right away which I never used to get before staying away from it. In general I do really good on a paleo diet, just need to find a carb level that suits me which is hard when I'm trying to lean out

Same here. After cutting it out, I can tell when I have even accidentally been glutened..if that is a verb.

Razz, I have worked on finding the right carb amount myself as well. Are you already fat adapted or waiting to get there?

well I'm sorta re-fat-adapting as my vacation wasn't quite the healthiest. (but still better than most I guess) Right now just doing pretty much 0 carb on most days and then I will slowly increase.

This is why I fear traveling. It took me eight attempts to adapt and I would rather not go back. Though I would imagine re adapting is a bit easier the second time around.

I've never really had a problem adapting. I don't think I'm very carb tolerant so that's probably why.

I think its near impossible to have a glutten free diet while travelling until you're cooking, which sucks in a country like Singapore, where food can be found food $3 SGD, that's like $2.33 USD.

Yeah it's almost impossible to have a completely gluten free diet.. the stuff is everywhere and if it's not an ingredient there can still be cross contamination.

I just learned that fried things like fried chicken is done by first rolling it in batter. I feel like a fool!