"Is Gluten Making Us Fat" article on yahoo website

_http://health.yahoo.net/rodale/MH/is-gluten-making-us-fat said:

Is Gluten Making Us Fat?

Turkey and tomato on wheat. Whole-grain pasta. Healthy, right? Maybe. But more and more people believe these foods are parts of a potentially disastrous trap. They claim that sluggishness and weight gain can be blamed on an insidious substance hiding in wheat and many other common grains: gluten.

Avoiding gluten has become big business. Sales of gluten-free products grew about 30 percent a year from 2006 to 2010, and will hit $3.9 billion by next year, according to the market research company Packaged Facts. Supermarket shelves are filled with gluten-free breads, soups, and cake mixes—even gluten-free ketchup and soy sauce. According to market research firm Mintel, 10 percent of new foods launched in 2010 featured a "gluten-free" claim, up from only 2 percent 5 years earlier.

NFL quarterback Drew Brees won a Super Bowl while on a gluten-free diet. Cyclist Tom Danielson, a record-breaking member of the Garmin-Transitions team, says his training and racing have improved since he and his teammates went gluten-free over a year ago.

Have most common whole grains been acting as insidious nutritional double agents all these years? Or are they essential components of a healthy diet? Let's separate the wheat from the chaff.


What is gluten, anyway? How does it affect the body?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, as well as in many common food additives. It's what gives dough its elasticity and baked goods their satisfying chewiness. But for people with celiac disease—a type of autoimmune disorder—eating foods that contain gluten can lead to a cascade of nasty reactions, including damage to the small intestine, poor nutrient absorption, diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating, anemia, and fatigue. Celiac disease is surprisingly common, affecting about one in every 133 people, according to an often-cited 2003 study from the University of Maryland center for celiac research. There is no cure for celiac disease and no drugs that can treat it; you can only manage the condition, by sticking to a gluten-free diet for the rest of your life.

Even if you don't have celiac disease, gluten may still be bad for you, says Lara Field, M.S., R.D., a dietitian at the University of Chicago's celiac disease center. A rising percentage of people in the United States consider themselves "gluten-sensitive." "These people may have a food intolerance or experience many celiac-type symptoms after consuming foods that contain gluten," says Field. Some may have a form of wheat allergy. If you think you may have symptoms of a gluten intolerance, ask your doctor about scheduling a blood test to find out for sure.


I need to drop pounds. Is a gluten-free diet worth a shot?

A gluten-free diet can work, but dealing with the diet's restrictions can be daunting. "You have to commit to a true lifestyle change, and that can be tough," says Edward Abramson, Ph.D., a professor emeritus at California State University at Chico and the author of Emotional Eating. "Men might be able to follow gluten-free for a short time," he says, "but without a real medical need, they might have a rough time sticking to it."

But the notion of a panacea for excess weight remains seductive, and that may be part of the appeal of the gluten-free movement, says Michael R. Lowe, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Drexel University who specializes in nutritional approaches to weight loss. It sounds simple: If I do this one thing, then I will see the results I'm after. "That's the driving appeal of elimination diets," Lowe says.

Ironically, the boom in gluten-free products isn't necessarily helpful to those looking to lose weight. "You can buy gluten-free versions of practically every type of wheat-based food— pizza, pasta, cookies, you name it," Thompson says. But here's the catch: Healthy-sounding gluten-free items often contain just as many calories as the originals. People might overindulge in gluten-free options because they seem like "safe" foods, says Field. "People see 'gluten- free' and think they can down an entire box of gluten-free cookies with no repercussions."

So even if you stick to a gluten-free diet, it can actually lead to weight gain. A 2006 study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology followed 188 people with celiac disease (half of whom were overweight or obese) on a gluten-free diet for 2 years and discovered that 81 percent of them gained weight.

If you do give up gluten, use your new eating plan as a lens to reexamine your diet—and your life. Cyclist Danielson says, "I don't know if it was directly tied to the food, but I found that by having to pay more attention to my daily diet, I became more focused on my cycling."

Avoiding gluten takes constant monitoring— the same attention to detail you need to excel in your workouts. "I became more dedicated and took a more professional approach to my training when I went gluten-free," Danielson says. "I couldn't get lazy and down whole pizzas and bowls of pasta. I had to focus on putting better food in my body, and this made me realize how much my eating habits off the bike affected my performance on it." Mindful eating is key. After all, "you don't need to go gluten-free to avoid refined processed carbs," says Thompson.


The New Power Grains

Even if you don't need to avoid gluten, it's a good idea to explore the world of gluten-free grains. All of them are rich in belly-filling fiber, and each offers unique benefits.

Quinoa
Once an energy booster for Inca warriors, this superfood of the Andes provides complete protein, with all nine essential amino acids. It's also low on the glycemic index, so it won't spike your blood sugar.

Try it: Ancient Harvest Quinoa Shells are made from just two ingredients: quinoa and corn. Toss with chicken sausage for even more protein. quinoa.net

Buckwheat
Buckwheat is rich in rutin, a flavonoid that has potent antioxidant properties. It's also rich in heart-healthy magnesium.

Try it: Arrowhead Mills Maple Buckwheat Flakes have a light, crispy texture. Buckwheat also makes a hearty substitute for rice. arrowheadmills.com

Amaranth
A grain the size of a poppy seed, amaranth has more protein than wheat and twice that of white rice. Initial studies in rodents suggest that amaranth's high protein content can help lower cholesterol.

Try it: Health Valley Amaranth Graham Crackers have only 120 calories per serving. Try them with squares of antioxidant-rich dark chocolate. healthvalley.com

Click to expand...

Sasa said:

So even if you stick to a gluten-free diet, it can actually lead to weight gain. A 2006 study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology followed 188 people with celiac disease (half of whom were overweight or obese) on a gluten-free diet for 2 years and discovered that 81 percent of them gained weight.

Click to expand...

RyanX said:

Sasa said:

So even if you stick to a gluten-free diet, it can actually lead to weight gain. A 2006 study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology followed 188 people with celiac disease (half of whom were overweight or obese) on a gluten-free diet for 2 years and discovered that 81 percent of them gained weight.

Click to expand...

They seem to be hitting this diet propaganda angle pretty hard as of late: arguing against a gluten-free diet claiming it will cause one to gain weight.

Click to expand...

Laura said:

Problem is, going strictly gluten free needs to be accompanied by going simple carb free too. Just read a book entitled "Why We Get Fat" and he lays it out though he doesn't talk about gluten! His target is insulin and it is a big one. A must read, for sure, even for people who are not fat because, if he is right - and he cites a lot of good science - insulin is definitely something that should be considered an enemy in the same way stress is: it's good when it is triggered for the right reasons in the right circumstances, but getting turned on too much, too strong, and too often is deadly for everyone.

Click to expand...

Stranger said:

He restricted his and his patients diets to no more than 6 bread units or 72 gram of carbohydrates a day. After being really ill at age 50 (fatigue, joint pain,...), he changed to his low-carb diet and stayed healthy until 99.

Edit: chapter IV about the gastro-intestinal tract is available online. The first english version of the book was named "Dismantling a Myth: The Role of Fat and Carbohydrates in our Diet"

Click to expand...

Laura said:

Well, wouldn't you know it: it's out of print and no copies available on amazon us or uk. Maybe this is one of those books that should be scanned and shared for research purposes? Do you have a copy?

Click to expand...

Pashalis said:

Life Without Bread:
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Without-Bread-Low-Carbohydrate-Diet/dp/0658001701

Click to expand...

Stranger said:

Laura said:

Well, wouldn't you know it: it's out of print and no copies available on amazon us or uk. Maybe this is one of those books that should be scanned and shared for research purposes? Do you have a copy?

Click to expand...

Too bad. :(

I only own the german version. In german its called "Life without Bread" and already in it's 18. edition. But the english "Life without Bread" seems to be a newer book of him, written together with a guy called Christian B. Allan. Maybe the content is similar.

But I doubt that the depth is the same, since "Dismantling a Myth" was highly scientific and initially not written for avarage people. Despite he rewrote it, so everyone interested in the topic could understand it, it's still not easy to read (for people with no knowledge on this topic). I gave it to some friends, and they stopped after the first 30 pages or so. Anyway, I loved it. :)

Since he was the first one doing practical research on the low-carb diet, it is a shame that this book is out of print. By the way, besides his own research his also cites scientific studys and data.

But who knows, maybe his new book is also worth reading or contains almost the same content?

Click to expand...

In recent years, a slew of books on low-carbohydrate diets by medical doctors and nutritionists have appeared on the market. Some, like those by Dr. Robert Atkins, MD, have focused on using low-carb diets for weight loss. Others, like the Protein Power series by the Eades, have focused on the lifestyle of low-carb eating. None of the titles, however, have applied low-carb eating to a variety of diseases, showing how such a diet directly ameliorates and heals conditions like Crohn's disease, heart disease, and diabetes. With Life Without Bread, however, that pattern has ended. Dr.'s Allan and Lutz have done an excellent job of lucidly presenting a systematic approach to low-carb eating, its beneficial effects on a number of disease conditions, and, most importantly, the scientific and clinical data to back up the claims.

Life Without Bread is mostly based on the clinical experience of Dr. Lutz, an Austrian medical doctor who has successfully used low-carb diets for decades on thousands of patients. The results of Lutz' clinical successes have been published in several European medical journals (mostly in German) and he even authored a German version of LWB as far back as 1967 to good response. His work, however, was ignored in the United States. While the USDA was hawking the Food Pyramid with its 6-12 servings of grain products a day on the American public (and most of the Western world following this lead), Dr. Lutz and a handful of brave iconoclasts were preaching the virtues of high protein and fat/low-carb diets for healthy living. After many years, Lutz succeeded in securing an American publisher and the results of his experience and research are now available to all English-speaking people.

The book begins with a definition of just what low-carb nutrition really is, followed by an historical survey of the approach by various doctors and nutritionists including such luminaries as William Banting, Weston Price, Vilhjamur Stefansson, John Yudkin, and Carlton Fredericks. In Lutz and Allan's definition, the low-carb diet should include no more than 72 grams of carbohydrates a day. The rest of the diet should be made up of protein and fat from a range of plant and animal sources.

Chapter three focuses on the effect carbohydrates have on hormonal function. Despite the complexity of the subject matter, Lutz and Allan do a fine job of explaining the endocrinological details with a variety of graphs, illustrations, and references.

Most of the following chapters focus on the benefits of low-carb nutrition for such diseases as diabetes, heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, even cancer. The chapter on heart disease deserves special notice for it effectively debunks the phony, but widely held, notion that saturated fats and cholesterol from animal foods cause this condition. The authors explain in detail the physiological benefits of saturates and simultaneously point out the flawed reasoning behind the Lipid Hypothesis. This chapter is really what sets the book apart from other low-carb titles currently available and is worth the price of the book.

Chapter 11 is also a distinguishing chapter in that it explains the evolutionary basis for low-carb eating. Lutz and Allan clearly show that the low-carb/high fat and protein diet was the diet that humans evolved on and is what we are best suited for today. It is the high-carb/low-fat diet that is alien to our species.

The final chapter is also unique to the low-carb nutrition books available. It shows how to implement the low-carb eating plan in various people. Lutz and Allan wisely point out that older patients need to be eased into the program over a period of time, as opposed to jumping into it cold-turkey. They point out the possible health hazards of such an approach. This chapter should prove invaluable for clinicians.

Lucidly written, heavily referenced, and well-illustrated, Life Without Bread is a must-have book for physicians, nutritionists, and the public.

Click to expand...