More and more people are embarking on gluten-free diets without medical indication.
Some believe it will help them lose weight, others think it is healthier.
But are they right?
Spoiler: no.
On the one hand, it is very good that the market is
growing in the supply of products
and restaurants with menus for people living with celiac disease.
Although, do you know how many there are in the world?
Less than 1%.
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease suffered by those who are genetically predisposed and who, in turn, are exposed to gluten.
The body of these patients reacts to this protein found in cereals called TACC, that is,
wheat, oats, barley and rye
, hence the acronym that appears on the packaging.
When a person with celiac disease consumes foods with gluten, their intestinal mucosa is damaged and they become unable to absorb essential nutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates, mineral salts and vitamins).
That is why the basis of treatment is to
exclude foods with TACC
.
There is also a group of people for whom gluten does not agree very well, they represent around 6% of the world's population and are those who have what is called
non-celiac gluten sensitivity
(NCGS).
That is, they present digestive and/or extra-digestive symptoms characteristic of celiac disease, but they do not suffer from it.
While the concept of NCGS is relatively new, we know that those who have it do better when they eat gluten-free diets.
Video
Nutritionist Mónica Katz tells you about the myths and truths of gluten.
Now, let's go back to the beginning: there is no doubt that people who have problems with gluten should not consume products with TACC.
But if you don't belong to one of those two groups,
why eat only gluten-free foods?
Does eating gluten-free lose weight?
I know that many of you are looking for or bought into the idea that eating gluten-free makes you lose weight.
But gluten is
actually a protein
.
I tell you: I was lucky enough to visit Japan three times.
The first time I got a big surprise.
I was coming from Argentina, a country where many people eat gluten-free, and I passed two women (a young woman and an older adult) who at first glance
were fantastically healthy
(and also thin), eating gluten curls for breakfast with their soup. of miso, just like you eat cereal with your yogurt.
I repeat: gluten is a protein,
it is not a hydrate or a fat
.
What happens is that people today are afraid of food.
And the phrase "free from" on a package attracts.
We are not talking about the fear of someone who suffered a heart attack or kidney disease and chooses to eat without sodium.
Nor the fear of excess sugar in a person who lives with diabetes.
We are also not referring to gluten care for someone with celiac disease.
"It makes no sense to eat gluten-free without being celiac," Katz emphasizes.
We are talking about a healthy 45-year-old lady, we are talking about the fear of flour of a father who,
without foundation
, feeds his little ones according to his own meta-religions and manias or the "carbophobia" of a healthy and athletic young man who precisely needs carbohydrates.
Gluten is not poison
.
It only causes damage to the intestine of those who have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
But if you are looking to lose weight, eliminating it is not the way.
Gluten-free products have the same amount of flour, fat and sugars as regular products.
So if what you are looking for is to lose weight, have a comfortable or healthy body and you do not have celiac disease or NCGS, it does not make sense from a health point of view for you to eat gluten-free.
Now, if one day you are going to eat with a friend who has celiac disease, of course,
I shared with her a delicious cake without TACC
.
***
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