Monday, May 23, 2011

A Gluten Free Diet is not a Weight Loss Diet - and the Article that Finally Made Me Write This Post

Random swimsuit model I found online.

I've been meaning to do a post recently about how mad it makes me when people think of a gluten free diet as a weight loss diet.  True, not eating bread, pasta, cake, cookies, and pizza will probably make you lose weight.  It will also make you healthier.  But let me tell you something, this is not a gluten free diet.  This is a low carb, low junk food diet.

I'm on a gluten free diet and I can eat bread, pasta, cake, cookies, and pizza too.  They are just made with different flours than yours.  If you are on a gluten free diet just to lose weight, I do not personally think that all that soy sauce you are eating is the reason you are fat.  In fact, many people with celiac disease gain weight once they go on a gluten free diet because their stomach starts to heal and they are able to absorb nutrients again.  (I have gained weight on this diet, but I'm pretty sure it's because of all the gluten free baking I'm doing, not the stomach healing part.  As it turns out, eating 7 gluten free cupcakes is not any better for you than eating 7 regular cupcakes.) 

Anyway, I was particularly enraged when I read this article tonight: What We're (Not) Eating.  Apparently people with anorexia are claiming to be gluten free and therefore having a seemingly legitimate excuse not to eat many things.  This makes me so mad.  I would never recommend someone go on a gluten free diet if they didn't have to.  While I'm dealing relatively well with the adjustment to a gluten free lifestyle, the fact that people are pretending to have a gluten intolerance as an excuse not to eat is infuriating.  Please don't use my disease as a cover up for yours.  They are not the same.

Thoughts?

6 comments:

  1. "Please don't use my disease as a cover up for yours." Bravo!! What did you think of the article? I thought it was interesting and informative, if bordering on sensationalist. The comments people are leaving, though, seem harsh to me. The good news is that when you're a princess someone else will cook you whatever you want however you want it. For some reason I am having trouble posting, but hopefully with the princess comment you'll know who this is. Love, your Princess counterpart and fellow oompa-loompa aficionado

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  2. Oh of course I know you Susannah (especially because it says your name). I also thought the article was very interesting. It made me mad, but it is interesting at the same time. I agree that the comments are a little harsh. I don't think the author was trying to say it's a made up disease, she was just exploring people that do use it as a cover up - which can be very dangerous. It seems like the people with really angry comments are taking their anger out on the author, and not those pretending to have celiac.

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