Nourishing News: August 2008

Almost four years ago, I learned that I was highly intolerant to gluten, which was actually something that I had suspected for years. At first, I was happy to have discovered this; it seemed to be an opportunity to further improve my health and possibly prevent future related illness. I was feeling very positive about making this dietary change-that is, until my mind shifted to thinking about the list of my favorite foods that I would never taste again: NY pizza, Challah bread, and black & white cookies. Being a Jewish (former) New Yorker, those are the "comfort foods" of my childhood! Would it be possible to visit NY without having a slice of pizza?

Suddenly the list of the foods I would NEVER eat again was all I could think about! So, in an effort to ease my mind and learn what my new options would be, I went out to the store on my first gluten free shopping pursuit. As I looked down at my own shopping cart, I suddenly became aware of how different the contents were.

To give a brief background on me, ten years prior I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. I'll spare the details, but after years of trying all the medications available, I discovered that an unprocessed, natural diet allowed me to feel better than I had on any pharmaceutical drug. Aside from the occasional indulgences, I had already eliminated most processed foods from my day-to-day eating.

So, back to my shopping cart....

For those first few weeks in May 2006, my carts were filled with all my new "acceptable" gluten free foods: GF waffles, GF pretzels, GF rice cakes, GF muffins & pancake mix, and GF cinnamon rolls. (Ironically, I think I had eaten only 2 cinnamon rolls in my 29 years prior and now I had a 6-pack in my cart!!) I proceeded to incorporate those foods back into my diet over the next several weeks. After all, they were still organic AND now gluten free, therefore, they were good for me, right?

I don't think I am alone here. I believe that when we're informed that we will never be able to have something again, that is the very thing we want-or, at least we want to know that there are other satisfying options. (Could this be why "diets" often fail?)

As a health and nutrition counselor, I decided to follow through to see what happened. Maybe I would feel great? Maybe gluten was indeed that mystery villain and as long as my food lacked the gluten, I could finally eat all these foods again? I often suggest that my clients not "judge" their eating but rather tune into how their body feels, and so that is what I did. Needless to say, my body felt worse and my digestion began to suffer-which was the exact opposite of what I was trying to achieve!

I share this because, for me, I knew that becoming gluten free could be an amazing opportunity for my body to heal. For many people, taking an allergen out of their diet will provide renewed health; improved energy, digestion, and vitality will result. (for more information, see Gluten-Free: Should You Be?)

However, I quickly came to realize that gluten free can often mean fiber-lacking, highly-processed and sugar-filled! I mistakenly believed (or maybe just wanted to believe) that because a product was gluten free, I could eat it without concern. Of course, this is not true! For someone like myself who rarely eats sugar and refined foods, I learned that gluten free or not, I still could not do this.

I want to emphasize that the core of the gluten free diet is an incredibly healthy one: all the fruits and veggies you desire, lean meats, and (GF) whole grains. For me, eating gluten free is no longer a quest to seek out gluten free versions of all the refined foods that I know were never good for my body, never supportive of my health, and certainly not healing. For many, it's the opportunity to realize that those are exactly the kinds of foods they should be eliminating. We can stop looking at what we can't have and start learning what we can have.

So, the "model" that I personally adhere to is what I call Gluten Free, Naturally-the concept that a gluten free diet should focus on the foods that are naturally free of gluten.

Upon reflection, I realized that I had learned this same lesson once before when, in my early 20's, I chose to be vegetarian. I decided to adopt a vegetarian diet for the many health benefits of added veggies and whole grains. However, I was quickly drawn to all the fake "meat" products that lined the health food store shelves and seeking all the popcorn, chips, and candy that my vegetarian friends were eating. At that time, I realized that chicken made from cleverly concocted soy was not necessarily any healthier (maybe less healthy?) than simply eating an organic free range chicken breast, and that my vegetarian diet needed more vegetables, not more bagels and pasta! I was caught up in the tide and was losing sight of what I had initially set out to accomplish for myself.

This is not to say that I don't believe in the importance of contentment (I certainly do!) and I strongly believe that we need to enjoy the foods on our plates. But most of all, I firmly believe that we need to know ourselves; to know what works and what doesn't work for our bodies. There are foods that heal and support our bodies and foods that can damage our bodies-even if they are labeled gluten free!

Unquestionably, I am thankful for the amazing gluten free products that exist today and the companies that create them for us. And, I was thrilled when one of the chefs at a gluten free conference I attended that following summer demonstrated how to make GF Challah bread!