The gluten-free diet to help lose weight has become very popular with celebrities worldwide. They are raving about the many weight loss benefits of a gluten-free diet, but does it really work?
Oprah Winfrey, Miley Cyrus and diagnosed celiac Elisabeth Hasselbeck all said they lost weight going gluten-free. Victoria Beckham, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jenny McCarthy, Kim Kardashian and Emmy Rossum have also joined the crowd.
“Everyone should try no gluten for a week! The change in your skin, (physical) and mental health is amazing! U won’t go back!” tweeted Miley Cyrus.
BUT….. there is no real research validating that people will lose weight eating this way. In fact, there are studies showing going gluten-free has no effect on weight loss.
Mayo Clinic’s gluten expert, Joseph Murray MD says there is no evidence that a GF diet will affect weight loss. The study conducted on celiac patients on a GF diet found some gained weight, some lost weight, and some did not change. AM J CLIN NUTR 79: 669, 2004 SOURCE: NUTRITION ACTION. JAN/FEB 2013. GUT MYTHS
BUT …… what I have seen and what our testing shows is that most people are not doing well with gluten in their diet and are sensitive to gluten.
Why are so many gluten sensitive?
Gluten protein is difficult for many people to digest, often passing through the stomach undigested. This undigested gluten then enters the small intestine and irritates the intestines wall, causing inflammation and other problems. Irritated intestines will leak undigested foods and toxins into the blood and lymph on the outside of the intestinal wall.
Fact: 3 million people in the United States (adults and children) have celiac disease. – U.S. National Institute of Health estimates. There is no treatment for celiac disease. The only thing to do is a gluten-free diet which eliminates most of the symptoms. Goldie Hawn and Juliette Lewis are just a few celebrities who have Celiac’s disease.
Going gluten-free isn’t easy. Gluten is a protein found in many foods not just in wheat products, it is in other grains, beers, imitation meats and even things like soy sauce, pickles and hot dogs.
Why is it that many people lose weight doing a gluten-free diet?
They eat less starchy foods that are full of gluten. All that bread, pasta, pizza, bagels, muffins, cakes and many snack foods do not work for a gluten-free diet. Guess what? They lose weight. Anyone would lose weight eliminating all those carbohydrates and unhealthy foods.
So what do they eat? They eat more veggies and lean meat, which may also be responsible for weight loss.
Why is it that many people GAIN WEIGHT going on a gluten-free diet?
Answer: They start buying gluten-free substitutes.
BUT…. those gluten-free pieces of bread, cookies, cakes and cereals are usually higher in calories than the wheat based products. They are filled with starchy ingredients such as tapioca starch, potato starch, or corn starch and even lots of sugar to make them taste good.
Why Is a Gluten-Free Diet So Expensive…and Fattening?
Some smart innovative people make their own gluten-free substitutes.
Unfortunately….. most of the gluten-free recipe books and the ones online have the same problem. They are full of starch and even sugar!
Store bought, and home-made gluten-free goodies taste so good that it is easy to eat lots and lots. There are so many other Dangers of Common Gluten Free Products.
Stop buying your gluten-free products at supermarkets or even health food stores and making them with those unhealthy starches.
Make your own food with whole grains. Ok, that is not easy because as I said most gluten recipes have 30% to 70% starch! I have spent years creating healthy meals and yummy baking free of gluten.
Best to make your diet based your diet on fresh vegetables, nuts, fruit and whole gluten-free grains. Here is me talking in an interview about how to start.
Millet, a simple gluten-free grain.
Note: If you are considering going on a gluten-free diet:
- Check out my Free Webinar – HEALTHY Gluten-Free Baking and Cooking.
- Read 11 Gluten Free Grains to learn some of the alternatives and their many benefits.
- Check out: Diana’s Gluten-Free Recipes. All the recipes on this site are GF. Make sure you are subscribed to the newsletters for the latest recipes.
- Consider doing one of my Healthy Online Courses. All of the recipes for the courses are gluten-free.
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Hi Diana. I had a bit of a health scare back in May. Doctors could not find anything wrong. I have been going to a nutritionist for 5 months and have been caffeine, sugar and gluten free since then. I lost 6kg (14lbs) in 6 weeks without doing any extra exercise. I do eat gluten free bread, 2 toasted slices a day, but that is the only gluten free product I buy. I found most of the other gluten free products contained too much sugar. For sweets I eat fruit and do have a little PURE honey occasionally. I am looking forward to trying some of your gluten free recipes. Thank you.
I’d love to try gluten free baking, but your website seems to be out of order at the moment.
When I did my first Vitality Analysis 25 years ago I discovered I was Celiac as all gluten grains including oats tested very bad for me. I went off them and dropped 6 pounds in the next two weeks. I’ve since healed the Celiac with the Sunrider foods and have no issues with spelt or oats. I still avoid wheat as it is a scientific experiment that failed badly