I blog gluten-free

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

A Little Bit of Myth-Busting

Every day I come across myths and numerous misinterpretations of the gluten-free diet.

So...

Any questions? 
1) NO two people are the same and their diets must reflect this
2)Glucose and gluten are two entirely separate things. Glucose, if eliminated from my diet would be a BAD thing. Ever see someone who tends to have low blood sugar? Not pretty! Gluten is a protein that also aids in stickiness in grains such as wheat, rye, barley and spelt. Glucose is a sugar
3)Gluten-free and taste are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, if it's "healthy" and "gluten free" and tastes like the butt of a diseased cow, I'm not eating it.
4)Some people need fats...I never absorb those, myself. So cutting fats out of some diets is bad. Besides, you need a small amount to be healthy... even that you can get eating a jar of almonds. Eliminating fat isn't healthy.
5)Scare-mongerers on a pro-anorexia site (I was shocked and saddened there WAS such a thing) insist you can't eat anything on a GF diet. (Buzzer.) I face-palmed so hard I almost gave myself a bruise.
Worse yet, a Forbes journalist used them as a source. (Double face palm.) For your edification here's a link I left off in the original blog. I figure it fits well as a link in a myth busting blog: "They'll Never Expect You To Eat Again"
I feel for these girls, I do.
When you're naturally thin, don't absorb fat well, and live your life on "Are you sure I can have that? Can I have a crouton-less salad?" and use a probiotic to fully ensure all the plumbing works, and have been accused of having some sort of an issue (Those that don't know will often say "You're trying to stay thin right?" No, I'm trying to stay alive and get healthy.)
But uh, let me repeat: NO TWO PEOPLE ARE THE SAME AND THEIR DIETS SHOULD REFLECT THIS. They should eat, without fear, what is right for them, refuse what is not, and enjoy some things because they taste good. I myself just waxed poetic on Pamela's chocolate-chocolate chunk cookies. No gluten, plenty of cocoa... yum!
The gluten-free diet is not next to nothing. I can eat a surprising amount of things... vegetables, fruits, nuts (Often in the peanut-butter chocolate Kind bar), meats, dairy. I just can't have wheat, rye, barley and spelt. But I've learned how to test products, make things I can eat, and have become quite experimental. Hummus recently got included in my list.
What I won't eat, not just taking into account the actually smaller list of "can'ts" is anything that tastes like the back end of a cow. I also refuse to recommend anything or feed it to anyone else unless it's passed my tests, and I can be notoriously picky.
Don't make generalizations or assumptions. Ask.
Ps... even though I also suffer from an allergy to pork, I also love bacon. I also like the smell of the original pork-based version and will inhale it like precious perfume.
So, hey, offer me bacon, I'll make a sandwich - and I know how to make damn good ones! Thanks to German bakers I found one that is not "Essence of Cardboard".
Best.T-Shirt. Ever.

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