Maybe you just read the latest article from that magazine in the check out aisle at the grocery store and it said that gluten and dairy are to blame for bloating, gut issues, and fat retention. Maybe your friend Cindy told you that she stopped eating gluten and she feels so much better and has lost 15 pounds. Or maybe you have been thinking about cutting out dairy because you always feel gassy afterward.
What is right? And what is wrong?
They all could be both.
To put it simply, nutrition is a very individualized subject when it comes to certain topics, and this is one of them.
Here are the facts:
1) Cutting out gluten and or dairy might help you lose weight
Not because of the evil powers of gluten or dairy, but because of a reduction in calories. If you truly cut out all gluten and dairy from your life, you are likely cutting out a huge number of calories, and even if you are trying to replace them with other options, might still be creating a deficit. This is like any other diet that people will claim is magical – you cut out a whole food group, and you cut out calories.
2) Gluten and or dairy might be the cause of your bloating/gas
Everyone is different. Our gut biome is so vast and complex that there is no way that a blanket statement about anything being a for sure intolerance is appropriate. Sure there are studies showing different food components effects on the gut microorganisms – but these are done in isolation and often in a petri dish, which the human body is just a little bit more complex than.
The only way to find out is to run an elimination diet. Cut out all dairy from your diet for a week. See what happens. Make an assessment of your own, and make appropriate moves. Same thing with gluten.
However, gluten tends to be slightly different in the sense that it gets blamed for a lot of things that it shouldn’t. I’ve had people tell me they cut out gluten and felt so much better. Nice! When I ask what they cut out it’s usually this – “pizza, burgers, chips, cereals, desserts….”.
So was it actually gluten that was making you feel like crap? Or was it – highly processed carbs, high doses of saturated fat, high intakes of fat overall, high sugar levels making your blood sugar spike and crash, and on and on…
3) Everyone is different – remember this
I want to reiterate this point. EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. If something works for you, don’t start claiming you are a nutrition professional and can solve everyone else’s problems. If something works for your friend, don’t assume that it will work for you.
The only way to find out is to try something for yourself and make your own conclusions. Like anything else – take the time to care, learn and make decisions on your own, based off of what is best for you, and what makes you feel the best – not anybody else.,
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Stay healthy my friends,