I stopped eating gluten and the weight just fell off
by Frann LeachA couple of years ago I cut out gluten, and ever since then, with no effort on my part, I have consistently lost a couple of pounds a week - which I had been trying to do without success for years before that. Dieting didn't work. Exercise didn't work. Cutting out gluten (and actually eating more than I had before) did.
Ever wondered why low-carb diets work really well for 6 months, and then quite often, with no change in eating pattern, the weight piles back on again? Seems we may be missing something here.
One thing about low-carb is that in the process of cutting out the carbs, most people end up drastically reducing their gluten intake. Gluten intolerance, when ignored, can end up preventing certain nutrients from being absorbed, leading to that feeling of needing to eat, even though you just had a meal. The body knows it's missing something, so it triggers a craving for more food, even though it's not calories (energy) it needs.
When someone who is gluten intolerant stops eating gluten, their ability to absorb the nutrients in food gradually improves. In general, by cutting out gluten you will also end up eating more of the types of food that have a high nutrient value - it's well known that you don't get much goodness from a cake or a biscuit, for example, so that leaves more room for good stuff like fruit, nuts or vegetables.
Even cutting down your gluten intake, if you are sensitive to it, can improve your health by making more of the nutrition in the food you eat available to you. Unfortunately, if you don't cut it out completely, you may end up reacting again, even to the reduced amount. Your body gets back into the cycle of needing nutrients that you take in, but which it's unable to absorb because of chemicals created by undigested gluten.
Sports nutritionists often recommend high-carb foods like pasta for a quick energy boost before a workout. But many people feel bloated and decidedly lacking in energy after eating this type of food. Carbs may give you energy, but only if they are the right sort of carbs. For those who are gluten intolerant, pasta and other wheat-based products won't boost their energy levels at all, because they are unable to absorb it properly.
Why am I going on about this stuff? It's because a couple of years ago I discovered I was gluten intolerant. So, as I don't like constant pain, I cut out gluten, which wasn't easy, I have to say, at least not to start with. And ever since then, with no effort on my part, I have consistently lost a couple of pounds a week - which I had been trying to do without success for years before that.
Dieting didn't work. Exercise didn't work. Cutting out gluten (and actually eating more than I had before) did. It made no sense to me. But now, having researched it, I can see what is probably happening. I laid it all out here, so you can understand it, too.
There are some researchers online (they are a bit thin on the ground, I have to admit) who think that obesity is caused by malnutrition. Sounds like saying turning the lights on makes it darker doesn't it? But as I've shown, it can make sense, and is definitely worth thinking about.
So if you are struggling to lose weight, it must be worth finding out if you might be gluten intolerant, preferably before you get to the stage where that nasty label 'obese' gets stuck on you. But even if it has already, if gluten's the cause, cutting it out will transform your life, your health - and quite possibly your weight as well.
For more information about gluten and gluten-free recipes, visit Free-Easy Publications
©2008 Frann Leach. All rights reserved.
This article is included in weekly Factsheet number 13, which also includes a recipe for Frittata (Italian omelette)
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