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LOW CARB VS GLUTEN FREE DIETS

Low carb diets are gaining in popularity largely because many people feel good on them. The theory is that excess carbs stimulate excess insulin production, which leads to all kinds of health problems. It's a valid theory I am sure, but that's not all there is to it. A large part of American's calories currently come from sugar, refined fats, and white flour - which contain few nutrients. A switch from a diet based on empty calories to a nutritionally dense diet of meat and green leafy vegetables would dramatically improve any lab rat's health. But the situation is much more complicated than that.

A small but substantial number of low carb dieters discover quite by accident that when they cheat on the diet, they don't feel particularly bad unless the meal contains products made from wheat. Even a bit of breading on the meat in a low carb meal may give them a shaky "hypoglycemia attack" or their headaches or joint aches may return. Sensitivity to wheat products is masked by the fact that most Americans eat some flour in every meal and most snacks. When someone avoids refined foods and carbs in general long enough for symptoms to recede, occasional exposure may reveal the true cause of their symptoms. Not everyone spots the connection, but when it is pointed out and they begin paying attention, a significant number of low carb enthusiasts begin to see it plainly, and switch to gluten free. 

The gluten free diet excludes all the baked floury and sugary junk foods, the buns and breads and pastas that were off limits on the low carb diet anyway. But it allows all the fruits and vegetables that are off limits on a low carb diet. Rice and corn are allowed, and rice and corn pastas are available. There are gluten free breads available, which range from terrible to pretty good. Label reading is required, just as on the low carb diet, but with a different slant. Products containing wheat, spelt, barley, and rye are must be avoided, including hidden gluten from malt, or soy sauce. 

People who accidentally discover their reaction to wheat assume it is an allergy. In most cases, it is an intolerance, not an allergy. That means that shots or other allergy treatments will not eliminate all the problems and dangers of gluten for those people. Unless proven otherwise, it is best to assume that gluten reactions may change, but will never be "grown out of" as so many doctors say of childhood celiac cases. What are the symptoms of gluten sensitivity? There are so many that it's best to categorize them as a) deficiency symptoms, b) brain effects, c) immune system effects, and d) miscellaneous. 

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