There are a lot of food items you should avoid. Sugar. Dairy. Boxed products. Most cereals. Commercial juice…
The list goes on and on (oh, let’s not forget cold cut meats!)
But why are you avoiding gluten? Is it because you heard your best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s mother went on a gluten-free diet and it turned her life around? Yes? That’s why?
Okay, well, unless you, personally, have been diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity, you can hop of this bandwagon at the next stop.
The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness states as many as 18 million Americans may have non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), but research also shows us a whopping 86 percent of individuals who believed they were gluten sensitive could actually tolerate it.
Avoiding gluten if you’re not gluten sensitive could actually hurt your health; just this month, research from the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle 2017 Scientific Sessions noted a low-gluten diet may have adverse health effects by raising the risk of type 2 diabetes.
The reason behind the findings? A lot of people cutting out gluten are inadvertently cutting out fiber, and a fiber-rich diet has been linked to diabetes prevention as well as a number of other important aspects of disease prevention.
Honestly, the point of it all is this: stop self-diagnosing yourself. If you think you have a gluten intolerance, go get tested for it. Once confirmed, you can wear your anti-gluten shield with confidence (but you’ll still need to find a way to get that fiber in your diet).
Where would gluten appear in the diet prescribed for dementia patients? By going gluten free and almost completely paleo, I reduced my thyroid meds to 1/2 my previous dose. I’m ready for the next step, but not willing to try eating any kind of gluten!!!
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We are glad to hear you’ve seen success! Before making any sweeping changes to your diet, just remember you still need to be nutritionally balanced, no matter what foods you include or avoid. Many dementia patients are placed on low red-meat and low sugar diets, but often still include cereals and other gluten-containing foods. Is this the diet program you are referring to?
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