A few weeks ago, I wrote a post called Learning the Facts About Food Labels.  I am a firm believer in educating yourself about the food you are feeding yourself and your family.  Many of us rely on food labels to tell us if our food is healthy, however food manufactures are trying to entice us to buy their products so these labels can be misleading! 

Have you bought an item just because the label claimed it was low-fat, sugar-free or made with whole grains?  Those terms do not automatically mean the product is healthy for you.  However some labels are necessary for people with food allergies, sensitivities or intolerances.   

One of the food labels that is popular right now is gluten-free (often shortened to GF).  Several years ago, Oprah went gluten-free for several weeks as part of a "cleanse-diet".  Grocery stores and bakeries now offer gluten-free specialty items (Sprinkles has gluten-free cupcakes on their menu daily).   Just this morning, I read this article from Health on TODAY which reminded me of this post that I started writing as part of my series in Learning the Facts About Food Labels.  Then I realized that gluten-free is such a trendy and sensitive topic in the healthy living world that it deserved an entire post of its own. 

Do you want to know what gluten-free actually means?  Good thing you stuck around for the education part of my post... 

Gluten is a protein composite, made up of the proteins found in wheat, barley and rye (and other related grains).  If a person has celiac disease, eating gluten can cause the lining of their small intestine to become inflamed or damaged.  As a result, they have difficulty absorbing nutrients from the food they eat.  Therefore, for a person with celiac disease, switching to gluten-free products (which are those that do not contain wheat, barley or rye) are necessary to maintain their health.  (source)

Many people may also suffer from non-celiac gluten sensitivity and experience many of the same symptoms as celiac disease. The tricky part is when they try to self-diagnose a gluten intolerance by removing gluten from their diet to see if they can get relief from their symptoms.  However, going gluten-free before getting tested by a doctor makes it more difficult (or even impossible) to diagnose a gluten intolerance.

So what are the symptoms of gluten intolerance and celiac disease? (source) 

• Weight loss or weight gain
• Nutritional deficiencies (like low iron levels)
• Intestinal problems (like gas, bloating, pain, constipation or diarrhea)
• Aching joints
• Depression   
• Headaches, exhaustion, irritability
• Infertility, irregular menstrual cycle
• Cramps, tingling and numbness
• Decline in dental health

A gluten intolerance can also be more difficult to diagnose because of the slower onset of these symptoms.  In addition, other factors like STRESS, pregnancy and infection can increase the severity of these symptoms. 

Now we have reached the most important point of this post, so listen up!

• If you do not have a gluten intolerance, switching to gluten-free products will not make you healthier or help you lose weight. 
• If you do not have a gluten intolerance, you do not need to spend money on gluten-free products. 

This post is not intended to trivialize the dietary restrictions that those with celiac disease or gluten sensitivities face every day.  Gluten-free products are necessary for approximately 15% of the population to maintain a healthy lifestyle.   If you are experiencing many of the symptoms above or if you believe you may have a gluten-intolerance, I encourage you to visit your doctor and get tested before you remove gluten from your diet.  Otherwise, ignore the gluten-free labels at the store and stick to whole grains.