When is choosing a gf diet a good idea, outside of having Celiac Disease or a Wheat/gluten allergy?

Gluten-free foods are simply foods without wheat, rye, and barley. Thus, when asked if anyone can go on a gluten-free diet, the answer is always, yes! Technically speaking, gluten is not necessary for a nutrient-dense, healthful diet. With that said, it is important to always choose the right foods, just as you should on a gluten-containing diet, or else you could create a nutritional nightmare.

In general, too many consumers are eating a large quantity of refined carbohydrates, and most often, these products are made with white flour, rice, or corn. Everything from crackers, to cookies, to cereal bars, most of these products are made from wheat, and contain enriched white flour as the first ingredient.  These foods, when consumed in excess are the source of weight gain for many.  Thus, it is crucial to choose foods that contain nutritionally dense grains/seeds such as quinoa, amaranth, sorghum, flax and chia. And further, it is always important to choose a balanced diet, including a large variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and calcium-rich dairy or dairy alternatives.

November 2004.  My oldest son, Max, who was 10 years old and in 4^th grade was showing signs of struggling in grade school.  Lack of focus, lack of interest and low self-esteem in the classroom were rearing their ugly heads.  Being that Max was the first of my five kids, being that my husband’s ADHD was still undiagnosed in his mid-thirties and being that Max was a boy, hockey goalie and all around athletic kid, how would we have ever known he had ADHD?  He was our guinea pig, the one whe’d make the most mistakes with, our first-born.  It was during his fall conference that year that his teacher at the time suggested that we have Max tested for ADHD.  She kept us calm, focused and talked us out of blaming ourselves for the rest of our lives.  At the end of our conference, knowing how talented and committed Max was at playing high level hockey at such a young age, she left us with these words of wisdom that I still think about daily with my other kids.  She told us to never take him out of a hockey rink.  I didn’t get it back then, I was far too young of a mother.  But, those words have helped me raise my kids to have self-worth, independence, routine and discipline.  Character traits they would have never gotten from school.

What is Gluten?

Gluten is part of a protein from wheat and other grains that is considered generally harmless…unless you are part of the 1% with Celiac Disease (specific malabsorption syndrome) or part of the increasingly growing population with gluten and/or wheat sensitivity.  The real issue is that it is very difficult to identify how large that latter population is; however, it is reported that gluten sensitivity affects at least 15% of the U.S. and is rapidly increasing with no apparent relief in sight.  Based on my clinical experience, I expect that number to be closer to 40%.

What are the signs of Gluten Sensitivity?

Many people have grown to accept the symptoms as “normal” since many of us experience these symptoms for very long periods of time.  Post-dinner bloating is a classic example.  As often as this occurs, it is still a symptom. 

Outside of the ongoing debate whether or not agave nectar is “good” or “bad” for you, drinking raw milk comes in a close second on hot food debates.  I, for one, have always shunned at the thought of drinking raw milk, let alone, allowing my kids to drink it for many years.  But, I was also highly uninformed of what raw milk is and how it differs from mainstream pasteurized milk.   I was raised in a suburb of Chicago where my mom shopped weekly for Coke and Wonder Bread.  Eating a bowl of Frosted Flakes cereal was how I started my day before school.  I never even knew there was such a thing as raw milk. 

Gluten-Free “Clean Food”

Created by: Amie Valpone, HHC, AADP and author of The Healthy Apple is a Manhattan based Culinary Nutritionist, Personal Chef, Professional Recipe Developer and Food Writer specializing in simple Gluten-Free ‘Clean’ recipes for the home cook.

What is ‘Clean’ Food? It’s about eating to complement all five tastes through a colorful rainbow of fresh produce, healthy fats and lean proteins.  It’s about training your taste buds to rid themselves of processed food flavors and sugar we face every day. It's about eating minimally processed foods with maximum nutrient value.

Here are a few helpful tips for how to create flavor within my ‘Clean’ Food parameters: