Going Gluten-Free: Another Nutritional Fad or Smart Health Sense?
Chances are if you are interested in nutrition and health you have heard the term "gluten-free" in the last few years. Novac Djokovic, the #1 tennis player in the world, just triumphed over Rafael Nadal in the longest ever Grand Slam singles final in tennis history at the Australian Open. He attributes his rise from #3 and #4 to his current position of undisputed #1 in large part to going gluten-free before the start of the 2011 season. So what exactly is gluten and what are the benefits of going without?
You will need to do more than just give up gluten to be as ripped as Djokovic, but going gluten-free has helped make him leaner, stronger and better than he has ever been.
Gluten is a type protein found in wheat, barley and rye. The wide use of these grains due to affordability and availability means that gluten is found in most breads, pastas, cereals, and crackers. Gluten is added to foods to serve as a thickener or stabilizing agent. It helps bread rise and hold its shape when baked.
Around 1% of the population suffers from full blown celiac disease, which is intolerance to gluten. Symptoms can include gas, abdominal bloating, intestinal discomfort, skin irritation, mal-absorption of food, low energy and fatigue. There are tests for celiac, so if you are suffering from what you think may be symptoms your doctor should be able to give you a definitive answer. It is possible that you have some mild symptoms from eating gluten without really noticing it. The negative effects are hard to diagnose for those without full symptoms, and the human body's adaptability means even if you do have mild symptoms, you may have been eating it for so long you probably just consider it "normal."
I'm sure most of you started eating bread, pasta and cereal from the time you were a kid, just like I did. All through my competitive years bread and pasta were a major part of my diet and I didn't think twice about consuming them. If you have been eating it for so long seemingly without incident why would you consider giving it up? What are the pros and cons?
Grains are hard for the body to process and those with gluten are even harder. Gluten causes inflammation in the body and holds water weight on as well. From a normal everyday-life perspective, reducing inflammation in your body is one of the major keys to lasting health. "Our appreciation for what inflammation can do is growing," says Carl Nathan, Ph.D., a New York immunology expert. "In many ways, we have an epidemic of chronic inflammation." Inflammation is a necessary part of your body's way to stay healthy. It is a response when fighting off sickness or healing a cut. When outside factors create a continually high degree of inflammation in your body it can start to have serious effects on your health. It is important to understand that the negative side effects of gluten are not limited to your gut. Testing has shown that the inflammation affects multiple organs and systems throughout your entire body.
Going gluten-free means regular foods like this will be a thing of the past.
Inflammation is a natural occurrence in your body after a hard workout. From an athletic performance perspective, reducing inflammation means that you can recover faster from hard workouts which lead to increased performance. Your immune system will not be working as hard to constantly reduce inflammation from outside sources, such as diet, so it can dedicate that extra energy towards recovery. In endurance sports your power-to-weight ratio is at the top of the list of performance factors. If your body is reacting to gluten as a toxin, those toxins end up in your body's tissues where they cause irritation and inflammation. Your body's natural response is to dilute these toxins, which it does by retaining water. That extra water adds pounds to your body weight, which affects your performance.
Finally, if your digestive system is being adversely affected by gluten it means that you are not absorbing all the nutrients from your food. If you remember in "Breaking it down - Part 2" I discussed micronutrients and why they are so important for both your short and long term health. They are the building blocks of your health and as such you want to support your body to get the most micronutrients in your diet that you can.
Maybe you are giving me the "Bah humbug" about all of this gluten-free talk. As I have said many times before there is an abundance of information available regarding nutrition for anyone with the time and if you look hard enough you will find opposing opinions on just about every diet. Remember that every individual is different, what works for one person may not work for another. My own path to going gluten-free was more out of chance and being willing to try something new than out of necessity. Several years ago my brother contracted Lyme disease from a tick bite while we were in Vermont. One of his many side effects of Lyme was that he developed intolerance to gluten that upset the balance in his small intestine and he was not absorbing the nutrients from his food. About 4 months after going gluten-free he called me because he had just stepped on a scale for the first time since changing his diet and had lost 12 pounds! As timing would have it, during the same period I was training for a cycling event and was really working hard to drop 3-4 extra pounds. Even with a healthy diet and a calorie tracker I hit a plateau and couldn't reach my goal. For the sake of gathering information and being a better trainer (and hopefully dropping some weight) I decided to cut out wheat and give it a go.
The changes I noticed were really remarkable. It wasn't an overnight change, rather one that started slowly and kept gaining momentum. I did lose about 4-5 pounds over a 2-month period but that was only one of several positive changes. The biggest factor I noticed was that my digestive track felt "clean" all the time. I never felt bogged down or like I had food that was just sitting in me, and my body digested foods more easily. Several friends noticed my skin tone looked healthier. I could definitely see that I had leaned down but retained my lean muscle mass. The biggest surprise of all for me was how I felt when I decided to go back and eat a couple of my old wheat products after having gone without it for three months. The first thing I noticed was that the food simply didn't taste "right." Eating bread felt like I was eating sawdust! I also noticed the difficulty my digestive system had processing the foods and how my "clean feeling" wasn't there. What amazed me most of all was that everything from the taste to the composition of those foods that I had eaten for years simply didn't appeal to me anymore. It was and continues to be quite an experience for me.
I have had professional athletes and general fitness/wellness clients who I have introduced to a gluten-free diet and almost every one of them showed initial resistance to the idea. One of my favorites was a husband and wife who were making the change together. My conversation with the wife went like this:
Wife: "Now Derin, I don't know if I can give up bread."
Me: "If someone was willing to pay you $1,000 a day to give up bread would you do it?"
Wife:"Well of course!"
Me: "Well you just proved you can."
Wife: "Dangit!"
Us: "Ha Ha Ha."
My point is that change comes down to your determination and dedication to making it happen. If you give going gluten-free a chance, prepare to commit for at least 60 days to really feel the benefits and let your body adapt. If you do it for a week and miss your French bread at dinner and go right back to it, chances are your mind (more than your body) will welcome back what has been part of your routine with open arms. If you do want commit to testing it out, the hardest part will be finding foods to substitute for the wheat products that are abundant everywhere you go and quickly give you that "full" feeling.
Below is a list of substitutions for foods that have gluten in them. This is important because it can be easier for you to commit to going gluten-free then it can be to figure out what you are going to eat in place of the foods you are eliminating.
Gluten-Free Substitutions
Bread: Wheat bread is probably the hardest to substitute. Many of the gluten-free breads I have tried taste OK. Just being honest. They are better toasted than not. Several health food stores, and major grocery chains with health food sections now carry gluten-free bread. The best and tastiest I've found is a brand named UDI's. They also make an assortment of gluten-free muffins, cakes and snacks.
Corn Tortillas: Corn tortillas work well instead of toast in the morning. Put your eggs on corn tortillas for a breakfast taco.
Polenta: Dice up some cubes of Polenta (it is just corn meal) with a little butter or oil in the pan for some clean carbs with no junk.
Lettuce: Use either leafs of green/red lettuce in place of bread and/or buns for burgers/sandwiches. Romaine leafs work great for lunches like chicken or tuna salad as they are naturally shaped like a taco. Most deli's/restaurants will lettuce wrap your favorite sandwich or burger.
Pasta: Substitutions are either brown rice pasta or quinoa pasta. Both taste great when cooked but the next day they are not quite as good. Cook what you need to eat that night; the leftovers don't taste as good the next day!
Cereal: There is a brand called Envirokidz that has a line of organic gluten-free cereals. Gorilla Munch is my current favorite though Koala Crisp is not far behind. A warning though, just because something is gluten-free doesn't necessarily mean it is healthy. While at a friend of mine's I noticed he bought a classic old school sugary cereal, which shall remain nameless, for his daughters. It was still filled with dyes and processed sugar yet had a large "Gluten-fee" label on the top of the box. Let the buyer beware.
Oats: Oats do not naturally contain gluten, but can be processed on mills that use flour, so they get gluten from cross contamination. You can get gluten-free oats. Oatmeal is a great healthy breakfast cereal.
Going gluten-free whether out of necessity or by choice will take work because it is change. A change to your diet involves extra discipline because our bodies and minds get used to eating certain foods as part of our routine and breaking that routine will use some extra time at first until you have your new program up and rolling. I have seen the benefits for too many people for me to ignore the positive changes it can have on your health. I hope this has been informative and helped you understand the effect gluten has on our bodies and health.
Until next time, enjoy the ride.
About Derin Stockton
Born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, Derin grew up riding bicycles and racing competitively. At the age of 20 Derin went pro and was offered a spot on the Dutch professional cycling team TVM/Rango. Competing successfully both abroad and stateside, Derin progressed from road cycling to downhill BMX where he continued making a mark with his cycling career. After 19 straight seasons of racing Derin left the competition world to pursue designing and development of mountain bike tires and to help other athletes achieve their goals as a motocross and personal trainer.