Are You Gluten Free And Healthy?

If you’ve developed unwanted weight gain or heart disease risk factors after eliminating gluten from your diet, better carb choices can help balance blood sugar and insulin levels to take you to a new level of health.

- By Melissa Diane Smith

Jan Seacrest, a 45-year-old electrical engineer, and Amanda Malvo, a 38-year-old artist, both had longstanding irritable bowel syndrome that magically clear up when they eliminated gluten from their diets. They were astounded that simply avoiding gluten eradicated issues that their doctors hadn’t been able to remedy, so they purchased and ate as many Certified Gluten-Free products as possible.

Though, digestively, they felt amazingly better, they gradually developed new health issues. At first, Jan found herself craving more sweets. A few months after changing her diet, she noticed that she was having trouble fitting into her pants. Nine months after changing her diet, an annual physical exam revealed that she had gained 25 unwanted pounds, and her blood sugar levels had risen to diabetic levels.

Amanda, on the other hand, didn’t gain weight in her first year of going gluten-free. But she did develop borderline high blood pressure and was diagnosed with fatty liver disease—not the health results she was expecting!

Unfortunately, these stories aren’t unique. While it’s common for people to experience improvements in their health when they first adopt a gluten-free (GF) diet, many gradually develop unwanted weight gain or new health issues, including elevated blood sugar or blood pressure. In one study conducted in 2006, 82 percent of people who went on a gluten-free diet gained weight within the first two years, including 81 percent of the people in the study who were originally overweight.

Most GF Foods Are High Glycemic