The Food Nazis Are After You

There are plenty of Food Nazis out there, you’ve seen them on TV, the people who come out and try to shame you into eating what “they” think you should be eating. Don’t eat meat, don’t eat pasta, don’t eat sugar, the big thing now is don’t eat gluten, does anyone even know what gluten is? You see, that’s what I mean, these Nazis tell you what you should not eat, and all of a sudden everyone stops eating it and they don’t even know why they stopped eating it.

Well, I looked into the subject of gluten and it happens to be a protein and protein is good for you, there are people who are allergic to gluten, those people should stay away from gluten, but for the rest of us, eat away. During my research on gluten, I happen to read an article in Women’s Health magazine, the article was written by Karen Ansel and in the article, she quoted Shelley Case, R.D., author of Gluten-Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide and a medical advisory board member for the Celiac Disease Foundation, here is a clip. She’s not a Food Nazi.

gluten-free doesn’t mean fat-free or calorie-free

“Without gluten to bind food together, food manufacturers often use more fat and sugar to make the product more palatable,” says Case. Consider pretzels: A serving of regular pretzels has about 110 calories and just one gram of fat. Swap them for gluten-free pretzels and you could get 140 calories and six grams of fat.

Should You Go Gluten-Free?

If you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, the answer is easy: Yes, you have to. But if you just want to give the diet a spin, know this: It’s a giant pain in the butt. Giving up gluten may sound as basic as cutting out bread or eating less pasta, but this isn’t just another version of the low-carb craze. Because gluten makes foods thick and tasty, it is added to everything from salad dressing to soy sauce to seasonings. 

Besides the hassle, you can end up with serious nutritional deficiencies. “Gluten-free doesn’t necessarily equal healthy, especially when people yank vitamin-enriched and wholegrain foods from their diets and replace them with gluten-free brownies,” says Case. In fact, research suggests that those who forgo gluten may be more likely to miss out on important nutrients such as iron, B vitamins, and fiber. Food Nazis don’t tell you that.

I happen to know a few people who went on gluten-free diets, when I asked them why, they said because it is supposed to be good for you, the keyword is “supposed” to be good, all they know is someone on TV said it was good for you, so they guess it must be true. Please, don’t take me wrong here, I am not telling anyone what or why or how much they should eat, what I am trying to bring across, is don’t do or not do something just because someone on TV says you should. Don’t listen to Food Nazis.

The bottom line is this, finding happiness is something you have to find on your own, just because something makes me happy, does not mean it is going to make you happy. Eating a corned beef sandwich makes me happy and I do not feel guilty about it. However, there are people out there that would not even think about eating one, because someone told them they will live longer if they don’t eat it. But, I can bet you deep down inside they are dying to have one. Don’t listen to the Food Nazis.