Fitness Files: Gluten-free doesn’t mean stress-free

“So Pig-Pen from ‘Peanuts’ had the right idea?” a friend emailed after reading my last article.

He referred to the “hygiene theory” that doctors from the Mayo Clinic and University of Chicago think may be responsible for the uptick in auto immune diseases, including gluten sensitivities. The culprit: the antiseptic environment we provide for our babies up to 18 months.

WebMD’s Lisa Zamosky says, “A mounting body of research suggests that exposing infants to germs may offer greater protection from…allergies later.” WebMD’s solutions include limited use of antibiotics, no hand sanitizers. Attending daycare with its colds and flus and having a pet in the house are positives. And everybody endorses clean environments for babies and frequent hand-washing.

In a future article, I will explore the human bacterial load and its health implications.

For now, let’s look at the diet for those diagnosed with celiac, wheat allergy or gluten sensitivity.

The gluten-free diet’s a cinch for those willing to eat fresh fruits, vegetables, lean protein. That wouldn’t be people like me. We like carbs too much.

So, consider those products labeled “gluten-free.”

Making fun of labels on naturally gluten-free products such as apples and eggs, Trader Joe’s advertised “gluten-free greeting cards.”

Going gluten-free can be expensive. In Time, Martha White says gluten-free packaged goods were “on average 242% higher priced” than their glutenous counterparts. And reading ingredient lists is important. Gluten-free products may not have wheat flour but be high in sugar, fat and cholesterol.

Trickier are hidden glutens. WebMD says avoid beer, anything with “hydrolyzed vegetable protein” or “modified food starch,” and even some lipstick, lip balm, vitamins and supplements.

Other “no-no’s” are processed lunch meats, imitation seafood, salad dressings, soy sauce, self basting poultry and boxed mixes. WebMD warns against cross-contamination in manufacturing where a naturally gluten-free product picks up gluten from machinery or another product.

At home, the lowly toaster can cross-contaminate. Dense gluten-free bread tastes better toasted, so two toasters? Guess so.

Furthermore, WebMD warns that gluten-free diets may leave one low in B vitamins, iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium and fiber.

Cheryl Harris in Gluten Free Living points out that, with the newly diagnosed celiac, prior poor absorption of vitamins in the damaged small intestine can contribute to vitamin deficiencies.

She suggests gluten-tested vitamins as well as sunshine for D; nuts, seeds and gluten-free whole grains for B; sardines, firm tofu, teff, almond milk or other fortified milks, and daily leafy green vegetables such as kale for calcium.

Gluten-free cooking’s taught me that wheat is not the only flour. On a visit from my gluten-sensitive niece, I made my own flour by dropping some quinoa in the blender and powdering it. Otherwise, I’ve baked a nutty quick bread with garbanzo flour and some good chocolate chip cookies with almond flour.

Whoops, I see chocolate is not on the gluten-free list. It may contain barley malt flavoring. But carob chips are.

Find Maria Adam’s clear list of what to/not to eat at med.nyu.edu, the site for Langone Medical Center, under “Gluten-Free Diet.”

Googling “gluten-free recipes” brings up 28,000 cites. My strategy is to search ingredients I have on hand + gluten free, and see what comes up.

A few “takeaways” on the gluten subject include:

Gluten-free eating is not for the casual trend follower. Be diagnosed.

Eating gluten-free isn’t low-calorie or more nourishing.

With education, healthy delicious gluten-free eating is possible.

Gluten-free cooking is an interesting adventure.

Newport Beach resident CARRIE LUGER SLAYBACK is a retired teacher who ran the Los Angeles Marathon at age 70, winning first place in her age group. Her blog is lazyracer@blogspot.com.