To be Gluten Free or Not to Be.. That is the question

Not really.  This quote really says it all.."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," - Shelley Case, R.D., author of Gluten-Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide and a medical advisory board member for the Celiac Disease Foundation.

The reason many are migrating to Gluten-Free diets is to be healthier and naturally feel better.  What this article is explaining is that Gluten-Free diets don't work for everyone.  

Like anything else in life, people are created differently. What works for by best friend Amanda, doesn't necessarily work for me.  The biggest point being, she has suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and needs to be cognitive of her gluten intake.  

Staying away from Gluten may not be as easy or as "healthy" as it sounds.  Many of us need the vitamins found in breads and pastas (yes, that includes whole wheat).  If we stray away form those foods and do not understand how to replenish the vitamins being lost, one could end up being malnourished (which seems a bit ironic).   

Don't get me wrong, eating a classic italian meal of pasta, bread and wine every night isn't going to do anyone justice either.  But making changes in the right way, and keeping all food groups balanced is the right idea.  If you can remember the food pyramid we are all "supposed" to follow, it seems almost impossible to intake all of those foods at the required amounts everyday.  

Vegetables and proteins should be at the base of everyone's pyramid.  Followed by whole grains and fruits.  I have a strong believe that more people have a slight wheat allergy and dairy intolerance that we presume.  Below is FDA food pyramid.  I find it very confusing as to why we have to eat so much bread, cereal and pasta!  I would be full all the time and not have room for the actual good stuff!  The one thing they DO have right, it the water intake!  Drink 8 oz of water everyday!

Now, I have taken the above pyramid, that I don't believe in and modified it just a little...  I guess my proteins got cut off!  3-4 servings per day.  I feel like this is a much better and easier pyramid to follow.  Others may not agree.  But like I said earlier, we are all different.

Lastly, IF you do choose to cut out any one food group, be smart.  Take vitamins to replace those you are no longer getting from foods.  Also, Sugar free, gluten free, whatever... read your labels.  Just because something looks like a cat, talks like a cat, and sounds like a cat, doesn't always mean it is a cat.  If you think it is too good to be true, it probably is.  There is no diet or healthy living plan in which you can have your cake and eat it everyday... sorry to burst the bubble!

FYI:
From Harvard School of Public Health.