Author: Jessica Serdikoff

Chances are, 10 years ago you didn’t really know what gluten was. (Raise your hand if you’re still not totally sure what gluten is!) But you’ve probably heard of it. Gluten-free product sales have more than doubled since 2011, and 30% of polled Americans report wanting to cut back on the gluten in their diets. Celebrities left and right are touting its benefits. Books are being written about the dangers of consuming toxic gluten-containing grains, wheat being the absolute worst.
Are we really being poisoned by are whole wheat sandwiches? Let’s take a closer look.
WHAT IS GLUTEN? Answer: a protein. I know, I know, it’s found in breads, grains, and similar “carbohydrates.” These foods are classified as carbohydrates because that is what they are mostly made of, but they also contain vitamins, minerals, fats, and, yes, protein. Gluten is one of those proteins, and it is responsible for giving structure to our favorite carbohydrate-containing foods.
OK, SO…WHY THE FUSS, IF IT’S JUST PROTEIN? For most people, there’s no reason to fuss. Only about 1% of the population has Celiac Disease, an autoimmune condition in which the body mistakes gluten for something dangerous, and it launches a full-fledged immune attack. This causes inflammation and a whole host of very serious conditions. The only treatment for Celiac Disease is to completely avoid gluten-containing food, medications, and even hygiene/beauty products. Some research suggests that another 6% or so of the population may be gluten intolerant, so they don’t have Celiac Disease but they do seem to do better on a low-gluten diet. For the remaining 93% of us, gluten isn’t a problem at all.
WHY SHOULDN’T I JUST AVOID GLUTEN ANYWAY? YOU KNOW, JUST IN CASE. I MIGHT FEEL BETTER.
Unfortunately, there are some serious downsides to going gluten-free:
It’s really, really hard to get certain nutrients when you cut out foods containing gluten. This includes many of the B vitamins, which are linked to everything from energy to decreased risk of certain birth defects. (Side note: if you’re thinking you’ll just go gluten-free and pop a few supplements, think again. Many medications and supplements use gluten-containing ingredients.)
It can be socially isolating. True gluten avoidance makes social gatherings very challenging due to how many foods contain gluten, and how easy it is to contaminate gluten-free foods simply by preparing them in the vicinity of gluten-containing foods.
It has never been easier, and at the same time, so difficult to go gluten-free. Nowadays, you can find a gluten-free version of just about any gluten-full food, from cakes and candies, to pizza and pasta. However, these processed gluten-free convenience foods are often lower in fiber, vitamins, and minerals (see above); and higher in sugar, preservatives, and fillers than the gluten-containing foods they were created to replace. Additionally, they often rely on rice-based ingredients, which could potentially lead to an overconsumption of arsenic if you aren’t careful. Yikes.
It’s expensive! One recent study, in fact, found that gluten-free products were, on average, 242% more expensive than their gluten-containing counterparts.
Why does anyone bother with a diet that is expensive, socially binding, nutritionally restrictive and inclusive of some very processed, unhealthy foods?
SHALL WE CONSIDER SOME OF THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS?
A lot of perfectly nutritious foods are naturally gluten-free, such as beans, fruits, vegetables, quinoa, nuts, seeds, extra-virgin olive oil, and more. By going gluten-free you might start incorporating more of them into your diet by default.
A lot of not-so-very-nutritious foods do contain gluten: cakes, pizza, pies, cookies, and so on. Who couldn’t stand to adopt a lifestyle that relied a little less heavily on these sugary, processed treats?
If done well (as in, to maximize nutrition and decrease risk of cross-contamination), it will require a lot more cooking at home. Restaurant meals, take-out, and convenience foods are often sky-high in sodium, trans fats, unsavory oils, and lots of ingredients only a chemist could decipher. Less of that, and more home-cooked meals, can be a big step toward improving your health.
BOTTOM LINE: FIT OR FLOP?
As a registered dietitian, I have to say, this one is a flop. Unless you have Celiac Disease, there is absolutely no credible evidence at this time that avoiding gluten has any benefits. However, replacing sweets and refined grains with fruits, vegetables, beans, and other wholesome foods is never a bad idea! So when you see something labeled “gluten free,” take a closer look: it could be marketing hype, or it could be a cool new food to try.

Trans fat: you see the term on food labels, but chances are, you know it more from recent headlines in the news. That is because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has changed its stance on partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the primary source of these mostly man-made fats, deciding that it no longer considers them to be “Generally Recognized As Safe” (GRAS). Companies have until June 18, 2018 to remove all PHOs from their products.

We do not have to wait until 2018 to take action, though. Eliminating trans fats from your diet right now can have a profound impact on your health. All you need is my easy-to-follow guide below for identifying and removing them today.

Step One: Start reading all food labels. This can be a little tedious at first, but knowing what is in what you eat is a very important part of taking charge of your health. If the line reading “Trans Fats” says anything but “0g” (zero grams), it contains high levels of trans fats. (Yes, even one gram is considered high.)

You would think that would be enough. Surely, if we only eat products that say they have zero grams of trans fat, we will not have any trans fats in our diets. Unfortunately, it is not quite that simple.

In 2008, the FDA ruled that companies can list zero grams of trans fat on a label if the product contains less than 0.5 grams. However, what if that product has, say, 0.49 grams of trans fat per serving (less than 0.5 grams, so the label says “0g”) and you happen to eat two servings? You have consumed 0.98 grams of trans fats without even realizing it. It sounds nit-picky, but when it comes to trans fats, every little bit matters. Even increasing your daily intake of these fats by 2 percent (about one or two grams) can increase your risk for heart disease by 23 percent. Yikes.

Step Two: To figure out if a product has hidden trans fats despite saying “0g” on the nutrition facts panel, we need to turn to the ingredient list. Here, we are looking for two words: “hydrogenated” and “shortening.” Shortening is almost always made from partially hydrogenated oils, and hydrogenated oils, we have already determined, are sources of trans fats. Partially hydrogenated fats are the biggest source, but even fully hydrogenated oils will contain some trans fats, although in much smaller quantities.

Technically, there are two more words that should raise a red flag when you see them: monoglycerides and diglycerides (sometimes expressed as “mono & diglycerides” on a label). These are broken pieces of fat molecules, essentially, that may or may not have come from a hydrogenated (trans) fat. It is impossible to say for sure, but most agree that a large portion of mono- and diglycerides on the market come, at least in part, from trans fats. As consumers become more savvy to terms like hydrogenated and trans fat, companies have begun using these mono- and diglycerides instead of PHOs. Sometimes they are, in fact, trans fat free, but the labels never say, so it is a chance you have to choose to take for yourself.

Step Three: Muster up the courage to ask about products that do not have labels. This means talking to waiters at restaurants (who will rarely know without asking someone in the kitchen) and employees at bakeries, for example. Here is some tough news to swallow: Nearly everything currently sold at the majority of U.S. bakeries contains trans fat. It is not particularly uncommon at restaurants, either.

I know, I know: Ignorance is bliss. But sometimes to achieve our goals, we have to come to terms with some uncomfortable truths.

Here is another uncomfortable truth: this controversy will not end with eliminating partially hydrogenated oils. In fact, this ruling is only the beginning. Companies have already begun turning to other processed fats and oils that preliminary studies indicate are likely just as harmful.

There will always be a bigger, “badder” ingredient of concern. Most big corporations will always, by nature, consider the bottom line before public health. It is our job–not theirs–to advocate for our health. The good news in this seemingly hopeless situation is that we do have that power. We must arm ourselves with knowledge, vote with our dollars every time we shop, and remind ourselves that any health goal is not one giant, black-or-white leap, but rather a slow and steady, transformative journey. Whenever it starts to feel overwhelming or you start to lose sight of the bigger picture, pause for a deep breath and take one step forward. You can do it.

Sometimes, as a health conscious shopper, entering a supermarket can feel like stepping into battle. All around are war-painted sale advertisements, and we, the shoppers, are the soldiers. Our choices, the items we select like weapons to earn a place in our carts, will determine what we will eat for the coming week. Decoys, junk food masquerading as healthy products, seem to lurk on every shelf. Many experts have bestowed upon us strategies for navigating this rocky terrain, assuring us that of we follow their rules, we will come out alive.

Food shopping, eating healthfully: these are not battles to be fought and won, and so many of these “rules” with which we arm ourselves are well-intentioned but missing the bigger picture. As a dietitian who has worked on the supposed “front line,” the grocery store, there are certain food shopping mantras that make me, well… cringe. I’m here today to expose the myths, explain the truths, and help you move from food shopping foot soldier to grocery guru: confident, well-informed, and at peace with your choices.

Grocery Store Mantras I Wish Would Go Away:

1.    Shop the perimeter because that is where all of the healthy products are.

The perimeter of the store has plenty of products that, as a dietitian, I don’t recommend for regular consumption: juice, red and processed meats, baked goods, cheese, and very sugary yogurts, to name a few. Additionally, there are wonderfully nutritious foods in the center of the store: dried beans, all-natural peanut and almond butter, nuts and seeds in general, low sodium tomato products, herbal teas, and I could go on.

2.    Fresh vegetables are healthier than canned or frozen.

Let’s start with the frozen vegetables, which are, in fact, astonishingly nutritious. These veggies are picked at the peak of ripeness and frozen within hours to lock in nutrients, while fresh may travel thousands of miles over several days to reach the store. Be sure to look for frozen vegetables without added sauces, flavorings, or salt, but otherwise, they are an equally nutritious choice to fresh. Canned also retain a large quantity of nutrients, and there are many low- and no-sodium varieties. The snag is that cans are often lined with BPA or other chemicals, so although I would rather shoppers choose canned vegetables than none at all, I recommend fresh or frozen first.

3.    Avoid all processed food.

There isn’t a dietitian out there who would actively recommend foods like soda, spray cheese, and shelf-stable pepperoni. However, the term “processed” has taken on a slightly jaded meaning in the 21st century. Originally, a processed food was anything that wasn’t in its raw state: triple washed lettuce, plain rolled oats, extra-virgin olive oil, and frozen broccoli florets are all, technically, “processed” foods. Additionally, everyone eats even the less nutritious “processed” foods now and then; they are not “bad” or forbidden. Choose them sparingly, at times when you will most savor them, and look for ones with fewer unfamiliar ingredients.

These “rules” only pit one food, one shopper against another and help perpetuate the battle-like atmosphere of food and health. Instead of fighting, consider these tips to help clear your mind and approach the sometimes daunting task of food shopping with peace:

Try not to go shopping on an empty stomach. The hungrier you are, the more likely you are to veer from your shopping list, distracted by impulse items (I’m looking at you, gourmet ice cream marked down to a hard-to-resist price). These items are perfectly ok to buy now and then if you so choose, but doing so while clouded by hunger can lead to hasty decisions that you wouldn’t otherwise make.

Approach new items with curiosity, but skepticism. Packaging is designed to make you want to pick it up. From the colors to the adjectives, everything is beautifully orchestrated to send you a specific message. Some of these new products may, in fact, be nutritious additions to your diet, but others are merely capitalizing on the increase in health-conscious shoppers. Always double check the ingredients, nutrition panel, and good, old fashioned common sense.

In the end, remember that rarely will one item make or break your health goals. For every helpful rule, there is an exception. Explore new foods with an open mind but not reckless abandon. And, perhaps most importantly of all, always be your own health advocate in the grocery store, and in life.