I just read a really great article (for a change) in the March 2015 issue of Self magazine titled “What’s So Wrong With Wheat?” by Catherine Price. I wish I could find a link to the article to share, but alas, no such luck. The gist of the article is that the author wanted to talk to actual scientists with decades of experience with wheat (growing it, treating allergies of it, etc.) instead of relying on the usual hype-based sources. Research scientists did find that some people feel better on a gluten-free diet even if they weren’t diagnosed with Celiac disease or a wheat allergy but they couldn’t conclusively say why.

And here’s where my favorite part of the article kicks in: “Daniel Leffler, M.D., director of clinical research at the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, points out that ‘it’s human nature to think that it’s what you take out that makes you feel better, but it might also be what you add.’ In other words, some of the supposed benefits of a gluten- and wheat-free diet may be less about the lack of gluten or wheat and more about overall dietary and lifestyle changes. If you replace highly processed and refined wheat-based carbohydrates with unrefined, nutritious and lower-calorie choices like vegetables and fish, you may well see an improvement in your health.”

It is really difficult to scientifically prove exactly what element of a diet causes an increase or decrease in health because there are so many variables involved. Let’s say you normally eat about 1800 calories a day including a sandwich on 2 slices of wheat bread for lunch and a 1-cup serving of pasta for dinner. If you took out the bread and pasta, that would remove 20% of your calories for the day. In order to avoid hunger, you’d probably increase your intake of meat or produce. Now you can no longer say whether it’s the lack of wheat or the increase of something else that has made you feel better or worse.

All very interesting and confusing stuff! But still in line with my philosophy that making little changes in the direction of health is for the best and getting too caught up in any hype or trend isn’t worth it.