The latest trend in health appears to be watching what you don't eat. People looking to resolve digestive problems and other medical issues are cutting out any number of food groups in their quest for a cure - everything from gluten and grains to sugar, alcohol, soy, and dairy.
In some cases, elimination diets can be very helpful for identifying food intolerances and relieving symptoms. In fact, allergists and registered dietitians have been using this approach for decades to help patients methodically pinpoint - or rule out - foods that may be contributing to gastrointestinal upset, irritable bowel syndrome, headaches, and other conditions potentially influenced by diet.
But it's concerning when people start cutting out any number of food groups on their own for long periods of time without medical supervision. While giving up certain categories of food for a few weeks or months isn't likely to cause ill effects, over the long-term, avoiding a long list of ingredients could contribute to nutritional deficiencies or a whole new list of symptoms.
Can 'Free' Diets Make Things Worse?
"Free-from" diets can sometimes backfire and make patients feel even worse, according to Tamara Duke Freuman, a registered dietitian who specializes in gastrointestinal disorders and recently shared her clinical experience with elimination diets in her U.S. News & World Report blog. Gluten-free diets can lead to diarrhea; Paleo and other low-carb eating styles can contribute to constipation; and broad, multi-food elimination diets can trigger uncomfortable bloat.
Sometimes, free-from diets are an absolute and life-long requirement. Following a gluten-free diet is a medical necessity if you have celiac disease, and avoiding certain foods can be a life-or-death matter if you have diagnosed food allergies. Of course, the first step is getting a proper diagnosis from an appropriate medical professional before cutting out anything. In the case of food allergies, make sure you're working with a board-certified allergist who is using the proper diagnostic tests. There are many unproven diagnostic methods, including IgG blood tests and hair analysis, which are unfortunately still used inappropriately by health care providers. If dietary changes are warranted, working with a registered dietitian can help you adjust your eating plan so you're still getting all the nutrients you need.
However, people following self-made elimination-style diets on their own - especially those that exclude multiple ingredients - should think twice about the potential consequences. The best way to get all of the vitamins, minerals, and other ingredients your body needs to function at its best (without relying on supplements or fortified products) is to eat a variety of whole foods, and restrictive diets by definition interfere with your ability to do that. Give these downsides some real consideration before making sweeping cuts to your diet, particularly if these changes are completely voluntary, not a medical necessity.
For instance, there's no question that the Paleo diet can help people lose weight and feel better as a result, but (heavy animal protein content aside), this eating style typically prohibits a laundry list of food groups, including extremely nutrient-dense choices like beans, lentils, and most if not all whole grains. These ingredients are some of the most concentrated sources of fiber and other essential nutrients, and they have well-established, long-term health benefits.
The Health Halo of 'Free' Labeling
Further, as I've mentioned before, splashing "gluten-free" or "sugar-free" on a packaged food label can create a health halo effect by masking the downsides of a less-than-stellar product. Just because a product is dairy-free, or cholesterol-free, or casein-free, doesn't mean it's good for you; what's actually in the food counts, too. We all snicker about Snackwell's cookies, the poster child for the low-fat movement, because we now understand that even though they were fat-free, they were loaded with sugar and junky refined carbs… certainly not a health food. Well, the same is true for today's line of almost-everything-free products. Gluten-free snack foods and dairy-free desserts may still be loaded with sugar and unhealthy fats. We need to learn from our mistakes and always look at the whole picture.
If you've found that cutting out certain foods improves your comfort and quality of life, that's certainly nothing to make light of. However, you also need to look carefully at the foods you've eliminated and how these omissions affect your overall diet. If you're worried about the effect dietary restrictions may be having on your health, I strongly advise working with a registered dietitian to develop a personalized eating plan that meets your individual nutrition needs.
No comments:
Post a Comment