Catching Up-Gluten Free, Celiac, and Nutrition News and Notables. Also, Oakley.
Erin | Mar 21, 2011 | Comments 0
Well the month of February floated right on by and I neglected to post a round up! Yikes.
To give you all a brief update for everyone who had been so kindly asking about my knee, my MRI showed that I do have a loose piece of cartilage floating around as well as some additional damage. I see my orthopedist tomorrow to formulate our plan of attack. Thank you so much for all the kind thoughts that have been heading my way. They are all treasured and appreciated.
Onward!
- Going gluten free as a diet fad got some teeth in the month of February. The article in the Post Gazette titled “Dieters warned on going gluten free” lambasted the idea of going gluten free to lose weight, which I think is completely true. I also agree with this statement from the article “”If you want to go gluten-free for health reasons, you need to take the processed foods out of your diets,” said Dr. Greer, not “just go out and buy a bunch of gluten-free cookies.”" True true! As I always say, gluten free junk is still junk. Ron Hoggan fired back a response to the article which is posted here on celiac.com, where he takes issue with what he felt was a warning away from the gluten free diet. Here’s my opinion. We know about those, right? I think that is someone eats a healthful, whole foods based gluten free diet as opposed to the processed food, sugar laden SAD (Standard American Diet) that they will likely lose weight, but it is not gluten free magic. It is likely a reduction in calories, and I touched a bit more on losing weight on a gluten free diet in this article. Not magic. Thermodynamics.
This is a joke. Funny, though, eh? See icanhascheezeburger.com for more 
- The USDA dietary guidelines came out, oh yes they did. And actually, they are slightly less bad than they were last year. Some smart people have already written up great posts discussing them, which means I don’t have to. So here you go:
- I use stevia as my sweetener of choice. I don’t use a lot, but I do use it daily, at least a small amount. Mark’s Daily Apple posted a nice overview of Stevia that goes into detail about what it does in the body. As in everything when it comes to your eats, moderation is key. A little white sugar won’t hurt you. A lot will. That is the same attitude to take with all sweeteners, no matter how “natural” they are.
- Nature versus nuture, also known as genetics versus environment. We know both play a part, but how big of a part? Well, we don’t really know. It seems that environment affects how, and if, certain genes are expressed. Kind of like a celiac “trigger” The mind boggles. But here is some interesting food for thought and photos:
- For the sciency-minded folk, Chris Masterjohn dissects the now-being-passed-around-as-gluten-sensitivity-gospel study that indicated gluten caused GI distress for people without celiac disease. Hold on to your britches, Chris shows us why a bit of digging is important. Read it.
- Speaking of research, Marion Nestle wrote an excellent post on the perils of food research. A good reminder, again, to always use critical thinking. Research can be, and often is, skewed.
- Amy at Fuel is RX explains cuts of meat and how to buy meat on a budget. Excellent must read for us carnivores.
- My good friend Melissa at Gluten Free for Good posted her top brain foods. Thankfully, coffee is on there. Although you all will be shocked and amazed to hear that I am now on half-caffeine coffee. One travel mug of half caf in the AM, that’s it. My poor adrenal glands are slowly recovering from all my years of caffeine abuse.
- Chris Kresser, the Healthy Skeptic, is making his way through a series of posts on the 9 Steps to Perfect Health. Step 6 is especially important, managing stress. Read this one, and then read the others. But not if it’s too late at night and you should be sleeping. These two items are very big on my list of goals for improvement in 2011.
- What’s that you say? You want recipes? Oh, we got recipes:
- Speaking of food, it’s time for me to go get my whole chicken out of the slow cooker. It’s hot again here in South Florida, no more oven roasting. There are lots more links to good stuff that I share on Gluten Free Fitness on Facebook, so come join us there too!
- If I have not responded to your comment here, I apologize. WordPress has been all kinds of wonky since the last update, and I am unable to respond to comments right now! I am hoping that another update will be soon.
- On an unrelated note, Oakley (the sunglasses people-other stuff too, but they are most known for their sunglasses) is running a contest to become an Oakley ambassador. This would involve winning a trip to California and being involved with events for and with Oakley for the year. The contest is about “perform beautifully.” To me, that is so much more than sports. Here is my “essay” with which I entered. If I win, I feel I could do a lot of good things for celiac and gluten intolerance awareness.
“Performing Beautifully is about much more than sport performance, awards, or outward appearance. Performing beautifully is an idea, a credo, a system of beliefs and a way of living that can apply to all areas of your life.
To Perform Beautifully:
1. Open your heart and mind to other opinions and outlooks. You may not agree, but you can give respect.
2. Prepare for your life and your fitness to the best of your ability mentally and physically.
3. Always give your best effort; in athletics, relationships, and business.
4. Appreciate your abilities as well as your weaknesses. Our weaknesses make us uniquely human and can be recognized, celebrated, and improved upon.
5. Understand that your best is all you can expect, and the definition of “your best” will change on a daily basis.
6. Live for experience more than outcome. Truly enjoy the process and your path, and you will always achieve your goals.
7. Control and maximize what you can, let go of what you can’t. Try not to struggle with what you cannot change. Focus that energy on the things you CAN change.
8. Treat everyone you touch with respect and kindness. You will find that kindness reflected back upon you.
9. Accept that there will be challenges and hard times. Allow yourself to recognize the frustrations, and then move on.
10. Adapt and become stronger and better. Live and perform more beautifully with every day and with every challenge you are faced with.
When I entered I did not realize there was voting involved, but there is. If you are so inclined, please go to the Perform Beautifully page on Facebook and submit your vote. You can vote once daily up to midnight on April 30th 2011.
Thanks all, and enjoy the roundup!
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Filed Under: article round up • celiac disease • Gluten Free
