The risk of these diets is that we are excluding important nutrients from our diet, making things harder for ourselves, restricting unnecessarily.

For you gluten curious aficionados… 

What is Gluten?

Gluten is a mix of two proteins, gliadin and glutenin.

What’s Gluten found in?

Wheat, triticale, oats, barley, rye, spelt. Due to its protein content it is also often the basis of imitation meats.

Should I cut it out?

Unless you have gluten sensitivity or Coeliac disease, you do not require a gluten free diet. If you have Coeliac disease an autoimmune condition, the treatment is a life long gluten free diet.

What are the benefits of a gluten and wheat in my nutrition plan?

A diet rich in wholegrains including those little gluten containing ones will give you… Fibre! Vitamins and minerals! Improved weight management and reduction in risk of metabolic syndrome and type two diabetes. If you throw in oats, you throw in some cholesterol lowering benefits too! Then there is tryptophan found in grains too, tryptophan is an essential amino acid and a precursor to serotonin, important to our sleep and mood!
I could go on, but you get the idea right?

Does gluten make me fat?

Short answer… NO! Firstly, leave ‘fat’ talk out of it. Fat is a natural part of the body that serves many important biological roles. Even on a gluten free diet a person can become overweight if their energy intake is excessive. A balanced intake of gluten and non-gluten containing foods can be beneficial to maintaining a healthy weight.

So what’s the problem?

We all love a good fad diet. We all like to blame something for our conflict with our bodies. Instead of blaming the teeny tiny little gluten guy, why not look at our overall nutrition. Instead of cutting things out, how about we make sure we are getting all that good stuff in? Are you eating to your hunger and fullness signals, are you aware of emotional eating? I know its not exciting to say ‘oh I totally ate to my fullness signal the other day’ but it can be much more beneficial if we stop abusing our bodies with extreme diets or quick fixes that can’t be maintained in the long term.

We need to enjoy our relationship with food and ourselves. Be kind to yourself.

Here is some food for thought!

1)   Put the phone down, step away from the laptop, hide your ipad (but not before you watch this video clip)… http://elitedaily.com/news/world/this-is-one-of-the-most-vital-messages-gen-y-needs-to-hear-video/
If you’re not yet up to that stage of talking to strangers on a train, how about just taking in the message of ‘Looking up’ and disconnecting from the smart phone for a few minutes? Even if its just to check out the latest fashion for winter on the train (or for some who are wildly connected to their phone it may be becoming aware that yes, it is now winter).

2)   Volunteer! Volunteer work has long been known to benefit not only the people being helped but also the person doing the volunteering. Doing some good in the world by volunteering may reduce social isolation- a risk factor for depression and lending a hand can provide career experience and teach workplace skills. Research by the London School of Economics has even shown that volunteer work can increase your odds of being ‘very happy’. You might feel fulfilled, connected to a community, experience new things, have fun and improve your social network and social skills. Volunteering costs nothing but your time and there are so many places that offer this in local communities. Here are some places to get started:
http://govolunteer.com.au/
http://www.dosomethingnearyou.com.au/sydney
http://www.goodcompany.com.au
http://www.volunteering.com.au/

3)   Try out some mindfulness… seek the mental and physical health benefits of mindfulness by taking some time out to smell the roses, connect, accept and be aware of your surroundings. Mindfulness is a moment-by-moment awareness of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, it leaves judgement behind, just focusing on being present. If you can’t get some quiet time in the house? Maybe try a mindful walk, here is a link to the RMIT University instructions for a mindful walk http://mams.rmit.edu.au/qdqjdwrpw3wm1.pdf

4) Garden. I have a friend who lives in a fancy studio apartment in the hipster part of Sydney who insisted that she could grow a herb garden in her place… she did. This is someone whose bedroom is also her kitchen. Gardening doesn’t mean having a backyard with four veggie patches, covered in enough cow manure and hay to stop anyone robbing your home. It can be on your balcony or a windowsill, growing something in a jar even, maybe try planting some of those fancy chia seeds or head to your local market and pick up a little pot plant, and be proud of being productive and connecting with nature!
(Side note- I have killed basil on every attempt to grow it, if your gardening doesn’t work, try again, and in my case, try a third or fourth time… I’ve produced one strawberry in 12 months of gardening, however it’s the most exciting strawberry I’ve ever eaten).

Fats and oils are important for our body, they:

• Protect your organs
• Are important for our nerves, brain and skin cells
• Assist in temperature regulation
• Help to absorb and transport key nutrients in the body
• Play a role in hormone production and release, including hormones involved in signalling our fullness
• Provide us with energy
• Add flavour and texture to food
• Slow the rate of digestion, leaving you feeling satisfied for longer

No fats should be excluded from your diet but evidence suggests Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated fats tend to be more beneficial for health than the Saturated and Trans fats. The omega-3 fats, a form of polyunsaturated fats, from sources such as salmon, mackerel, sardines and tuna have the best evidence for positive health effects including a reduced risk of heart disease, immune support and a role in the treatment of depression.

Fats are found in oils, butter, margarine, avocados, dairy foods, meat, seafood, nuts, and seeds.

Fats and oils are essential in your nutrition plan for health and satiety. Excluding fats may lead to nutritional deficiencies and could be a trigger for overeating.

Nutrition ideas:

• Use salad dressing made from olive, sunflower or canola oils to add flavour to salads.
• Add a sprinkle of seeds to your cereal in the morning such as flaxseeds or LSA mix.
• Have a handful of nuts such as walnuts, Brazil nuts or cashews as part of a snack.
• Spread some avocado on some grainy crackers with a few slices of tomato for a snack.
• Pop some fish fillets in foil, drizzle with olive oil and top with some mixed herbs, wrap up and throw in the oven to bake. Add a salad and rice for a quick dinner that ticks all the boxes.

References: Protein, Carbohydrate and Fat, DAA Eating Disorders Interest Group, July 2013. Fish and Seafood, The Heart Foundation 2014.

This is a beautifully written book that weaves in myths, metaphors and fairy tales to guide you through its core themes. Useful not only for those who are developing skills to recover from disordered eating, this book is a positive, empowering and practical resource for exploring your understanding and relationship with hunger, food and your body.

Visit Website

Diet products do not teach you how to change habits or behaviours that may be impacting on your weight concerns, they don’t teach you how to maintain a healthy weight long term, they are a quick fad fix, and quick weight loss usually results in quick weight gain.

Diet products are not necessarily healthier than a standard food product. They may have alternative fillers such as excess salt and sugar to replace the flavour of what they have excluded from the original product.