Can A Gluten-Free Diet Work For Healthy Weight Loss?

Gluten-free diet… the latest growing trend in the weight loss industry, but can a gluten free diet work for healthy weight loss? The minute a celebrity talks diet the hype begins, Miley Cyrus has recently reported that her new leaner body is down to following a gluten free diet.

Do people look into these diets before embarking on them, or do they just follow suit because that’s the trend for the moment. How much do you know about Gluten-Free Dieting?

To help us understand more about what a Gluten-free diet is I have taken the follow extract from Health.USNews.com written by Angela Haupt on Miley Cyrus and Gluten Free.

Is Gluten-Free Diet Good For Weight Loss

Miley Cyrus (Image provided by Wikipedia JJ Duncan)

Miley Cyrus is looking leaner than ever these days, fueling mass speculation of an eating disorder. On Monday, she took to Twitter to defend her slim physique: “For everyone calling me anorexic, I have a gluten and lactose allergy. It’s not about weight, it’s about health. Gluten is crapppp anyway!”

While Cyrus’ weight loss may be due to a legitimate food allergy, scads of other celebrities and non-famous folks alike are adopting a gluten-free diet—for weight reasons, not health. “It’s definitely trendy now. Everyone is talking about it,” says Elisabetta Politi, nutrition director at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, N.C. And the food industry is apparently cashing in on the trend, too: By 2015, sales of gluten-free foods and beverages are expected to hit $5 billion, according to Packaged Facts, a market research firm. “I see the positive side of being more aware of gluten and trying not to overdo it,” says Politi, “but I don’t think it’s a good way to lose weight.”

Japanese Rice Bread Gluten-free (Image by Wikipedia DryPot)

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, as well as many common food additives. It gives dough elasticity and baked goods their chewiness. (It’s found in pizza, beer, burgers, and pancakes, for example.) Those who have celiac disease—caused by an overactive immune response to gluten in the small intestine—are encouraged to go gluten-free to avoid digestive symptoms like pain and diarrhea, and even permanent intestinal damage or malnutrition. There’s no cure or medication other than a gluten-free diet. About 1 percent of the population suffers from celiac and about 10 percent have a less specific sensitivity, according to the Mayo Clinic.

But there’s no hard evidence that a gluten-free diet is appropriate for weight loss or is any more effective at whittling waistlines than other diet plans. Continue with the original article here.

Why do people jump on board the bandwagon and jeopardise their health in the process. Reading reports of celebrity success with faddy diets do not help people over come eating disorders and beat obesity, they are only to willing to give these diets a go without knowing enough about them only because “said” celebrity has had success.

Good old fashion healthy eating and exercise is the way forward for successful weight loss. Our bodies need essential vitamins and minerals to function properly. Unless you have a medical condition and have been advised otherwise by your GP, don’t waste your time on hyped up diets, you will only later regret it.

So after reading all that do you think a gluten-free diet work for healthy weight loss? Please leave your comments below and if you enjoyed the article give it a thumbs up by clicking the “LIKE” button.