Should I Go Gluten-Free?

The new trend in nutrition has been gluten-free products. People (mainly celebrities) have been switching to no gluten and seeing amazing benefits, making this one of the biggest trends in eating today. Some people are contemplating it but cannot seem to give up the bread of pasta. So, if you are wondering if the switch is right for you, keep on reading.

Gluten is protein that can be found in wheat, barley, rye, and malts. It's what makes dough rise, if you will. Gluten-free products starts becoming a "thing" when two different disorders started becoming prevalent in our population: celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.

Celiac disease is a genetically linked autoimmune disease. For those with this disorder, gluten sets off an immune response to make the body rid itself of gluten created antibodies that attack and damage the small intestines. This is why it is known that if you have celiac disease, you may be at risk for cancer if you eat gluten.

Gluten sensitivity is just like celiac disease except that on the celiac disease test, you will come up negative.

Gluten-free diets are beneficial to those who have these disorders because it will halt all the symptoms, which include joint pain, anemia, diarrhea, constipation and fatigue.

For everyone else, going gluten-free won't do much for your diet. So, why is going gluten-free so popular? Well, it turns out that in about 1 in about 133 Americans actually have one of these two disorders. That is a pretty high number.

If you feel any of the symptoms, check with your doctor to see if a gluten-free diet is right for you.

What exactly is this Glycemic Index?

The Glycemic Index (GI) has been the "new thing" on the nutrition newsfeed now. Most of the newest weight loss books have used it to determine what you should be eating and what you should avoid. The problem is that most people don't actually understand what the GI means and how it works. Even I sometimes don't understand it completely...and I'm studying to become a dietitian! So without further ado, here is a nice straight-forward way of explaining the Glycemic Index.

1. The GI ranks carbohydrates on a scale of 0 to 100 on how fast they raise your blood sugar levels after eating.
2. If the carbohydrate has a bigger number (70+), your body digests it really fast. Therefore, it spikes up your blood sugar level really fast as well.
3. If the carbohydrate has a lower number (55 or less), you body digests it slowly which produces a gradual spike in your blood sugar level.
4. You want to eat things that have a lower GI because they help control your appetite, delay hunger, and reduce insulin levels This is really good if you're a Type 2 diabetic or diabetes runs in your family (It runs in my family so this is really important for me).
5. Low GI Foods: bran, rolled oats, whole grain/wheat, most if not all vegetables, most fruits, hummus, wheat pasta, and most if not all beans

There you have it. A sure fire way to eat carbs and know that you are being healthy. Here is a full GI foods list if you want to see more foods that have low GIs as well as High GIs. Enjoy your carbs the right way from now on everyone!

Healthy Recipe #2: Peanut Butter Smoothies!

So, I decided to make weekend blog posts recipes because they are fast and easy to write (and therefore, give me time to enjoy my days off). So for today, I am writing out my favorite kind of smoothie for breakfast or a snack before dinner. All throughout high school, I don't think I touched a stove. Then, in college, I wasn't allowed to nor have anything more than a microwave and a fridge in my room. So, I am pretty new at all these recipes and what not. But, being the science geek that I am, I just pretend I'm in Chemistry lab (yeah. I know.), so now cooking is not only really easy but also one of my favorite things to do (in my defense, my parents are both chemical engineers. It was how I was raised to think!)

Anyway, a lot of recipes for "healthy protein" smoothies call for protein powders. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a protein powder that doesn't have milk products in it unless I order it. And if I order it, then I have to pay shipping and handling (and who wants to do that?). I remembered that one of my friends used peanut butter to make smoothies and I decided to give it a try. It's pretty good too! Tastes a lot like peanut butter though so if you're not a fan, you might want to add a lot more of the fruit. 

Here's my recipe for a peanut butter smoothie:

1 Tbs. peanut butter

1/2 cup fruit of choice (think of it as a PB&J sandwich. what's your favorite jam?)

1/2 cup ice (optional - if you don't freeze the fruit, you might want to add the ice)

1/2-1 cup of almond milk (play around with it!)

Put it all in a blender and enjoy!! (while blending, make sure you dance because...well, what else are you going to do?)

Today, I made this for breakfast. My fruit was strawberries!! Yesterday, I made it for a snack before dinner (I'm kind of obsessed with this), but I used blueberries. You can really do whatever you want with this and it will come out good!! Here's a video of my blueberries one: BLUEBERRY SMOOTHIE

Healthy Recipe #1: Omelettes!

My favorite breakfast is an omelette. During the school year, the dining hall has a very limited breakfast option. My friend and I would always try to get there as early as possible before class (which for us meant about a half hour before our class) and get into the omelette line. Now that I'm home for the summer, I crave a delicious omelette almost everyday. Unfortunately, I had never made an omelette in my life...until this summer. After much experimenting, I have found my favorite way to make an omelette AND it includes tomatoes (which if you know me, you know I actually cannot stand tomatoes). Here it is!

Ingredients:
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup mushrooms
1/4 cup tomatoes
3 egg whites

Procedure:
Add some extra virgin olive oil (about a teaspoon) to a skillet set to medium heat. Also add about 1/4 cup of water. Saute the spinach and mushrooms until the spinach wilts and the mushrooms start to brown. Add the tomatoes. Now, wait until the water has evaporated completely before you add the egg whites. Then, cook for about 3 minutes and you should be good to go! Sometimes, you might mess up the omelette (I know I do), so just make it scrambled!

This is a perfect way to start the day if you have the time before work. Add a fruit if you don't think it will fill you up and you should be on your way!

Happy Eating!

Would You Believe TV Doctors?

Recently, LA Times published an article called "TV not always a healthy channel for advice". This article caught my eye because I have noticed that my mother loves watching Dr. Oz's new talk show. Now, I am not trying to bash on Dr. Oz because he is an intelligent man (I mean, look at his credentials!). But, does he honestly think he can give women in this country advice about nutrition and food? Just having registered dietitians and certified nutritionists on the show isn't hiding his thoughts. It makes me look at him skeptically because I know he didn't study to become a dietitian; he studied to become a cardio thoracic surgeon.

So why are people believing everything that doctors on television are saying? This article gave great examples on why people should be more skeptical when watching health shows on television. My favorite one was the first example: probiotics and digestive enzyme supplements. Dr. Steven Lamm, an assistant professor at NYU, guaranteed on The View that in Less than half a decade, everyone will be taking a probiotic and a digestive enzyme supplement. (WAIT, WHAT?!) This man was promoting his book "No Guts, No Glory" where he claims that probiotics and digestive enzymes are crucial to overall gut health. Unfortunately, there is no real evidence about that. An enzyme expert (you see, someone with the education and certification), Dr. John Willams, has stated that the only people who need to take digestive enzymes are those with pancreatic diseases. It is also worthy to note that Dr. Lamm is a paid consultant for Ezymedica (a company dedicated to providing enzyme-focused supplements). 

I found this story so interesting because my sister was interested in "The Beauty Detox Solution" by certified nutritionist Kimberly Snyder. In this book, Snyder promotes probiotics and digestive enzymes. She even has her readers make raw saurkraut (it's so you can get natural probiotics and digestive enzymes) and eat a cup of it before dinner everyday. Now, maybe it's because I never liked saurkraut that I find this a little far-fetched, but I don't think I would take the time to have cabbage ferment for 3-5 days in a room, let alone make sure I always have enough. 

I realize that now more than ever people are more aware of their health and are trying in every possible way to stay healthy. Unfortunately, people are looking in the wrong places. If you were dating a guy, would you take advice from a friend who has been single for over a year? Because chances are, that person does not know how to keep a guy. Therefore, why are you listening to someone who studied a different category in medicine for most of their adult life? Chances are, they don't know much about nutrition.

Leave in a comment your thoughts about this!

LA Times Article