Some people choose to eat a diet that does not include gluten out of personal preference, while others choose to for dietary reasons. Regardless of why a person is living a gluten-free lifestyle, it’s important to be aware of the ingredients within the foods we eat, beyond just the gluten-free label. As integrative medicine doctors, we often encounter patients who are avoiding gluten, but make the following gluten-free mistakes.

Here are the three main mistakes that we here at Southwest Integrative Medicine want to help you avoid:

1. Just because it is gluten free does, not make it healthy for you.

As the popularity of a gluten-free lifestyle increases, many food production companies have stepped in to provide their take on gluten free products. You can hardly walk down a grocery store aisle without seeing an item labeled as being gluten-free. For those suffering from a gluten allergy or those simply choosing to omit it, it may be tempting to supplement the normal gluten-free staples with new items you may have previously thought you would be destined to live without. Sweets and speciality breads are just the tip of the iceberg on items that can be gluten-free, but still not particularly healthy for you.

Aside from foods that are notoriously unhealthy, the reality is that even some relatively healthy foods may be tampered with in order to make them gluten-free. These changes are not always for the best. Gluten alternatives can often double the amount of carbohydrates that are typically found in similar, gluten-laden products. An unhealthy amount of added sugars may also be included in gluten-free products.

2. Sometimes gluten free products include additives that are not healthy.

These additives are the same as the ones we discussed above, which bring about excess carbohydrates and increased sugar to gluten free products. What is worse are the inflammatory issues which people attempt to leave behind by eating gluten free, that may still be caused by the additives.

These unhealthy additives include rice flour, potato flour, cornstarch, and tapioca starch. When people begin to eat these seemingly healthy gluten-free items, it can come as a shock to them that they are not actually receiving the health benefits they are seeking. Instead, many people who are on an ill-managed, gluten free diet can  not only notice a stop in weight loss, but in some cases, even weight gain.

As we said, these items, specifically corn, oats, and rice, are known for causing inflammatory issues, much like gluten. However, the reality is that all of these health issues can be avoided simply by reading the label and being aware of the ingredients involved in making the product gluten free.

3. Some products are labeled gluten free as a marketing ploy.

What is gluten anyways? Gluten is the protein inside grains like wheat, rye, spelt, and barley. If a product does not typically contain one of these items, then it is naturally gluten-free. Just as food companies have attached themselves to the gluten craze by creating a host of unhealthy foods to satisfy people’s palates, they have done the same by labeling items that are already without gluten as gluten-free. While this is not something which will affect your diet, this is something we would like our readers to be attentive about.

Don’t spend extra money on a product labeled “gluten free” when the same, unlabelled item is equally as free of gluten and costs 25% less. Take the time to understand which items are naturally gluten-free and save yourself money on groceries.

At the end of the day, we advise you to take the extra time to read the label of the product you are about to purchase. It can save you not just money, but also excess calories, and harmful additives.

We at Southwest Integrative hope that you are able to proceed with your gluten-free lifestyle, enlightened by this information. Should you need any further integrative medicine treatments, feel free to contact us by clicking the button below.