Welcome back to the fresh focus podcast. This is episode 5 of the myth busters series, where we dive into common nutrition beliefs and sort what’s true from what’s myth. My name is Megan Rivenburg, and I am a dietetic intern at the Bay Pines VA in Florida. I’m here today to talk all things gluten and dairy. Are they bad for you? Good for you? Inflammatory? Should they be avoided at all costs? Can you be healthy and eat them both regularly? Let’s get started by talking first about gluten.
What is gluten? Well, it’s actually a protein. It’s responsible for the elastic texture in bread products such as loaves of bread, pastas, and pastries. Gluten is found in wheat, rye, and barley, which means anything that contains those products can have hidden gluten. While you probably think of bread, pasta, and bagels right away as containing gluten, this means it’s also in things like soy sauce and beer. Does the average person need to avoid this protein? Nope!
There’s no evidence that the average, healthy individual needs to avoid gluten. There’s also no evidence that gluten is bad for the average, healthy individual. It’s just a protein, remember?
There are, however, some indications for avoiding gluten. The biggest one of these is Celiac disease, which is an autoimmune disease where a person’s own immune system attacks its GI tract when that person eats gluten. There are over 200 known symptoms of Celiac disease, including GI discomfort like bloating, constipation, or diarrhea. It’s also something that has a strong genetic component too, so it’s worth talking with your provider if you have a family history of Celiac disease or are experiencing any unexplained health symptoms.
Someone else who may need to avoid gluten is someone who has a gluten sensitivity. This is something that you would need to discuss and establish with your provider.
For others, going gluten free isn’t necessarily healthier. In fact, eliminating whole grains like whole wheat from the diet eliminates an awesome source of fiber and other important nutrients like folate, iron, and vitamin B12. So while gluten free diets are undoubtedly healthier for those who have a medical reason to avoid gluten, they are not objectively healthier for other people. In reality, for those individuals, gluten free products may just be more expensive and more difficult to find.
Now let’s move on and talk about dairy. People love to hate dairy, but why? From a dietetic intern’s perspective, it’s such an amazing source of protein, calcium, and other vitamin and minerals, plus – have you tried cheese and ice cream? There’s nothing better in my opinion!
Something I hear a lot is that dairy gives them digestive issues, and I get it. I’m lactose intolerant! But I think what some people don’t know is what lactose actually is, and that there are ways around the stomach discomfort that can come from eating dairy for people with lactose intolerance. Lactose is a naturally occurring sugar found in milk products, and our bodies make an enzyme called lactase that breaks it down. When we don’t make enough lactase, eating dairy products that are high in lactose can cause some discomfort.
What’s interesting is that different dairy products have different levels of lactose in them. For example, Greek yogurts are going to be on the lower lactose side because of how they are produced. And it’s the reason someone like me, who’s been lactose intolerant since before I can remember, can have Greek yogurt without discomfort. Some cheeses are also on the lower lactose side. It might take a little bit of trial and error for you to find which ones you do well with and which ones you do not. And when all else fails, lactase enzymes are a great option to take along with dairy products to help you digest them.
Unlike when someone is allergic to dairy, consuming dairy products when lactose intolerant does not lead to harmful inflammatory damage. If you are unsure about whether or not you have a dairy allergy and whether or not it’s safe for you to be consuming dairy, consult your healthcare team and voice your concerns.
Now that we’re talking about inflammation though, that brings me to my next topic. There’s a kind of newer myth out there that dairy is inflammatory. And that the inflammation that it causes in our bodies is really, really bad for us. In honor of breaking down myths and discovering the truth, I dove into the research on this for you. Analyses of hundreds of studies done on this topic show that not only is dairy not shown to increase inflammation, but consumption of dairy may even have an anti-inflammatory effect. It’s kind of funny how a rumor otherwise could even start to spread in the first place!
So, if dairy doesn’t make you feel good, that’s okay. I am not trying to say that you have to eat it in order to be healthy. We are all different people and our bodies all react differently to different foods! We all also have different taste preferences. What I think is important though, is to make sure that we are not making decisions about what we should or shouldn’t eat out of fear. It’s so much better to be informed and be able to make decisions about your own health and your own intake from a clear-headed space instead of out of a place of fear.
I hope this episode could clear some things up for you. As always, if you have concerns about dairy or gluten and how you specifically react to those foods, or if you just have some more questions about some of the other myths out there regarding these things, always feel free to reach out to your healthcare team.
Thanks for tuning in!