Marketing in America is quite amazing. How many people a year ago had heard of gluten or celiac disease? It is amazing how fast companies can pick up on trends and twist information around in order to gain a profit. Unfortunately, for the Gluten-Free fad the marketing departments are taking a real disease and problem for many Americans and instead of making it healthier they are making it worse.
I knew we had hit an all time low when I drove by a national pizza chain advertising “Gluten-Free” crust. The ingredients in a “gluten-free” crust are as follows: Water, Rice Flour, Rice Starch, Potato Starch, Olive Oil, Evaporated Cane Juice, Tapioca Flour, Potato Flour, Fresh Yeast, Avicel, Salt, Calcium Propionate. I don’t know about you but I don’t eat those processed foods on a regular basis. If I am trying to make a healthier choice by going “gluten-free” does adding these processed foods to my diet make sense? For me, the answer is no. How can you avoid gluten in order to feel better and avoid the inflammatory response (this does not mean you are celiac it is just the bodies natural reaction to gluten and each persons body reacts differently) it causes in the majority of Americans?
Simply put, eat Whole Foods, it Real Foods, if you can pick it from the earth, gather it, or hunt it down, then by all means dig in!
Which brings me to my latest and greatest find: Eat Like a Dinosaur, by: The Paleo Parents. This book is written with kids in mind but it is a great start to understanding how to live and cook gluten-free without the use of processed foods. Adults can take advantage of the easy recipes and advice for eating healthier and smarter for a longer life. Families, it is a great idea to educate and get your kids involved in their nutrition choices. They will understand the effects foods have on their body and how they make them feel. The reward is habits that will keep them healthy long after you have control of their choices.
Where do order:
*special thanks to Mike Vilece for sharing the information about Eat Like A Dinosaur