Gluten-free diets have become widely popular in a short amount of time, which begs the question, “is this just another passing fad?” One fact is true: for about one percent of Americans suffering from Celiac Disease, avoiding gluten is not just a craze but a necessity. This disease causes an immune response to gluten resulting in damage to the small intestine, which can lead to nutrient deficiencies due to improper absorption. In addition, a lesser condition known as gluten sensitivity is becoming more understood. However, there are no tests to determine if this condition is present.

Courtesy of Deposit Photos

As for the remainder of the population, the verdict is still out as to whether a gluten-free diet has any added health benefits. WebMD cautions that eliminating foods with gluten from your diet can also eliminate good sources of B Vitamins, Iron and fiber.

We are frequently asked how someone with Celiac Disease can benefit from the Weight Management Genetic Test.  The good news is that you can still maintain our recommendations for fat, carbohydrate, and protein percentages while simply choosing gluten-free foods. It may be a little bit more challenging in the beginning to read every food label, but once you determine your acceptable gluten-free replacements, meal planning will become a breeze.

With the newfound popularity of gluten-free diets, the availability of gluten-free convenience foods has increased. This can be very helpful in maintaining your new lifestyle change, however be sure to read labels very carefully. Many of these foods have increased carbohydrate or saturated fat content to make up for their lack of gluten. Tracking your food intake on the Inherent Diet & Nutrient Analyzer is the best way to adhere to your genotype diet recommendation. If using the prescribed meal plans online, here are some substitutions you can make to ensure that your meals are gluten-free.

If the plan calls for any ingredients containing barley, rye, triticale or wheat replace with one of the following grains – or a similar product labeled gluten-free:

• Amaranth
• Arrowroot
• Buckwheat
• Corn and cornmeal
• Flax
• Gluten-free flours (rice, soy, corn, potato, bean)
• Hominy (corn)
• Millet
• Quinoa
• Rice
• Sorghum
• Soy
• Tapioca
• Teff

Some foods are naturally free of gluten. Some examples:

• Milk not flavored with ingredients that contain gluten, such as malt
• 100 percent fruit or vegetable juices
• Fresh fruits and vegetables
• Butter
• Eggs
• Lentils
• Peanuts
• Seeds, such as flax
• Tree nuts, such as almonds
• Non-gluten-containing grains, such as corn
• Fresh fish, such as cod
• Fresh shellfish, such as clams
• Honey
• Water, including bottled, distilled, and spring

Best Regards,

Nicole Belanger

Customer Service Supervisor

References

WebMD

Mayo Clinic

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

WBTV does a story on the Weight Management Genetic Test and how it has helped one of our success stories – Pulkit Sang.  He has lost over 50 lbs and kept it off.  See the story below:

Kenny Before

Like many people, Kenny never noticed exactly how much weight he had put on over the last 20 years. Year-by-year his weight slowly crept up, a couple of pounds here and a few pounds there. However, in October 2010 while attending a wealth workshop, Kenny scored well in every area but what was troubling him most—his health. Only then did he come to the realization that carrying nearly 170 pounds was too much for his 5’ 5” frame to handle.

Kenny didn’t want to jump on the newest fad diet and was committed to making a lifestyle change—but he didn’t know where to begin. That’s when he learned about the Inherent Health Weight Management Test. His results indicated that, according to his genes, he would respond best to a low carb diet combined with high intensity exercise.

Kenny began making changes to his food intake immediately after receiving his results. With the help of his wife, he started reading labels at the grocery store and together they began eliminating high carb foods from their diet. For the first 30 days, Kenny used the free Inherent Diet and Nutrient Analyzer™ service’s  online journal to track what he was eating and to help ensure his diet consisted of the right proportions of each food group. Along with the changes to his diet he began working out for an hour at least three times a week. Although adding exercise to his daily routine was hard at first, over time Kenny’s energy levels dramatically increased and he hardly remembers a time where exercise wasn’t part of his daily life.

Kenny After

As he began shedding pounds Kenny took to his social network for motivation. He took pictures at his weekly weigh-ins and uploaded pictures of his meals. When Kenny had challenging days,he read the words of encouragement left by his friends and family who were accompanying him along this journey.

In the 12 months since taking the test, Kenny lost a total of 34 pounds. He feels great and credits a better understanding of his genes as the key to taking the weight off and keeping it off for good.

Regards,
The Inherent Health Team

I recently read an interesting article from The Atlantic online, “All Diets Work if You Stick to Them.” The article mentioned a study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that basically concluded that all diets work if one adheres to the diet’s specific guidelines.

Oh really? What about genetics?

Like the majority of other weight loss studies, this one does not take genetics into account. And in an effort to not sound overly self-serving, perhaps it helps to take a look at the information from this prospective:

All diets appear to have similar results when they are averaged. However, there are some big differences in the amounts of weight lost among individuals adhering to the same diet. Like expected, no two individuals see the same results when following the same diet; some will lose a lot of weight, some will lose a little and some will actually gain more weight than when they started the diet.

Why? Genetics. Perhaps this is why dieting can be very frustrating. Most would agree that seeing your partner or friend lose weight while adhering to the same diet as you, and you actually gaining weight, is frustrating. But again, not everyone is the same and not everyone has the same genetic make-up.

The article also said while different diets allowed for varying proportions of carbs, proteins and fats, and some individuals found their diets harder to stick to than others, each diet “worked.”

Is that what dieting has come to? Finding something that is marginally acceptable and saying that it “works”?

Losing weight shouldn’t be a cookie-cutter, one-fits-all approach. It should be about knowing what will work best for your body and finding a way to turn that knowledge into a lifestyle. We have found that people can lose more weight by properly matching diet and exercise to their personal genotype and people on the “right” diet for their genes lost more weight than people on the “wrong” diet for their genes.

After all, your personal genetic make-up is a component of your life, so why not use that approach when losing weight?

Regards,

Gary Breton

Director, Genetic Test Brands

Shakespeare’s quote but that is the question.  Do you want to be a diabetic or do you not want to be a diabetic?”

The Center for Disease Control has solid evidence that shows a strong correlation between obesity and diabetes.  I love how one author put it “we are eating ourselves into a diabetes epidemic!”

The past weeks have seen a flurry of blogs, news blasts and tweets all commenting on the fact that celebrity cook Paula Deen was diagnosed with diabetes three years ago and is now a paid spokesperson for a pharmacy drug company.

Paula Dean is well loved. It seems people like her because she, first and foremost, is a mom. Not a fancy chef but a good cook who loves her family, wears aprons, puts her fingers in the food to taste it and laughs a lot. I reviewed her recipes (love one recipe name: double chocolate ooey- gooey butter cream cake). Let’s just say not much plant based nutrition going on here, lots of saturated fat and sugar. We need to nourish our bodies with nutrients and foods that heal our bodies. Yes, I know it is hard to change the way we eat but it is no longer an option. Why?

Currently, seven of 10 American adults are overweight or obese. It is known that being overweight and poor eating habits cause disease and it is now understood that there is a codependent relationship between diabetes and obesity. Of those diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, 80-90 percent are overweight or obese.[i] Why do you think that is? For one, greater body weight increases insulin resistance because fat interferes with the body’s ability to use insulin.

Everywhere you turn there is another weight loss plan saying “pick me, pick me”. Please, forget about putting on a bikini for a before/after picture when you lose weight.  Instead, pick a weight program that focuses on your health. Think about a better cholesterol level, improved insulin resistance and normal blood pressure.

Courtesy of the Center for Disease Control

There are medications and drugs to help the body utilize insulin more effectively but the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) has shown that weight loss through moderate diet changes and physical activity can delay and prevent Type 2 diabetes. This study showed that people who focused on lifestyle changes reduced their risk of getting Type 2 DM by 58% while the group who received a medication (and information on diet and exercise) only reduced their risk by 31 percent. Not sure how old Paula is, but lifestyle changes were even more effective (71 percent risk reduction) in those ages 60 and older.[ii]

Paula Deen is 5’6 and weighs 160 pounds (sorry got that info from a tabloid) which means her BMI or body mass index is 25.8. According to the BMI charts she is overweight, not obese.  In order to get her weight down to a normal BMI she would only need to lose 10 pounds. And research shows that even that small amount of weight (10 pounds) can be enough to improve your blood glucose level and insulin sensitivity.[iii]

My advice to Paula is “Be an advocate by improving your health.  Help control your diabetes, lose weight, find a personalized eating and exercise program.  These changes just might be the best investment you make for your future”.

Thanks for your time,
Julianne Downes RD

Julianne Downes

Julianne Downes is a nutrition communications expert with over 15 years of integrative medicine training and education. As a registered dietitian and certified weight management trainer, she has been very involved in the development of weight management programs and is the author of personalized meal plans, a dining out guide and a 12 week DVD series.

[i] www.nikkl.nih.gov/type 2 diabetes
[ii] New England Journal of Medicine 2002; 346:393-403
[iii] www.diabetes.org/food