by Melissa Diane Smith

Find out why it shouldn’t.

(Opinion) – After half a dozen years without making a decision on “gluten-free” foods – a topic that was and continues to be of keen interest to growing numbers of people who want to avoid gluten for their best health – the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally announced an official definition of “gluten free” in the United States: Foods can be marketed as “gluten free,” “no gluten,” “free of gluten,” and “without gluten” if they contain less than 20 parts per million (ppm) gluten.

Are you celebrating this announcement thinking it is a big victory for consumer safety? If you are, it’s vital that you read this article so you know the undisclosed facts behind “gluten free” that aren’t reported by the mainstream media.

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If you’re a little confused about nutrition, you have a right to be: Much of what we’ve been told about nutrition is just plain wrong. I plan to set the record straight in my author talk, “Going Against the Grain of What You Think You Know About Nutrition,” at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 12, 2012, at the Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone Ave., in Tucson, Arizona.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

I covered my client Marcia’s dramatic changes in her health after going grain free and avoiding genetically modified foods last year in Nutrition News & Notes. I knew Marcia had wide-ranging improvements across the board in her health but I didn’t think much about how much money she was saving by not needing to see doctors nearly as much as she previously did before working with me. Recently during a coaching session over the phone, Marcia told me that she saved more than $7,000 last year in medical expenses, and together with her husband with whom I also work, they saved $12,000 in medical expenses last year!

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by Melissa Diane Smith

More dog and cat owners are tossing out conventional kibble and feeding their pets against the grain.

A few years ago Melissa McLean Jory’s dog Fairbanks was so sick he couldn’t even lift his head off the ground. After he was diagnosed with autoimmune conditions and severe intestinal problems, Melissa, a nutritionist who has celiac disease, became convinced that Fairbanks had gluten intolerance, too. She shifted him to a completely grain-free diet, and Fairbanks regained his weight and health fairly quickly. Now, if Melissa gives him a dog biscuit that contains gluten (found in wheat, rye and barley), her dog immediately experiences health trouble, such as gastrointestinal problems, skin rashes, and reduced energy. “I believe without the dietary changes, he wouldn’t be here today,” Melissa says.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

A key part of my message for more than a decade has been to encourage people to eat further against the grain than they are accustomed to or even than they think they should. If you stop and think about it, reducing or avoiding grains in one’s diet and eating more vegetables in their place is really eating more of a Paleolithic (or Stone Age hunter/gatherer) diet. A good portion of the clients I counsel gradually adopts this diet or goes more and more that way as time goes on, especially when dealing with serious health conditions.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

It’s important to understand what the label really means.

Today, more foods than ever are labeled “gluten-free.” Would it surprise you to know there is no official definition of “gluten-free” approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)? It’s true.

Buying gluten-free food is the only treatment for people with celiac disease, an autoimmune disease reaction to gluten, as well as other forms of non-celiac gluten intolerance. The FDA is expected to issue its final guidelines on gluten-free labeling later this year. That’s a welcome development, but it’s not the end. You might think that after the FDA makes its ruling, all of us will be able to easily choose foods that are completely devoid of gluten. Unfortunately, it’s much more complicated than that. For the sake of your health, it’s important to understand the issues behind the label.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

The gluten-free diet is one of the most talked-about and followed diets these days for good reason: It’s the nutritional answer for the growing number of people who learn they are gluten intolerant. However, few people realize it, but eating gluten free can harm health in other ways when we focus only on “gluten-free” and end up eating a gluten-free version of the Standard American Diet that leads to ill health. Many people are doing that, unknowingly making mistakes with their diet that lead to weight gain, elevated blood sugar, heart disease risk factors, new allergies, immune system problems, and more.

I will address these issues and the little-covered topic, “It’s Gluten Free but Is It Healthy?” at the Southern Arizona Celiac Support (SACS) general meeting on Saturday, January 14, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. In my presentation, I’ll explain the most common mistakes people make with the gluten-free diet that lead to health problems and cover key food concepts that promote better health. My presentation will take place at Pima Community College, 4905 E. Broadway Blvd., and will be immediately followed by book signings of Going Against the Grain and my follow-up book Gluten Free Throughout the Year.

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