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TUESDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Gluten-free diets have become a popular way to manage gluten sensitivity, but a new analysis suggests that many people who stop eating gluten may not need to do so.

Health experts have claimed that this special diet can ease digestive ills in those who are sensitive to gluten, a substance found in wheat, barley, rye and possibly oats. Some even think avoiding gluten might reduce headaches, fatigue, hyperactivity and autism symptoms.

However, when comparing the number of mentions of gluten sensitivity on Google to the number of scientific articles on the subject, Italian researchers found that the Google mentions far outweighed mentions in the medical literature, at a ratio of 4,598 to one.

"Clinically, we see a lot of suspicion that gluten reactions are responsible for numerous health problems, and it's difficult to counter this belief. There are a lot of alternative practitioners out there that blame gluten for everything, even though there's not a lot of science behind it," said Dr. Joseph Levy, division director of pediatric gastroenterology at New York University Langone Medical Center in New York City.

In the article, published in the Feb. 21 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, the Italian researchers explain that gluten has become "the new diet villain" in the United States. American marketers claim that 15 percent to 25 percent of consumers want gluten-free foods, and popular estimates suggest that as many as 17 million Americans are gluten-sensitive. However, there's no official data on the prevalence of gluten sensitivity in people who don't have celiac disease, according to the study authors.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition that damages the lining of the small intestine when gluten is eaten. This damage prevents the small intestine from absorbing the nutrients in food, and people with celiac disease slowly become malnourished. It's essential that anyone with celiac disease maintain a gluten-free diet; even occasional slips can cause damage.

Levy said there's no question that some people appear to have what the researchers dubbed nonceliac gluten sensitivity. "Some people, when you remove gluten, have less gas, belly aches and nausea," he said.

But, he added that it might not be the gluten that's the problem, and could instead be something else in foods containing gluten.

Another digestive expert, Dr. David Greenwald, isn't convinced yet. "It's very hard to tell if someone has nonceliac gluten sensitivity. I have a healthy skepticism until there's a scientific basis for the diagnosis. It's very easy to jump on the wave, but the authors here are saying to wait for the scientific evidence that there is a sensitivity that's not based on celiac disease," he explained. Greenwald is a gastroenterologist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.

Greenwald said that a lot of people who try gluten-free diets do so because they're having symptoms that suggest irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), such as abdominal pain, gas and bloating.

"Most of the people who come to the conclusion that they have nonceliac gluten sensitivity have IBS symptoms, and they've heard that a gluten-free diet might help them, and a number of them start feeling better when they eliminate gluten," said Greenwald. But, in clinical trials, people with IBS often have high placebo success rates, sometimes more than 30 percent, he said. So, for some, going on a gluten-free diet might induce a placebo effect.

Levy agreed. "Physiological changes can occur with positive thinking. If, for whatever reason, someone is convinced that removing gluten will help, and it does, that's fine," he said.

The good news is that a gluten-free diet is generally considered safe. It's helpful to work with a nutritionist to ensure you're getting all the necessary vitamins and nutrients if you decide to undertake a gluten-free diet. And, Levy advised reading ingredient lists on gluten-free products. Some are made with beans, which could cause gas and bloating if eaten in significant quantities.

The only significant downside to gluten-free diets is cost, since gluten-free foods are significantly more expensive than foods that contain gluten.

"If people are uncomfortable and want to put themselves on a gluten-free diet and they don't mind it, there's no real harm to that if they're willing to bear the inconvenience and cost," said Greenwald.

However, both experts cautioned that it's important that a doctor rules out celiac disease before anyone undertakes a gluten-free diet. Lowering the amount of gluten in your diet can change the results of the blood tests used to screen for celiac disease, and might mask the presence of celiac disease. With celiac disease, it's essential to avoid all gluten to avoid complications.

More information

Learn more about food allergies and intolerance from the American Gastroenterological Association.

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Is Avoiding Gluten in Foods Always Necessary?

COMMENTARY | Scientists say they know why the obesity rate is so high: Everything we know about dieting, including calorie counting and metabolism rates, is wrong, AFP reports. This would explain why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stats show we're getting fatter faster. Generally, I think this study is overlooking some key issues.

It says people quit dieting because they don't know about the plateau effect and they should cut fewer calories over a longer period. Most dieters know that crash dieting might take the fat off faster, but it really doesn't teach new healthy new habits. I've tried the fad diets for quick weight loss (Acai, Hoodia, lemon detox). I lost a few pounds with those tricks, but it's only with better nutrition that I've managed make any real strides.

To lose weight, my nurse practitioner had me identify a goal weight (I chose 125 pounds). According to her algorithm, people who weigh that amount consume 1,400 calories a day. If I want to weigh 125 pounds, I need to take in calories needed to sustain that weight. I've been following this plan, and I've lost 40 pounds in about six months. The more exercise I build in, the better it works.

Yes, people fall off the wagon when they plateau, but it's more than that. Most dieters quit because they don't see appreciable results and get discouraged. If I only cut out 100 calories a day, as suggested in the study, I would only lose about 10 pounds per year. I can't speak for everyone, but I would have given up long before at those rates.

The study also ignores age-related weight issues. The goal weight plan from my nurse practitioner does, too. Up till age 38 or so, I weighed 125 pounds. I was on-the-go constantly. I never did formal exercise and I could eat anything I wanted and not gain weight. After 38, I had some health setbacks, was less active and put on weight very easily. Much of that could be exercise-related, but aging accounts for some of the problem. Weight loss research needs to address those issues.

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Scientists Are Wrong in Saying Calorie-Counting Diets Don't Work

Celebs have done it.  Non-celebs have done it too. No meat, no sweets, no booze, no caffeine: Cleansing or detox diets.

A liquid diet, it's made up of maple syrup, lemon juice, a bit of cayenne pepper and water -- which is essentially all you drink for ten days.

“The purpose of the detoxification is to get out the toxins and other substances that make people tired, old irritable, unhappy and not function well and zap their energy,” said Peter Glickman in a Florida interview.

He writes about the Master Cleanse in his book, "Lose Weight, Have More Energy, and Be Happier in Ten Days."

“I lost 23 pounds and had just unbelievable energy,” Glickman said. 

But not everyone agrees there is a lot of benefit.

 “When we look to find the toxins in the blood or colon, we can't find them, they're not really there, so it's a little tough. You're trying to remove something that's not there,” said Doctor Ken Fujioka, the Medical Director of the Scripps Center for Weight Management.

He said our kidneys and liver do the job of removing toxins. As for weight loss, he said it's mostly water weight loss.  Not a lot of benefit, he said, but with the simple cleanses, there’s not a lot of harm either.

“If somebody is healthy, they're doing it for three days or less and they're getting adequate fluid and in particular adequate calories, they're probably going to be okay,” said Fujioka.

But he does warn against hard core cleanses that he said can be dangerous.

“There are caffeine enemas or coffee enemas, different things that are stimulants to the bowel, so they’re trying to move things along,” Fujioka said.

“More than that, with all the clients I’ve had, what I've found is that mentally something kicks into gear. They figure something out,” said John Lenz, a fitness professional and health adviser who said his cleanse diet is about jumpstarting a lifestyle change, not about losing weight. 

He said people become aware of their emotions around food, their eating habits.

The diets are made up of a vegetable juice, one you drink for breakfast, one for lunch. Dinner is protein -- maybe a piece of fish and steamed vegetables, so you are not starving your body, risking the loss of muscle.

Doing something hard can lead to change, he said.

“Bottom line is it's a lifestyle thing, you have to learn how to eat right,” Lenz said. “If it means to go through a cleanse to jump start that, then do it, it might help you.”
 

Tell us what you think. Comment below, fan us on Facebook, mention us on Twitter @nbcsandiego, or download our improved iPhone app.

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Detox Cleanse: Safe or Dangerous?

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SARAH BERRY

It's possible to eat whatever you want and still lose weight. In fact, it's possible to do away with confusing and contradictory diets and fads. It just involves a little mind over platter, says nutritionist and author Kathleen Alleaume in her new book, What's Eating You: Find Your Balance with Food and Lose Weight.

"Diets don't work and they will only cause you to yo-yo and gain more fat. Blacklisting carbs or going on heavily restrictive calorie-controlled diets are lousy ideas," she says.

"We all know what we 'should' be eating. Five serves of veg and two serves of fruit, mixed with moderate portions of lean meat, dairy, eggs, wholegrains and nuts, yet we are not doing it.

"The simple message of 'get back to basics' has been lost. Unfortunately we make certain things in life e.g. eating more complicated than it needs to be."

Alleaume is one of a growing number of health experts who say weight problems are not so much about what we are eating as why we are eating.

"We [need to] learn to listen to the inner whispers of our body and learn to be very honest about what we are actually hungry for. For example, learn to eat primarily for physical hunger rather than emotional reasons. When we learn to rely on internal hunger - we get better at registering the fullness cues."

Alleaume sees a wide range of people with issues that vary from weight management to improving sleep, lowering cholesterol to nutrition for running a marathon.

Yet, regardless of the issue or her clients' level of nutritional knowledge, she sees a common theme: they eat for other reasons apart from hunger. When they're stressed, bored, tired or upset, they turn to food.

It is for this reason that she decided to write her book.

"I see so many people with this underlying cause of overeating and/or unhealthy eating 'behaviours' aka bad eating habits. With so much emphasis on 'what' we should be eating, I wanted to also put emphasis on 'why we eat what we eat' - which for many, is the missing link to long-term weight managements and improvements in eating habits."

The first step is to distinguish between 'hunger' and 'appetite'.

"Hunger is the physical need for food. Appetite is the desire to eat food," Alleaume says.

"The desire to eat is most often influenced by our emotions, habits, lifestyle, culture, memories, as well as the sight, smell and taste of food. So, if one can learn to eat when they are actually hungry, and not just because their appetite tells them to (because food is in front of them), [it] will make a huge difference to the total amount of food eaten."

Doing this involves getting back in touch with what you're really hungry for, she says.

"Chances are it may not be food. It may be affection, or self-esteem or, perhaps, deep inside you don't really like your job or the career path you have chosen."

Once you are clear on what's eating you, the next step is bringing awareness to your thought patterns.

"The average human has approximately 60,000 thoughts per day and many of them - around 95 per cent - are the same thoughts we had yesterday and the day before," Alleaume says.

"Yet most people are aware of less than 5 per cent of their thoughts and the impact these thoughts have on their actions.....They will shape your attitude, how you feel, what you do."

The idea is not to berate yourself for thinking in a negative way, but simply notice certain thoughts and beliefs occurring. "The more you are aware of your thoughts, assumptions and beliefs, as well as the extent to which you are influenced by them, the more you can take responsibility and shift your internal paradigm."

Which means being mindful of the food choices you make and how your body responds to what you are putting in it.

"They say old habits never die," Alleaume says. "However, I believe they just remain dormant. But, we can learn new habits and replace the bad ones."

Alleaume's top tips:

1. Learn to recognise true hunger. If you have just eaten within the last two hours, chances are you are not physically hungry.

2. Tweak your treats. Avoid stocking the cupboard or refrigerator with comfort foods laced with fat, sugar or salt. Gradually replace them with healthier versions. For example swap the banana bread for fruit toast.

3. Manage stress. We look for comfort when we are stressed. The goal is to lower stress with healthful strategies, including regular exercise and adequate sleep, rather than seeking comfort in food.

4. Figure out your triggers: Keep a food diary of what you eat, when you eat, and why you eat it. Knowing your motivations for why you eat will make you conscious of your triggers, and you can begin to change your patterns.

5. Practice mindful eating. Many times people eat without even realising what they are consuming. We become easily distracted, whether it's from work, the kids, or watching television. When it's time to eat, make the effort to sit and savour every mouthful. This technique can help increase awareness of the sensations, feelings and thoughts connected with food and eating.

- Sydney Morning Herald

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Eat, drink, be merry and thin?

19-02-2012 00:10 I'm making a series on cutting body fat and losing weight for those of you who are looking for a leaner more aesthetic look. Here i cover why you should start cutting and how to slowly work into a diet so you wont get unmotivated and end up quitting One mistake while trying to get in shape is bulking when you already have body fat you will never see any physical results and this can be very depressing and you will most likely end up quitting. Getting ripped doesn't take a long time your body can lose up to 8 pounds of pure fat in a healthy way every month that's 96 pounds a year. You could lose more of course but then you end up risky muscle loss. Also slowly work into your diet just calculate what you are eating now and subtract 500 calories from your total daily meals. Introduce cardio and weight training into your workout routine and you will start burning fat. As you start seeing results start lowering your sugar intake every week and try eating more protein with each meal you eat. Also try to eat less saturated and trans fat every week. Go at your own pace Follow my workouts and nutrition at alexlosangeles.com Add me as your inspiration at bodyspace.com My youtube channels http://www.youtube.com http://www.youtube.com http://www.youtube.com how to burn belly fat body fat losing weight fast melt away shed pounds Alex Los Angeles alexlosangeles alex losangeles alexisdelosangeles alexis de los angeles

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Burning Body Fat and Losing Weight Episode 1 - Video

Dear Dr. John,

Our 5-year-old white terrier mix dog has had a problem with chronic oxalate bladder stones and now our 12-year-old cat has hyperthyroidism!

We are writing to see if you have thoughts on diets for our animals. Our dog has been eating a prescription food from Royal Canin and our cat takes medication daily. Now the vet tells us there is a new diet for hyperthyroidism. Do these diets really work? Because the cost seems to get a little crazy.

Though we love our animals a lot, we wonder if you can suggest alternatives? What will happen if we don’t feed our pets these diets?

— A.R.

Dear A.R.,

You have a twofer on your hands. Canine oxalate stones are difficult to manage due to an inborn error of metabolism that creates these bladder stones. My guess is that your dog has been on Royal Canin Urinary SO for the prevention of stones from recurring. Did the dog have surgery initially and is your dog male? These stones are almost always found in male dogs and usually need to be surgically removed.

Other problems that lead to high calcium can also lead to the formation of these stones. Hill’s Pet Nutrition u/d is also a diet made for prevention of these stones. Dogs with this problem need to be on strict diets to prevent recurrence. I once treated a patient who had four or five surgeries in about six to seven years to remove these recurring stones, despite a special diet.

That was years ago and I would trust the diets today because so much research and development has gone into them. You can also look online at homemade diets that may work — but those may be labor-intensive to make, and unproven. Not feeding your dog a special diet will most likely lead to expensive surgeries that cost more than the prescription food. Make sure your dog drinks plenty of water, too.

As for your cat, hyperthyroidism is usually treated with daily methimazole or a costly single treatment of radioiodine. The new diet is Hill’s y/d and I am told that a strict diet (six to eight weeks) for cats with this condition eliminates the disease. There are not as many homemade diets for this condition.

Bottom line — I would take a veterinarian’s advice and use the prescription diets. There are many different prescription diets for many different disease conditions and they have made for longer and healthier lives.

John de Jong, D.V.M., is owner/operator of Boston Mobile Veterinary Clinic and partner/chief of staff at Neponset Animal Hospital.

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Pricey pet food could save you surgery cost

Adherence seems to be the hardest part of dieting, but if you can follow through with basic calorie restriction, you will lose the weight.

Strict adherence to eating a certain proportion of carbs, fat, and protein may not be as effective for weight loss as strict adherence to eating fewer calories from all sources, according to a new study that compared four diet regimens.

In the Pounds Lost trial, researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, set out to study whether the composition of a weight loss diet affected the loss of lean body mass, total body fat, visceral fat, liver, or abdominal fat. Over 400 overweight or obese men and women were randomly assigned to follow one of four diets: average protein, low fat, higher carbs; high protein, low fat, higher carbs; average protein, high fat, lower carbs; or high protein, high fat, lower carbs.

Low fat was defined as 20 percent of calories coming from fat, while the high fat diets derived 40 percent of their calories from fat. High protein diets had 25 percent of calories from protein while low protein diets were defined as 20 percent of calories from protein. Average protein was considered 15 percent of calories from protein.

All of the diets were designed to be low in saturated fat and cholesterol, high in fiber, include low-glycemic carbohydrates, and reduce intake by 750 calories per day. Each participant was offered both group and individual counseling over the two years of the study.

After six months, the people in the study had lost more than nine pounds of total body fat and five pounds of lean body mass on average, but after two years had regained some of this. Comparing all four of the diet groups, there was no difference in fat loss or muscle loss. Neither did the proportion of carbohydrate, fat, or protein affect the amount of abdominal, visceral, or liver fat lost. People were able to maintain a weight loss of nearly nine pounds at the two-year mark, including a nearly three-pound loss of abdominal fat.

According to Dr. George Bray, a researcher who worked on the study, the major predictor for weight loss was adherence. The people who adhered to their assigned diet lost more weight than those who did not.

Adherence was a problem in this study. Many of the study participants did not complete the study, and the diets of those who did stick with it weren't exactly what they were supposed to be. Researchers hoped to see two of the diet groups adhere to the average-protein diet (15 percent) and the other two groups stick with the high-protein diet (25 percent). However, all four groups ate about 20 percent of their calories from protein over the two years of the study.

The take home message from this study is that any "diet" can work if total calories are consistently reduced. People will be more successful at losing weight if they choose a healthy diet plan that is easy for them to adhere to for the long haul, and they stick with it.

A breakdown of the meal plans used for the four diets in this study can be located here.

The study was published online January 18, 2012, in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Image: italianestro/Shutterstock.

This article originally appeared on TheDoctorWillSeeYouNow.com, an Atlantic partner site.

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A Calorie Is a Calorie Is a Calorie: All Diets Work if You Stick to Them

A REPORT into the future food needs of Australia has failed to acknowledge the ongoing work by Australia’s farmers in ensuring an environmentally sustainable supply of fresh and nutritious food, according to the National Farmers' Federation.

NFF President Jock Laurie said that farmers had made enormous gains in both productivity and environmental management over the past few decades: producing high quality food in greater quantities, on less land, with less water and less impact on the environment that ever before.

“The report released yesterday by the Public Health Association of Australia appears to reflect the lack of understanding health professionals have about modern agriculture in Australia and how the industry operates,” Mr Laurie said.

“Rather than focus on the public health challenges associated with modern diets and lifestyles, they seem to have chosen to attack Australian farmers and attempted to weaken the confidence of Australian’s in the food farmers produce.

“Australian farmers have been working hard to improve their practices, and have led the way in reducing our carbon footprint, with greenhouse gas emissions down by a massive 40 percent in the last 20 years.

“The agricultural industry also invests heavily in research and development to continuously improve practices and performance, with $1.5 billion-a-year spent on agricultural related research in Australia.

“On the ground, farmers occupy and manage 61 percent of Australia’s land, which means that we’re at the frontline in delivering environmental outcomes on behalf of the community and we are acutely aware of the need to deal with environmental impacts. Environmental sustainability has long been a critical factor for farmers – so much so that the NFF was a founding partner of the Landcare movement over 20 years ago.

“Perhaps most importantly, the report fails to acknowledge the role that Australian agriculture plays in feeding the world. Australian farmers produce enough food to feed 60 million people each year, so the statement in the report that ‘Australia produces more food than it needs’ is disingenuous. Of course we do – we export 60 percent of what we grow, offsetting global food demand and providing vital export income for our economy.

“The report itself calls for an increase in ‘food literacy’ – perhaps this needs to be an increase in ‘farming and food literacy’.

“The report also calls for strategies to ensure Australian farmers can continue to produce fresh, nutritious foods at a fair and competitive price. We agree with this outcome, but suggest that the Public Health Association of Australia should first talk to farmers about how to achieve it,” Mr Laurie said.

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Report fails to acknowledge crucial role of farmers

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