5 Myths About Living Gluten-Free (That Are Still Floating Around)

There’s a lot of information out there about living gluten-free – and unfortunately, not all of it is true. Some myths are harmless, but others can make life harder, cause confusion, or even put people’s health at risk. 

Today, I’m busting 5 of the most common gluten-free myths I still hear all the time, even after more than a decade of living gluten-free myself. 

Stick around until the end for my bonus tip – it’s the myth I believed when I was first diagnosed, and it made my gluten-free life a lot harder than it needed to be. 

Come join us in our free Facebook Community, The Gluten Free Engineer. 

It’s a space where you can connect with others living gluten-free, ask questions, swap tips and recipes, and get support from people who truly get it. Whether you’re newly diagnosed or a seasoned gluten-free pro, you’ll feel right at home.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Gluten-Free Myths

Transcript

Carrie Saunders: 0:00

Quick reminder before we get started on this episode. This podcast is based on my personal experiences and isn't medical advice. There's a lot of information out there about living gluten-free and, unfortunately, not all is true. Some myths are harmless, but others can make life harder, cause confusion or even put people's health at risk. Today, I'm busting five of the most common gluten-free myths I still hear all the time, even after more than a decade of living gluten-free myself. Stick around to the end for my bonus tip. It's a myth I believed when I was first diagnosed and it made my gluten-free life a lot harder than it needed to be.

Carrie Saunders: 0:37

Welcome to the Gluten-Free Engineer Podcast. I'm your host, Saunders. In 2011, I was diagnosed with celiac disease, a moment that changed everything, but I was determined not to let it hold me back. With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer the gluten-free lifestyle, breaking down recipes, safety tips, travel hacks and everything in between to rebuild a life I love. Whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance or simply choose to live gluten-free, this podcast is for you. Join me each week as we simplify the gluten-free lifestyle, make it fun and prove that you don't have to miss out on anything. Welcome back to the show.

Carrie Saunders: 1:16

Today, we're talking about the five common myths about living gluten-free that I've run into free. That I've run into and the problem with myths. First of all, though, is that myths can come from outdated research, misunderstandings or marketing messaging that's unclear and that causes confusion in the industry. They can make it harder for you to advocate for yourself and to be understood by friends, family and restaurants. I know I ran into this a lot before I figured out how to really advocate for myself, and also during those several years, I felt like there was a period of years there where being gluten-free was looked at as being a fad and not as a health, a reason to do it because of your health, and so it made it really difficult to explain to people that no, this is really serious, you can't just mess with my food and it really needs to be to people that, no, this is really serious, you can't just mess with my food and it really needs to be super gluten-free. So the first myth that I ran into is that you can have a cheat day even if you're gluten-free, and that is so absolutely not true, especially for celiacs and those with gluten intolerance, and really for those who choose to be gluten-free too, it may cause issues in their bodies that are super unpleasant, and we need to make sure that people understand that you can't have a cheat day if you're celiac, for sure you can't even have a cheat crumb. Like even the tiniest amount of gluten can cause damage. It may not cause symptoms. Just because you don't get a symptom from a little tiny bite or cross contact doesn't mean it's not causing damage in a celiac. And then for those with gluten intolerance or who choose to be gluten-free, it can cause some serious symptoms or long-term health complications that you know are unpleasant. You know, sometimes people are gluten-free because they have some other autoimmune disease and it really helps keep that other autoimmune disease in control, and so they don't want to go down the route of that autoimmune disease getting out of control. So that's some of the reasons we need to make sure that we aren't having a cheat day if that is something that our body should not or cannot tolerate.

Carrie Saunders: 3:31

And then another thing that was so frustrating when I first started being gluten-free and trying to learn how to do it was that if it's labeled gluten-free it's always safe. I couldn't tell you how many times I was, like you know, feeling really good and then I ate something new and I was like why do I feel funny? And then like maybe a couple of days later I might try that new thing again and I would be like why do I feel bad again? And then I look at the label and it would say that it was processed in a facility that processed the meat and I was like, oh, I guess I can't have something that's not certified gluten-free. This was kind of early on, when I was still very much learning this, and there can be hidden gluten and cross-contact risks in prepackaged foods and we want to make sure that we're reading the labels beyond the gluten-free logo. We want to make sure if you're celiac or really need to be strict, you need to have that certified gluten-free logo, not just something that just says gluten-free. And if you are eating something that's not technically certified gluten-free, you're going to want to look at the allergen statement to make sure it doesn't say processed in a facility that also processes wheat, if you're very sensitive and can't have small amounts of gluten at all.

Carrie Saunders: 4:46

So myth number three is going gluten-free is automatically healthier, and this can be far from the truth If you were eating processed foods before going gluten-free and you replace those processed foods with gluten-free processed foods. You are helping yourself by not having the gluten, but you're not helping yourself because you're still eating the processed foods. Plus, usually gluten-free processed foods don't have as many vitamins and minerals fortified in them, so you want to be not directly replacing processed foods that are gluten with processed that are not gluten for your entire life. Maybe you do that in the beginning as your transition. Maybe you're new to gluten-free and that's how you mentally cope with it. Maybe you're used to having, you know, that sandwich at lunch, that pasta at dinner, so you want to replace it directly with a gluten-free equivalent, and that's completely fine. But I want to encourage you, if you're beyond the early stages of being gluten-free, of trying to switch some of those things into a bit more natural things, less processed foods, because our bodies are starving of vitamins, minerals and nutrients because we just Simply, as a society anymore don't eat whole foods nearly as much, and so I want to encourage you to make sure that you're getting enough whole foods so that being gluten-free is healthier for you. We want to make sure that we are actually getting those vitamins and minerals that we need.

Carrie Saunders: 6:13

Now another myth that I ran into is that you can grow out of celiac disease. Celiac disease is lifelong, even when symptoms improve. It is an autoimmune disease. It's a genetic mutation that happens in people and when that mutation is turned on it generally it stays on. I don't think I've ever read a case in my 12 or so more years of researching this that it has ever turned back off. It is something that is just lifelong. So we want to be vigilant while we are being, while we are you know when we're diagnosed with celiac and when we need to be gluten-free we need to make sure that we aren't getting lazy and getting those cross contacts because even if we don't have symptoms, you can get damaged.

Carrie Saunders: 7:03

There's this really good article and story I read, probably seven years ago or so more about the silent celiac and it was an actual, real study on this person who was a silent celiac. They thought their celiac went away because their symptoms went away, and then they all of a sudden started losing all this weight. They were having signs of malnourishment and went to the doctor and they basically were having silent celiac. They didn't have the traditional symptoms of celiac disease, yet their body was getting damaged, they weren't absorbing the nutrients they needed and they were just kind of withering away. So we need to make sure, if you're celiac, to be diligent, no matter whether you get symptoms or not.

Carrie Saunders: 7:48

And then myth number five if it doesn't upset your stomach, it's fine. And that's so far from the truth. There are so many non-digestive symptoms like fatigue. So many non-digestive symptoms like fatigue, migraines, joint pain, skin rashes, mood changes. Some of my kids, you know, don't get the digestive symptoms first and they didn't even have the digestive symptoms before we found out they need to be gluten-free. They had these other symptoms and then, when we took them off gluten, the digestive symptoms are way more obvious once they got a little bit of gluten accidentally. But so non-digestive symptoms can be the only thing that you have. And that's kind of similar to that silent celiac story I was just talking about. They didn't have any digestive systems yet their body was being damaged. They were low on their vitamins, they were low in vitamin D, you know. Their hair and their nails were having trouble and long-term damage can occur without immediate stomach issues.

Carrie Saunders: 8:49

So let's recap the five myths. The myth number one is you can have a cheat day even if you're gluten-free totally a myth. If it's labeled gluten-free, it's always safe again, totally a myth. Going gluten-free is automatically healthier Again, totally a myth. We need to focus on whole foods as well. You can grow out of celiac disease was myth number four. Completely not true. It's something that, once it's on, it's on. And myth number five if it doesn't upset your stomach, it's fine. Completely not true as well. And if this episode helped you feel more confident in your gluten-free choices, you'll love the extra tips and products finds that I share in my gluten-free newsletter. It's all about making gluten-free life and living easier, more enjoyable and less confusing. Plus, I feature quite a few of my recipes that I'm putting up very regularly. Just go on over to the Gluten-Free Engineer and sign up on our newsletter so you never miss a tip that can simplify your gluten-free life. And then, before we wrap up today, I want to tell you that myth.

Carrie Saunders: 9:52

I believed early on that a crumb or a tiny mountain gluten couldn't possibly make me that sick. I thought that if I just avoided the obvious bread and pasta and, you know, did a decent job of cross-contact minimization, I'd be fine. But what I didn't realize is that with some of the celiac, even the smallest, smallest amount of cross-contamination, like a crumb from that cutting board or from that butter dish or a sheared toaster or somebody who had touched gluten and put their hands in that you know bag of chips and then I got chips a second can cause serious symptoms and intestinal damage is something I didn't realize early on and I thought I was a little bit crazy. But once I understood that I started taking extra steps at home and when eating out and with friends and it completely changed how I felt from day to day and I hope this bonus tip helps you realize the seriousness of cross-contact, especially if you are celiac.

Carrie Saunders: 10:57

Thank you for listening to this episode of the gluten-free engineer. If you found value in this story, please share it with someone who might need encouragement on their own gluten-free journey. For more tips, recipes, resources and even links to my YouTube channel, head on over to theglutenfreeengineercom. It's your one-stop hub to make gluten-free living simple, fun and full of flavor. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss out on an episode and we will see you next week. The Gluten-Free Engineer podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I share my personal experiences and stories about living with celiac disease and navigating a gluten-free lifestyle. This podcast does not provide a medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional for medical questions, concerns or advice specific to your health.